Dragnet (1954)

Just the facts . . . The best Dragnet collection!
While there are numerous DVDs with public domain episodes of the original Dragnet television series on the market today, this set (from Brentwood Home Video) is the one to get. Here's why . . .

1. Quantity - The 20 episodes included on this set represent the largest single collection of original Dragnet episodes released to date (August 2003).

2. Price/Value - At a retail of [$$ it is amazing].

3. Variety - There are some very well-known (and "common") episodes included like The Big Seventeen and The Big Producer, but there are some rarer episodes and one, The Big Frame, has not previously appeared on DVD. Since Amazon did not list the episode titles, I am including them below for Dragnet fans so that you can compare this collection of episodes with others:

Episodes - Disc 1/Side A

1. The Big September Man
2. The Big Seventeen
3. The Big Show
4. The Big Break
5. The Big Hands

Episodes - Disc 1/Side B

1. The Big Betty
2. The Big Thief
3...

Dragnet -- The First, The Best -- Jack Webb lives!
Those of us who grew up with and loved the 1960s version of Dragnet are in for a pleasant surprise. The 1950s version is grittier, more true-to-life, and even more "no-nonsense" than the later series. The black-and-white photography makes everything look downbeat and harder, and truly portrays the underside of society, rather than sunny Los Angeles. It's detectives in hats, records in pen and ink, milk in bottles, and cigarettes everywhere. High-tech means sending out a "radiogram." You don't get Friday lecturing hippies, but the 1950s series is, in my opinion, better.

I have many original Dragnet episodes on VHS, but this DVD set is quite a buy. Although some of the episodes have incorrect titles, you cannot beat the price. Fans of the 1960s series will enjoy seeing a rather young Virginia Gregg, a very young Peggy Webber, as well as Art Gilmore, Harry Bartell, a very young Bill Boyett (Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12), Natalie Masters and assorted other actors who formed...

Old "Dragnet" made new
Kudos to Universal Vault series for their bringing this 1954 Warner Bros. movie classic to DVD. I had an old BETA(!)copy that was poorly transferred with washed-out colors. The DVD corrects all that and makes available a classic "police-action" concept from the '50s enjoyable to watch, with all its dated dialog and action intact. Great fun!

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