Dragnet (1987)

Director:

Tom Mankiewicz

Writers:

Dan Aykroyd (written by) and
Alan Zweibel (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 June 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

They're so bad at being bad... but so much worse at being good!

Plot:

The equally-straight-laced and "by the book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.

Plot Keywords:

Zoo | Police | Police Commissioner | Detective | Strip Club

Cast

Dan Aykroyd	...	Sgt. Joe Friday
Tom Hanks	...	Pep Streebeck
Christopher Plummer	...	Reverend Jonathan Whirley
Harry Morgan	...	Captain Gannon
Alexandra Paul	...	Connie Swail
Jack O'Halloran	...	Emil Muzz
Elizabeth Ashley	...	Jane Kirkpatrick
Dabney Coleman	...	Jerry Caesar
Kathleen Freeman	...	Enid Borden
Bruce Gray	...	Mayor Parvin
Lenka Peterson	...	Granny Mundy
Julia Jennings	...	Sylvia Wiss
Lisa Aliff	...	April
Joe Altmark	...	Milkman
Nina Arvesen	...	Lady Motor Cop

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #28649) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Norway:11 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Applied Action

Trivia:

Links to the two classic TV series include a cameo by Harry Morgan, and a photo of Jack Webb is visible in one scene. Morgan was originally going to be in one scene only but asked for a bigger part, so he was made the Captain. As well as the closing credits theme of the original series played towards the end of the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the zoo the zookeeper says the snake next to the anaconda enclosure is a boa constrictor. In fact it is a Burmese python.

Quotes:

Granny Mundy: Do join us, Detective Swayback.
Joe Friday: Streebeck.
Pep Streebeck: Pep.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Dance or Die

Hilarious spoof.

I'm a big fan of the TV series, both the '50's and '60's versions, but I couldn't help watching this one on TNT. The impersonation of Joe Friday is so hilarious it hurts, and his Partner Pep Streebeck was excellent. Harry Morgan from the '60's version was in this, promoted to captain. Next time the film came on, I taped it, and laughed again. Even though it's making fun of the old series, it's fun to watch, and the acting is great. Top-notch comedy.