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Storyline
Sgt. Joe Friday is called back from vacation to work with his partner, Off. Bill Gannon, on a missing persons case. Two amateur female models and a young war widow have vanished, having been last seen with one J. Johnson. In the course of tracking down Johnson and the young ladies, the detectives wind up with two different descriptions of the suspect, one of which closely resembles a dead body found in a vacant lot. But the dead man, later identified as Charles LeBorg of France, proves not to be J. Johnson, when a third young model disappears. Written by
Michael J. Hayde <mmeajv@earthlink.net>
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Pierce Brooks, the technical advisor on this film, was the Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective who originally solved the actual case on which this film was based.
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Goofs
One of suspects has driver's license in which his first name is only indicated by the initial "J" with no middle name; unless a person could prove that the initial was his legal first name (highly unlikely), no municipality would ever issue a license such as that as the documents would be virtually useless as any form of identification device.
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Quotes
Carl Rockwell:
Go swallow a germ you nigger cop!
Sergeant Joe Friday:
Now you listen to me, you gutter-mouth punk. I've dealt with you before, and every time I did, it took me a month to wash off the filth. I'll tell you what you did to that four-year old girl out in Westlake Park: you staked out a bench like you've always done. You bought a sack of penny candy; you waited until the right little girl came along... You got her in your car. She started to cry; you hit her across the mouth twice. You cut her lip with your ring. ...
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Connections
Follows
Dragnet (1954)
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Soundtracks
"Theme From Dragnet (Danger Ahead)"
Composed by
Walter Schumann See more »
This is a typical Jack Webb movie, with most of his quirks in it. However, the scene near the end where multiple police units are in pursuit of the killer is wonderful and masterfully done, showing what an under-rated director Jack Webb really was. The only police car you see - until the pursuit is over - is 1-K-80 (Friday and Gannon's unmarked unit) racing through the rain in the night. You hear all of the action over the radio in the detective unit, but never see a black and white sliding around a corner, or racing down the road. Just the same, the scene builds tension and you feel the tension of the pursuit, perhaps better than if you actually saw it portrayed. I think it's one of my favorite scenes in any movie I've ever watched.