Dragnet (1954)

Director:

Jack Webb

Writer:

Richard L. Breen (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

This was the hottest case to hit the department!

Plot:

Two homicide detectives investigate the brutal shotgun murder of a crime syndicate member.

Plot Keywords:

Grand Jury | Murder | Detective | Fifth Amendment | Based On TV Series

Cast

Jack Webb	...	Sgt. Joe Friday
Ben Alexander	...	Officer Frank Smith
Richard Boone	...	Capt .James E. Hamilton
Ann Robinson	...	Officer Grace Downey
Stacy Harris	...	Max Edward Troy
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Ethel Starkie
Vic Perrin	...	Adolph Alexander, Asst. Chief Deputy D.A. (as Victor Perrin)
Georgia Ellis	...	Belle Davitt
James Griffith	...	Jesse Quinn
Dick Cathcart	...	Roy Cleaver
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Lee Reinhard
Willard Sage	...	Chester Davitt
Olan Soule	...	Ray Pinker, Forensic Chemist
Dennis Weaver	...	Police Captain R.A. Lohrman
Monte Masters	...	Fabian Gerard

Also Known As:

The Original Dragnet (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17096, General Audience) | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mark VII Ltd.

Trivia:

The first theatrical film based on a television show.

Quotes:

Max Troy: You got nothing to take to court! You got a phone number, it don't prove up. I could write down Eisenhower and it don't prove up for twenty cents. That's all the evidence you got, you take it downtown and they won't let you in the washroom with it! Now get off my back and hand me that ashtray!
Sgt. Joe Friday: You've got the Cadillac - drive over and get it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Soundtrack:

Foggy Night in San Francisco

A Disappointment

1954's DRAGNET is well-cast with Jack Webb's stock company, plus a pre-PALADIN, Richard Boone and pre-CHESTER on GUNSMOKE, Dennis Weaver. However, the plot takes WAY too long to get to an ultimately UNsatisfying conclusion. I am a fan of Jack's but I believe this was his first crack at directing a feature and, unfortunately, it shows. Many scenes drag on for too long (the bar room brawl seems interminable) and as a result, the story just plods along. The running time is listed at only 88 minutes, but it SEEMS longer. The crisp, clean pace of Webb's radio and TV DRAGNET episodes is lost in this full-length treatment.