Saturday, January 11, 2014

Public Affairs - DR-12 or Secret Service!

If ever Mark VII Productions were going to make an episode of Dragnet about the Secret Service this is it. It's a wonderful production. Olan Soule is back to get us ready for the upcoming TV debut of Dragnet 1966. It's nice to see him back along alongside a chorus line of veteran cast members. Big Mean Carl even gets some screen time.

I give it a Top Ten tag because an intersection between the LAPD and The Secret Service is such a strange thing to dramatize in the first place.

























Oh-oh…the next scene is a room full of actors. This is going to take forever to edit!






I can operate a radio AND point up like Henry Corden.



And look at me! I've got blueprints!


MIGHTY FINE





While we're at Parker Center, let's drop on in at SID (Scientific Investigation Divison) - 


First question:
Where did this eagle come from?



Go tell Suzy to put the stills in order of the episode!


OKAY WE WILL GO TELL EVERYONE AT THE MEETING






The Presidential Suite set is the coolest we will see, probably - Great work by Art Director John E. Chilberg, II - 

Here is the corridor leading to and from - 


This is one groovy hotel corridor!
The doorbell is in a brass rosette!
There's a stone wall being artfully taken over by some plant life.


The wallpaper and double entry doors are aggressively styled.
No idea what is going on with that black and white pattern, like a shoji screen or glass?

Oh. Glass.








Radioactive Eagle Time!!




 

This wall is nice - the 1/2 fireplace is pretty avant garde. I like the roman bricks in stacked bond like that.
Very modern.


Ninth floor corridor:


Olan Soule gets to use the Geiger Counter!!! 
PERFECT


Robert Clarke is back being a total tool!


ROBERT CLARKE YOU ARE A TOOL

I hope he never leaves Dragnet. I love all of his characters!


SUZY DONE LOST HER MIND



And lastly, let's cruise over to the press junket at LAX:




That is some old LAX Theme Building footage.




 

We witness a tender moment between Joe and Agent Roger Franke:
He falls asleep holding his coffee. Awh.




















S3e8

Aired 14 November 1968 // Johnson Administration

Starred
Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon
Lew Brown as Agent Roger Franke
Clark Howat as Captain Shannon
Art Gilmore as Captain Colwell
Edward Faulkner as Agent Jim Shepheard
Douglas Kennedy as Inspector Mills
Byron Morrow as Inspector McAllister
Ed Deemer as Sergeant Sherman
Olan Soule as Ray Murray
Vince Williams as Harry
Robert Clarke as Roomer
Bill Baldwin as First Newsman
Chuck Bowman as Second Newsman

Additional Cast:


Art Direction - John E. Chilberg, II
Set Decor - John McCarthy & John Sturtevant
Costumes - Vincent Dee

Written by Jerry Cohen & James Doherty

Looking forward to seeing you in the comments section,
Suzy Dragnet

6 comments:

  1. Strong episode. I particularly like it because it's heavy on Lew Brown, plus it gives me a new band name: Radioactive Eagle.

    Also, is it just me, Suzy, or did you skip a week? If so, hope everything is okay.

    Regards,
    -WM

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, WM! Welcome back.

      Yes, yes, I am one episode behind. I'm a Capricorn II, so maybe I partied a little too hard…
      I backdated this episode and will backdate the one that is supposed to be "due" today.
      So slack!!
      Glad you are back, always good to see you.

      Best,
      Suzy Dragnet

      Delete
  2. I like the way Friday keeps getting recruited for the Secret Service. That's a mighty impressive work ethic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The pouring rain and the ground around the plane is completely dry... totally unwatchable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What was President Johnson going to talk about at his press conference? Here are a few candidates...
    Well, in November 1968, Operation Rolling Thunder came to an end. The US lost over 900 aircraft with over 800 pilots dead or MIA with hundreds in captivity. On November 5, Richard Nixon was elected president and the Paris Peace Talks were called off less than 24 hours before they were to open.
    NASA announced they would launch Apollo 8 which would carry three astronauts to orbit the Moon and look for a good landing spot for Apollo 11. The Soviets launched Zond 6 to circle the Moon and succeeded in killing the biological specimens onboard, but did bring back some nice color photos of the Moon.
    I'd like to think President Johnson focused on the birth of actor/comedian Tracy Morgan on November 10, in the Bronx.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good Grief! Olan Soule's gieger counter jumps off the scale on the eagle plaque and the two guys that come to remove it from the wall grab it with their bare hands. Then one literally holds it right over his groin as he purposefully strides from the room.

    After the eagle incident, I'd want Olan and his geiger counter to check out the Presidential seal before I had anything to do with it.

    ReplyDelete