1954 - DRAGNET, the feature film...

If anyone remembers a cop show named Dragnet which I kind of doubt, it began life as a radio show produced and starring Jack Webb.  Webb went on to adapt the radio show as a half hour television show in the 1950's.  Webb brought the show back from the grave in the mid 1960's mostly to make the American public aware of the dangers of drug use particularly marijuana.  This was kind of rich since Webb was apparently a pretty big boozer in real life.

Dragnet was known as a  police procedural with the emphasis not on gun fights and car chases but on LAPD detectives assigned to a case.  Webb and his cop partner would methodically run down each lead. If you were looking for crime fighting action this show was not for you.  Supposedly the episodes were based on true life stories and the end of each show had the narrator of each episode intone in a grave voice the results of each case with loud booming music in the background.   

 

Dragnet was no doubt an important and trend setting crime genre but time has not been particularly kind to this show. Webb's emotionless clipped delivery of his dialog and the almost next to nothing drama in each episode made this show ripe for parody.

 

Which brings us inevitably to the movie version Webb directed which was released in 1954.  About the only difference between the television show and the movie was that it was filmed in color.  Otherwise this was basically and extended episode of one of his shows with the same cheap looking sets and the same stock company of actors that Webb used over and over.

 

Dragnet the film is kind of an odd bird.  The LAPD basically violates every suspect's civil rights during their investigation of a gangland shooting.  Webb seems to have a particular disdain for the 5th amendment and at times seems to want the district attorney to bring the bad guys to trial without any evidence just because he says they are guilty.  I'm not even going to get into the illegal wiretapping business.  Webb certainly had an interesting point of view when it came to law enforcement

The film was written by Richard L. Breen, the running time is 88 minutes.