Dragnet

"Dragnet" was the first theatrical feature to be based on a successful television series. Too bad its script bears little relation to the elements of that show.

In the 1952-59 series, viewers never saw the crime being committed. "Dragnet" was a mystery program; Sgt. Friday and Officer Smith would be called in to solve a crime, then locate and arrest the guilty party/parties. (As Webb put it, "This makes YOU a cop, and you unwind the story.") "Dragnet" (1954) begins with the actual crime, so that we KNOW who's guilty even before the titles appear. The movie is no mystery, merely the depiction of a murder investigation, in toto.

Worse, the Sgt. Friday in this film is not the quiet, dedicated cop of the radio and TV original. The feature marks the beginning of Friday the Supercop, the holier-than-thou sergeant never without a wisecrack for the criminal ("Unless you're growin', sit down!") or a put-down for the recalcitrant citizen ("Mr. Friday, if you was me, would you [testify]?" "Can I wait awhile... before I'm you?").

The film was a huge box office success, the most profitable of Webb's five theatrical productions. It cost a hair over $500,000 to make, and took in nearly six million. It was Warner's second-highest grossing film of 1954, after "The High and the Mighty." And, of course, it opened the door for the TV crossovers that continue to this day. It's just a shame that the "real" Sgt. Friday didn't appear, and an even bigger shame that this 'evil twin' eventually eclipsed the original.

Jack Webb was a one of a kind filmmaker. Whether it was in the movies or on television he was, in his own way, a genius. His was work is easy to spot. He had a style all his own. "Dragnet" is not Webb at his best but it's still good. I watch it for the straight detective story that it is but there are quite a few funny moments to. The "Naked Gun" movies have ruined this movie a little for me. The dated "hi-tech" stuff is pretty funny now. Those moments don't take any enjoyment away from the movie. They actually add to the fun. "Dragnet" is always a welcome visit.

Oh, what a delight to begin TV Month with the first ever movie based on a TV show! Yes, that's right! This was based on the popular show "Dragnet" and it's too bad seeing as how I have never seen the original show. I think it might have set some record for prime time show with the most series revivals. I got to poobala's crossover website enough to know that. Anyway, this movie was well, good.

I'm surprised that the first would be in color and the color is quite nice. I admit it does run into the problem of seeming just like a long episode of a show. I will however, forgive that a bit seeing as how this was the first ever movie based on a TV show. The plot probably could have been bigger, but this is still well acted. It's great how consistently serious this movie is. While not a classic, I'm glad to have come across it. ***

... where the story told had a shorter running time. Jack Webb's interviewing and telling off of suspects just seems to drag - pardon the expression -when it's done in a 90-minute feature film.

A small-time hood, Miller Starkie, is mowed down by a shotgun blast, and detectives Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Frank Smith (Ben Alexander) are on the case. They interview a variety of other small-time hoods that might have possibly had something to do with the killing. They also get policewoman Grace Downey to go under-cover and infiltrate the nightclub of mobster Max Troy. But the case has an ironic ending.

This case was particularly interesting because the victim was a career criminal and the most likely suspects were also career criminals. At one point, when Joe Friday asks a witness to come to a line-up of suspects, the witness points that out as a reason he does not want further involvement. The witness says that with this entire thing possibly being underworld stuff, he is afraid for his safety. Friday gives him a public service announcement as an answer, but nothing that would soothe his nerves.

Dragnet was at the tail end of its lifespan as a radio show when this film was released-the radio show aired from 1949 to 1955 - and its radio heritage shows. For example, the dialogue says more than it has to say about what's going on, as if you can't see anything, and every time something particularly important is said, the score is emphatic, telling the viewer what they should be feeling in this particular instance - sadness, sympathy, shock, etc.

If you like Dragnet in either its radio or TV incarnation, you'll probably find this worth your while.

I really enjoyed the Dragnet television shows back in the 1950s with Jack Webb and Ben Alexander and later Harry Morgan. They were very entertaining and fast-moving. I say that because this feature-length film was just too boring to add to my collection. I wouldn't watch it again.

Oh, it started off with a bang as a man was murdered in a field, but then the rest of it is mostly detail work which gets pretty boring after 40 minutes! Some of the dialog is good: nice '40s-type film noir stuff.

What I missed was the humor of the TV show, in which Webb and his partner, Officer Frank Smith, would interview a number of crackpots and those interviews would be funny. Most of the characters in this movie did not invoke laughs. It needed a bit more action, too, for a crime movie.