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Strange how b+w Dragnet is the ultimate 1950s 'lost show'

posted 11 years ago by temp-esq
3 replies | jump to latest

How sad and strange that one of the 1950s most popular shows (one that at the time rivaled "I Love Lucy" and other classic sitcoms) is today lost to history, with only a handful of the B&W episodes floating around (mostly in terrible print condition) on YouTube and quasi-bootleg DVD releases.

The 50s Dragnet is a landmark in film noir- the pre-Freeway Los Angeles of dark alleys, run-down rooming houses, greasy all-night diners, and lost souls.

I'd love to see the complete run of 1950s dragnets. Why can't Universal just yank out the prints, clean them up a bit, and post them online? What good is keeping them in the vault collecting dust?

[–] lvrepoman 10 years ago

Well said.

It's rather interesting to see how Los Angeles is documented over the 60+ years of television history. As you say, you watch the 50's Dragnet with all of its dives and skid row bums and you get the idea that LA was an awful place to live. Then you watch The Rockford Files with all the smog and bad cops, and you get the idea that LA was terrible in the 70's. T.J. Hooker in the 80's made you think LA sucked on too many levels to count. Any LA cop show from the 90's on show how LA is a gang-infested hellhole.

Notice a pattern?

I live in Las Vegas, which is an awful place, mostly because it is so close to LA.....

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

[–] mactach 10 years ago

I don't see why you would think L.A. was a bad place to live back then regardless of what you saw. If it was shot in another city you would of found bad places there as well.

I'm sure it was a great place to live back them and some may tell you it was better back then.

The nerve of some people.

[–] tbonesays 10 years ago

Is that why I have never seen this Dragnet on tv?