MovieChat Forums > Dragnet (1951) Discussion > Too bad most people only associate 'Drag...

Too bad most people only associate 'Dragnet' with the 60's version

posted 15 years ago by lvrepoman
26 replies | jump to latest

I'm not knocking the 60's version, because it has its own charms, but the 50's version is a completely different show.

I have read that Jack Webb really didn't want to play Joe Friday for the second incarnation, and when I compare the later color episodes to the original B & W shows, I find this pretty plausible. Webb was a man on a mission when Dragnet first appeared, and the quality of the episodes frequently astounds me. When the viewer considers the state of the art when Dragnet first hit the small screen, the camera work in particular really stands out. Webb was a true visionary.

It's unfortunate indeed that for most people today, their only exposure to Dragnet brings to mind an older Joe Friday shilling for the LAPD, along with his buffoonish partner, Col. Potter (at least for the ones old enough to remember MASH).

I'd put money on it that if Ovation TV or one of the other more "artsy" cable channels started regularly showing the old episodes, they would get great ratings, and not just from oldsters, but from younger generations who appreciate noir. Just a forlorn hope, I suppose, but one can wish.

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] mactach 15 years ago

I don't see why it's a problem if you do knock on the 60's episodes.

The older shows were much better.

Plus you're wrong when you say most people associate with the 60's series.

The original was far more successfull lasting 8 seasons and ask anyone who watched the original, they would tell you it was much better.

[–] lvrepoman 15 years ago

I'm 46, and I guarantee you that almost everyone from my generation going forward only associates Dragnet with the 60's version. Until relatively recently when they started coming out on DVD, I had never even seen one of the older, B&W shows. In my entire life, I can't recall seeing any of the older shows on television.

Heck, I had heard dozens maybe hundreds of radio Dragnets before I ever saw one of the old TV episodes.

The old shows are in a class by themselves. I'm afraid, however, the many people who might otherwise really enjoy the old shows have had there opinion of Dragnet tainted by the 60's version.

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] mactach 15 years ago

Well it doesn't matter what those from your or my age group think.

Did it ever occur to you to ask those older than you who would know the original series better?

[–] lvrepoman 15 years ago

Are you actually reading my posts? I completely agree that the earlier Dragnet was superior--much superior.

What's the harm in wishing that more people could see the older show? I think many people who think the entire Dragnet franchise as kind of campy would change their minds if they got to see the old shows.

Especially, there are many younger people who enjoy Film Noir who would love the original run of the show. It's just that they have never been exposed to it.

Wouldn't it be great if the Retro Television Network started showing the 1950's Dragnet episodes instead of just showing the color ones?

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] mactach 15 years ago

What makes you think I'm saying the opposite.

Of course it would be great if the older shows aired more often.

[–] jeff_the_dj 14 years ago

I'm 23 years old and I love both shows equally because they both have good things going for them. You can download around 40 episodes of the original series on the internet archive for free because they're in the public domain if anyones interested

We can DO IT ALLLL DAY LONG, (We'll have to pay more for the light bill if we do it at night!)

[–] bradford-1 14 years ago

Is it safe to assume that many younger viewers avoid or ignore the original program because it was in black-and-white? I know VERY few people under 35 with any interest in b&w films or TV shows. I saw many of the original "Dragnets" when they ran in syndication as "Badge 714" in the early to mid-60's.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

[–] lvrepoman 13 years ago

I'm 48 and probably half the shows I grew up with were filmed in B&W. Heck, we didn't get our first color set until I was seven.

I suppose the time is coming when younger people will avoid anything not filmed in HD, then 3D, etc.

Too bad, because as with movies, plenty of quality TV is out there in B&W. I won't watch color Andy Griffith shows--and all of Dick Van Dyke is in B&W.

This does present somewhat of a problem, however. The two shows I just mentioned are all over television. If you have an over-the-air antenna to pick up digital broadcast television, you can get networks like MeTV, Antenna, and RTV, all with plenty of B&W shows.

I think the main problem with Dragnet is that four seasons of color episodes exist. Programmers just automatically gravitate to these. If the 67-70 show had never been filmed, I'll bet we would see the old version.

Or maybe not. Who knows?

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] mactach 13 years ago

Oh come on!

I can see younger people not being interesting in something from an earlier era, lot of older people feel the same about modern day shows. But nobody's gonna avoid a hsow just because it's B&W.

[–] DeepFriedJello 12 years ago

I'm 55 and can't remember an episode without Harry Morgan. I didn't know these exist until tonight. I just saw Sunset Blvd from 1950 with Jack Webb in it, and he looked so young. I can't imagine him a year older as a Joe Friday. I really need to see some of these.

[–] thextguy 12 years ago

There are about 24 episodes of Dragnet (1950's version) you can view on archive.org. You have to download an epiosde, then you can watch it on your computer.

Personally, I think the 1950's version is better than the later color version with Morgan. Dragnet 1950's ran from Dec. 1951 through 1959. Webb was born in 1920 so he is only 31 in the earliest B&W episodes (The Human Bomb, The Big Mother, etc.)

By the time of the color Dragnet series, Webb is in his late 40's, very close to 50. One of the main agendas he wanted to accomplish in the color series was to make parents aware of the exploding drug problem of the late 1960's (that's why he lectures so much on the color series about it).

In the 1950's series he's about going about the business of a Detective Sergeant of the police force. I think he is more relaxed in the black and white series, less stiff. In the B&W series, he has an actual girlfriend who we see and he interacts with. He even mentions his mother in one episode and how she has gone to live with relatives (in the radio series which started in 1949, Joe Friday lived with his mother.)

