But that's the last of the action we'll see. No spoilers, but, two officers realize that they were secret racists. Here's writer Alf Harris' kicker - one of the men was black and the other one was white.
Can a television show help people cope with their own inner bigotries? Dragnet says, 'yeah, kinda.'
Let's do this!
"This is the city-- Los Angeles, California.
Twenty-five miles front he heart of the civic center lies the Port of Los Angeles.
It's the largest man-made harbor in the world.
With a fleet of over seven hundred fishing boats, it's become the most important commercial fishing center in the nation.
It's a bustling port which handles goods coming into the country from all over the world.
There are agencies set up to handle most of the harbor's problems.
Occasionally things out of hand in the city.
When they do, I go to work. I carry a badge."
Cops on a boat? I don't remember that episode of Dragnet.
Actually, I don't remember this one, either! Ouch!
First, Art Gilmore is boss (yay!) and he is first to confirm that we will not be chasing any baddies in the harbor.
Bill pops in to concur.
DAMMIT
Hey! Don Ross from latent prints! Who is that other guy? The suit.
DON'T WORRY YOU GUYS
LAKE ARROWHEAD IS A CLOSE SECOND
TO FIGHTING CRIME ON BOATS
They do the "shoot all the same footage for the same location at the same day" in this episode.
Here are our establishing and then closing shots of The U.C. Conference Center:
I will have to redo the above because I missed what's on the other side of the Fairlane.
It seems like Art Director John E. Chilberg, II flexed his budget to make this one look a lot more cosy than our minimalist road trip to Big Bear.
Let's get our time on the red carpet completed so we can mosey over to the cabin set. It has a fireplace!
The red floral patterned sofas are definitely something we have seen before:
Those conference chairs actually look somewhat comfortable.
How about some Cabin exteriors? It's right next door!
It's called "Gate House Cottage."
Brace yourself for sparseness that rivals some of our season one sets.
And that's IT.
There's a floral chair, but just barely:
But that's ok. The set design is made for close ups and two-shots, which seems a bit like most of the episode.
Leonard Stone:
Jack Webb:
Morris Erby?
I THINK SO
And then these two and their gold drum lampshades.
I was just thinking - I really need a big red jacket to close out today's entry.
There you have it!
S3e13
Starred
Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon
Leonard Stone as Sergeant Keith Barrett
Morris Erby as Sergeant Tom Benson
William Boyett as Sergeant Sam Hunter
Walter Brooke as Captain Carl Fuller
Art Gilmore as Captain Larry Walton
Ray Montgomery as Lieutenant John Rule
John Hudson Sergeant Tom Wallen
Sid McCoy as Sergeant Ron Nelson
Marshall Reed as Lieutenant Phil Johnson
Don Ross as Sergeant Scott
Robert Cleaves as Lieutenant Jurgens
Art Direction - John E. Chilberg, II
Set Decor - John McCarthy & John Sturtevant
Costumes - Vincent Dee
Written by Alf Harris
(I'll name all of the actors later.)
Is that a bear rug on your soundstage or are you just happy to see me?
Suzy Dragnet
P.S.
Caption contest? Meme?
"This conference is turning out to be a real drag. Was a lot more fun when Bob Patten and I were working vice up on Mulholland. Not a Tijuana Bible to be found up here. Jeez! At least there's lots of ashtrays and cigarette machines." Kenny P
ReplyDeleteHaha!
DeleteLeonard Stone gets transferred around about as much as Bill and Joe do!
Thanks,
Suzy Dragnet
What's with the statue in /IMG_4608.PNG? Bull riding? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like bull riding crossed with a matador?
DeleteIt sort of looks like a guy stabbing a giant lizard.
A bull rider would be wearing a different sort of hat than a matador. I'm going to cast my vote for giant lizard stabber.
Welcome to the blog!
Suzy Dragnet
Suzy: I have my favorite episodes but to be honest this isn't one of them. If you don't mind I will tell you and the other Dragnet fans which my faves are, in no particular order, with an honorable mention. S. 1, ep. 1: The Big LSD. A classic. Sort of sets the tone for the whole series in this cultural point in time. I love the way near the end the girls tell Joe that Blue Boy is at a party in the hills, and they start looking up in the night sky like they might see him! S.1 ep. 5: Big Masked Bandits. Innappopriate marriage. S 2 ep. 1: The Grenade. Tense action. S2, ep.5: Big Neighbor. Joe has dinner at Bill's house. Neighbors interrupt. Lots of funny, dry humor. S. 3 ep. 22:Vice DR 30: Joe really starts to fall for some floozy. S. 4 ep. 17. The Weekend: Joe and Bill hang out together while Elaine is away. More dry comedy. Love the dry humor, especially when Joe leans against the prop stove, and Bill says "That's hot ya know." Honorable mention: S 1 ep. 10: Big Jade. Lots of nice driving scenes around BelAir. I know you like those also. Kenny P
ReplyDeleteHi KennyP,
DeleteThanks for sharing your list of faves. I don't remember Joe falling for a floozy in S3e22. We'll cover it in the coming weeks.
I'll publish my top ten and top twenty lists when I finish logging episodes.
Cheers,
SD
"two officers realize that they were secret racists ... one of the men was black and the other one was white."
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of that Star Trek episode where Frank Gorshin is running around in the tights with his face half black and half white and has hateful feelings for the other guy in tights whose face is half white and half black. Come to think of it, they put Gorshin in tights when he was the Riddler, too. WHY?
Anyway, that last photo... red jacket. The guy next to him. I've been looking for one of those tan jackets with the plaid lining for years. They don't make them anymore. WHY?
Oh, the imponderable mysteries of the universe.
DeleteTan jackets with plaid linings became sentient and started a colony in another galaxy. Nobody told you?
;)
SD
If you like Art Gilmore, check out the Joe McDoakes short "So You Want To Be A Detective". It's sensational. The star is George (Jetson) O'Hanlon and Gilmore is the narrator, but though he never appears on camera, he becomes a character in the story. It's a spoof of the Robert Montgomery film noir classic, "The Lady In The Lake", which featured the novelty use of an objective camera, which is how Gilmore becomes a character in the film. Also in the cast is Lila Leeds, most famous for being arrested with Robert Mitchum in the late 40's for smoking pot, and Bobby "Bonedust" Young of the Little Rascals, all grown up. You can see it on YouTube and it's only 10 minutes. Well worth your time. You get to see that Art Gilmore has a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteI was curious about when the word negro stopped being used. Came across this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/01/when_did_the_word_negro_become_taboo.html
" According to a 1968 Newsweek poll, more than two-thirds of black Americans still preferred Negro, but black had become the majority preference by 1974. Both the Associated Press and the New York Times abandoned Negro in the 1970s, and by the mid-1980s, even the most hidebound institutions, like the U.S. Supreme Court, had largely stopped using Negro."
Isn't Art Gilmore wearing the exact same suit he was wearing at the end of the previous episode?
ReplyDelete