The World According to Jack Webb

[KayEn78]

I know it's been a little over a year since the last post, however, I wanted to chime in. I'm a huge fan of Jack Webb (with his OTR, movie and TV career).

I suggest that you read Just the Facts, Ma'am by Dan Moyer. This books gives a nice insight as to what he was really like off-screen. It's not one of those tabloidy tell-all books either. The other book you should read if you want to know everything there was about Dragnet is My Name's Friday by Michael J. Hayde. I've seen the above mentioned movies (He Walked By Night, The Men, Pete Kelly's Blues, The D.I., -30- etc. And a few others that weren't mentioned like Dark City, Appointment with Danger (both of these also feature Harry Morgan), and The Last Time I Saw Archie.

I enjoy anything Dragnet whether its the radio show, '50s series or '60s series. I even wrote three of my own Dragnet stories. And four years ago, I had never of heard of Jack Webb and only vaguely knew of the name Joe Friday.

-Kristi

 

[skyvue]

I highly recommend the 1954 DRAGNET movie to any fans of the TV show. It's grittier and more violent than either of the TV series and has much more of a film noir feel (despite being in color). I didn't expect much when I sat down to watch it, but it surprised me.

Amazon sells it as an "exclusive" DVD (not entirely sure what that means, though I think that they burn it when you order it, ala the Warner Archives -- don't know if that means it's a DVD-R or not, but it's not terribly pricey, so it's worth taking a chance, perhaps).

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I miss all the shows from that time period. The 1950's and 1960's for me, was all real television and not just a pack of dull sit-coms with no talent actors like some are today. I do not even bother with any of the "shows" today, they belong to the "Snookies" of the day, the drugged out haze of modern misdirection.

 

[KayEn78]

I agree...I don't even have cable because I can't stand TV today. I stick to classic TV shows like Dragnet and others by watching them on DVD. They sure don't make 'em like they used to!

-Kristi

 

[skyvue]

I don't agree. There's always plenty of junk on television (there certainly was in the 1950s and '60s), but right now, there are many terrific shows (though, admittedly, many of them are seen on cable networks, not the broadcast networks). Southland, Justified, Luck, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Luck -- these are all worthy efforts, and there are many others.

 

[KayEn78]

Every decade had their share of junk on television, it was just that there were fewer channels to deal with than today and there was also the absence of 24 hour programming, which didn't come to light until more recently.

-Kristi

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm reminded of a comment made at the very dawn of the television age by Broadway playwright Moss Hart. Someone suggested to him that one day television would go to a twenty-four hour a day schedule, and he thought about it a moment. "Where was it ever written," he finally replied, "that man should ever have that much entertainment?"

 

[Benzadmiral]

I highly recommend the 1954 DRAGNET movie to any fans of the TV show. It's grittier and more violent than either of the TV series and has much more of a film noir feel (despite being in color). I didn't expect much when I sat down to watch it, but it surprised me. . . .

The pilot for the second series, "Dragnet 1966," is also very exciting. The climax is unlike any episode I ever saw of the series, featuring Sgt. Friday in a rainstorm battling a serial killer (a very modern type of story, though the term wasn't in use then).

Webb has gotten a bad, and unfair, rap as a button-down Establishment type. Somebody once said he was the closest thing to an auteur that television ever produced, and they have a point. You know a Webb series the moment you see it.

 

[KayEn78]

I'm reminded of a comment made at the very dawn of the television age by Broadway playwright Moss Hart. Someone suggested to him that one day television would go to a twenty-four hour a day schedule, and he thought about it a moment. "Where was it ever written," he finally replied, "that man should ever have that much entertainment?"

I finally figured out how to include a post the correct way. What an ironic quote, LizzieMarie. It's amazing how these things evetually become the truth.

-Kristi

 

[KayEn78]

The pilot for the second series, "Dragnet 1966," is also very exciting. The climax is unlike any episode I ever saw of the series, featuring Sgt. Friday in a rainstorm battling a serial killer (a very modern type of story, though the term wasn't in use then).

Webb has gotten a bad, and unfair, rap as a button-down Establishment type. Somebody once said he was the closest thing to an auteur that television ever produced, and they have a point. You know a Webb series the moment you see it.

I love the 1966 made-for-TV movie! It's so exciting still even after viewing it several times. One of the best TV movies I've ever seen. Even though this was made in 1966, it didn't air until January of 1969. The network liked it so much that they immediately wanted Webb to begin the Dragnet series in early 1967, which he did.

-Kristi

 

[Benzadmiral]

Yes -- the "Dragnet 1966" script features one of the few times Friday ever used force to subdue a perp, maybe the only time. And the buildup to the climax, with the gathering rainstorm in Los Angeles, is a fine example of how to build atmosphere.

 

[Espee]

Some of his witnesses supplied every unneeded detail first-- something like:
"I was by the kitchen window-- because it's Monday, the soup, ya see?"
"How's that, ma'am"
"On Mondays, my brother Harvey works late at the plant, so with it being just me alone, I open a can of soup instead making a fuss over a big dinner."

I find myself yelling at the radio or TV-- "Get to the point!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's one of the techniques Webb used to make his characters sound realistic -- ordinary people speaking rarely do stick to the point. They ramble, go off on tangents, toss out non sequiturs, and generally drift all around the point. Joe Friday was a very patient man.

Another trick Webb used was having every line end on a downbeat. The natural tendency when acting is to make the lines "expressive," but Webb insisted his actors do just the opposite -- because he didn't want them to sound like they were *acting.*

 

[KayEn78]

Very true, even though one may want them to "get to the point" it makes the show more realistic that way.

-Kristi

 

[scottyrocks]

The rambling nature of the witnesses used to crack me up. I couldn't wait to see where the story would go. And then watching Webb standing there looking at the speaker with that patient but get-to-the-point look only added to the hilarity.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

If you listen to one of the reality ride-along cop shows of the 50s, like Night Watch or Unit 99, you will realize just how realistic the Dragnet scripts were. The real-life witness/perp interviews are much the same as the scripted dialogue of the Dragnet radio series and the 50s TV series, which utilized a lot of the OTR scripts.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Anyone here ever see "Pete Kelly's Blues"? Webb was a Jazz Fanatic and.. well the best thing I can say is see this movie!

There are 6 episodes plus the pilot of the Pete Kelly's Blues radio series, upon which the film is based, in circulation. If you can find them they are great listening, although some are in rough shape. Webb produced this show as a summer replacement series for Dragnet; his character is the complete antithesis of Joe Friday. My favorite line of the series - Kelly is confronted in his room by a cop; the cop tells Kelly to scram while he interrogates Kelly's friend - Kelly is hot and as he leaves he says "Good night, cop - leave the rugs".

 

[Espee]

I remember hoping the next show he created/ produced, might have him in an acting role as well. A couple weeks later, he died. I was in the crowded parking lot of the local mall when I heard it on the radio (two days before Christmas.)

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

In the late '70s Jack Webb produced a show called Project UFO. Even though he didn't appear in the show he narrated the intro.

[video=youtube;yVVADz0Afss]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVVADz0Afss[/video]

 

[KayEn78]

I've heard Nightwatch and Unit 99...both great realistic shows from the '50s, that mirror Dragnet. I also have the six Pete Kelly's Blues in a Jack Webb collection of his radio shows, but haven't listened to them just yet. I've seen the 1955 movie though. I would like to see Project U.F.O. one of these days, as well as G.E. True--an early '60s TV Show Jack was the host of and narrated, I believe. I was only four when he passed away, so I don't remember him or his death at all. I'm glad I got to find out about him at some point during my life!

-Kristi