Featured Blu-ray Review: Dragnet
October 23, 2018
Dragnet: Collector’s Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Dragnet is a continuation of the 1950s / 1960s police procedural TV series of the same name. It isn’t exactly a remake, as Harry Morgan reprises his role as Bill Gannon, but it is certainly a more comedic take on the show. I remember loving this movie as a kid, but I also haven’t seen it since I was a kid. Has it aged well? Or am I going to be forced to use the “I was young.” excuse?
The original Dragnet was a police procedural TV series created and starring Jack Webb as a no nonsense police detective called Joe Friday, who worked in Los Angeles. In the movie, Dan Aykroyd stars as his nephew, also named Joe Friday, who is equally straight-laced and no nonsense. After a short prologue in which we see P.A.G.A.N.’s latest crime (the burning of a shipment of adult magazines called “Bait”) we hear Joe Friday’s inner monologue about the city before he starts his day as a homicide detective. His old partner had retired to start the goat farm he had always been dreaming of, so he will be getting a new partner, Detective Pep Streebeck, who just got out of undercover... I think. After getting up to the dress code for detectives, the two head to investigate the string of P.A.G.A.N. crimes, starting at the Griffith Park Zoo.
Friday and Streebeck’s personalities clash while investigating the crimes. This gets even worse when they go to interview the owner of Bait magazine, Jerry Caesar. Friday is dismayed that someone could create an empire of smut, while Streebeck is able to recite the Bait Mate’s questionnaire answers. They don’t get much from Jerry, although Sylvia Wiss does have a question for Friday that is not pertinent to the investigation.
While the investigation continues, we learn about M.A.M.A., a “moral majority” movement led by Reverend Jonathan Whirley, who is friendly with the Police Commissioner of Los Angeles, Jane Kirkpatrick. He in Los Angeles to take on the pornography industry, so he and Friday have something in common.
Friday and Streebeck finally get a break when they get a call from Enid Bordman, the landlady to Emil Muzz. He stole her wedding dress and his rent check bounced. The only thing in his apartment was a box of P.A.G.A.N. cards. It doesn’t take long to learn Emil works for Jerry Caesar, as his chauffeur. A short car chase later and they have Emil in custody and talking. There’s a P.A.G.A.N. meeting that night and thanks to the info Emil gave up, Friday and Streebeck will be attending undercover. They are, amazingly, able to fit in, going so far as to take illegal narcotics. They maintain this cover until the leader attempts to sacrifice a virgin, Connie Swail. At this point, the pair leap into action to save her and then make their escape.
Friday and Streebeck call their boss, Bill Gannon, and tell him what transpired. They get him and Police Commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick to go to the site of the ritual only to find nothing there. The P.A.G.A.N.s must have some serious resources to be able to clear up that mess that quickly. The lack of evidence, and the pair’s eccentric behavior due to the drugs, results in them being removed from the case. Obviously, if they dropped their investigation completely, there wouldn’t be a movie, but where it goes from here enters spoiler territory.
Short review: Dragnet isn’t as funny as I remembered it to be, but it is still worth checking out.
The biggest asset the film has is the chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. It's a buddy cop comedy, so they have to clash before they can become true partners. Without strong chemistry, the early scenes of them bickering would get old really fast. Additionally, their comedic timing helps save some of the weaker jokes. Sadly, they can’t save all of them and there are some jokes that just land with a thud. There are more of these than I remember, which is why it doesn’t live up to my nostalgic opinion. The supporting cast is also great with lots of acting veterans like Harry Morgan, Dabney Coleman, Christopher Plummer, etc.
Additionally, the overall plot is both a fun send-up of police procedural mysteries, while also working as a mystery on its own. Too many movies like this would treat the crimes as nothing more than setups for jokes. It has enough twists that it is still engaging, although it does use too many of the tropes, including a car chase or two and a climactic gun battle that seems particularly out of place. These elements cause the movie to drag at times, but again, the positives outweigh the negatives.
There are a few extras that are new to the Blu-ray, an audio commentary track with pop culture historian Russel Dyball and a 25-minute long interview with Alexandra Paul, who played Connie Swail in the movie. There is also an archival promotional / making of featurette, Just the Facts, which is 46 minutes long.
Dragnet only manged mixed reviews when it was first released, but it became a hit at the box office. I think most critics were a little harsh and fans of buddy cop comedies should get a kick out of it. The Collector’s Edition has enough extras to be worth picking up.
The Movie
The Extras
The Verdict
Filed under: Video Review, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Ashley, Dan Aykroyd, Dabney Coleman, Kathleen Freeman, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul, Christopher Plummer, Jack O'Halloran, Julia Jennings, Lisa Aliff