A girlfriend is mentioned in the color series, in one episode only but we never see her.

[–] epwise 12 years ago

You're wrong. I've known people (younger) who insist they will not watch anything in B&W. There are some who won't watch ANYTHING made before they were born.

[–] mactach 12 years ago

Whatever ep keep it to yourself.

[–] ZoneFighter 9 years ago

You haven't met my 25 year old nephew, he wont watch anything b/w.

[–] sherri_lu 13 years ago

Nothing in Hollywood from the 1950's is in "public domain" public domain last 94 years. You can watch these on DVD from netflix & amazon.

[–] lvrepoman 13 years ago

Things lose copyright protection all the time in less than 94 years. There are a lot of factors that are involved, but simply failing to file copyrights correctly can result in a work falling into the public domain.

One of the most famous examples of this is George Romero's original "Night of the Living Dead," which came out in 1968. He failed dot all of his i's and cross his t's, and the film fell into the public domain. That's why you can find copies of it everywhere available for next to nothing.

I'd recommend that you check out Wikipedia's entry on copyrights and public domain for a better explanation. I don't understand it all.

There are a number of TV shows that fell into the public domain that are actually kind of popular. Episodes of Bonanza, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Lucy Show are all in the public domain because of failures to properly follow through with copyright protection. You can see some of these episodes on low power over the air digital TV stations now. Some of these are really funny because while the show itself is no longer anyone's intellectual property, the music written for the shows is. So you end up with The Beverly Hillbillies and Bonanza without their famous themes.

I actually think this is a good thing. There is no way anyone would show, for instance, "I married Joan" if they had to pay for it. But these stations are able to fill up space for free, and we viewers get a chance to see shows that we would never see otherwise.

With all of the Dragnet compilations (from the 1950's) show out there available from different sources, I am 100% sure that these episodes are no longer protected by copyright. The same is true for almost all of the old-time radio show out there, including Dragnet. Anyone can copy and sell these episodes without fear of any type of legal action. The copyrights are long gone.

I'm not trying to overdo the issue here. I just hope that you can do a little research based on what little I have passed on so you can see what has happened with these shows. Like I said, I generally think that this works out very well for we viewers. I'm having a ball since I put up a TV antenna on my home's roof so I can pick up all these new stations showing programs I hadn't seen in years or never had hopes of seeing.

Hope all of this is mildly interesting.

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

[–] eljefe320 13 years ago

First, the reason the black and white episodes don't air is that Universal hasn't offered them for syndication for 45 years. Basically once they decided to produce color episodes, they withdrew the black and white shows.

Secondly, the copyrights are this. The first 100 shows are PD. The next 100 are under copyright. The remaining shows are a mix with some PD and some under copyright.

[–] kkuger 13 years ago

All that you have to do is move to Milwaukee, WI, and you can watch the 1950's B&W 'Dragnet' on channel 8, WMKE-CA, tuesday afternoon's at 3:30 p.m.

[–] w22nuschler 12 years ago

I'm 42 and really enjoy the 60's Dragnet. It's one of the best shows I have ever seen. My dad liked the 50's show better. I have seen some of the 50's episodes and to me, they are more slow moving. Still, both versions are very good because of the actors and the writing.

[–] LarrupinLou 9 years ago

I'm 46, and I guarantee you that almost everyone from my generation going forward only associates Dragnet with the 60's version. Until relatively recently when they started coming out on DVD, I had never even seen one of the older, B&W shows. In my entire life, I can't recall seeing any of the older shows on television.

Heck, I had heard dozens maybe hundreds of radio Dragnets before I ever saw one of the old TV episodes.

The old shows are in a class by themselves. I'm afraid, however, the many people who might otherwise really enjoy the old shows have had there opinion of Dragnet tainted by the 60's version.

I'm only a year younger than you and my experiences almost mirror yours exactly. Until last year, I had never seen any of the '50s episodes. While I enjoy the '60s show (I can even recall watching it on NBC as a preschooler), the older program is indeed superior.

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] mactach 9 years ago

Another thing to consider is you can't say "Too bad most people associate Dragnet with the later episodes" referring to those who were not around when the original ran.

Those who watched the original are the ones you need to think of because they were the ones who watched it and enjoyed it for 8 years.

[–] ndavlin 11 years ago

I guess I don't understand why you have to like one OR the other. When it started in the 50s, I loved it even though it was on a very small black/white TV. I thought Jack Webb was so compelling. I didn't care for Barney as the sidekick, but did like Ben Alexander when he came on. My favorite episode was with the bomb in the old police building and had to get it out of the building before it exploded. Of course he made it, but it was so exciting for that time. I was so disappointed when it went off the air. Then when it came back in the 60s, I was overjoyed. I liked it just as much, but did enjoy watching in color. I loved Harry Morgan. So whether it was 50s or 60s, I just liked the show and the brilliance of Jack Webb and appreciate each for what each series was. Also enjoyed the movie made in the 60s, I wish I could see that again. Jack Webb took the show so seriously, that's what made all of them successful.

[–] scribe1270 11 years ago

Actually Dragnet started back in the 40's with the radio program. In fact some of the episodes that were made for radio back then were remade 1st in black and white then in color for television.

[–] mactach 11 years ago

No kidding.

That's not the point of the thread anyhow.

[–] ck1-5 10 years ago

Neither is the fact that you're a clueless dick.

[–] 10 years ago

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