This show was solid, hard-hitting, and real.
I read the autobiography of Thomas Redden (I am pretty sure that was his name), the L.A. Chief Of Police when Draget was on the air. He said that Jack Webb invited him to the set one day. Webb asked Redden to let him know if anything was amiss. Redden said that he was astounded at what he saw. The set he mentioned was the set where Friday and Gannon sat at the tables, discussing cases, going over evidence, etc. Redden said that the set was 100% accurate, down to the location of the ash trays on the tables.
Jack Webb was a stickler for accuracy. That shines through in the shows. From what I've heard, the procedures shown in Dragnet are still pretty accurate, and were very accurate for those days. Dragnet hold up well, even though it's been almost 40 years since Jack Webb last appeared as Joe Friday.
I read the autobiography of Thomas Redden (I am pretty sure that was his name), the L.A. Chief Of Police when Draget was on the air. He said that Jack Webb invited him to the set one day. Webb asked Redden to let him know if anything was amiss. Redden said that he was astounded at what he saw. The set he mentioned was the set where Friday and Gannon sat at the tables, discussing cases, going over evidence, etc. Redden said that the set was 100% accurate, down to the location of the ash trays on the tables.
Jack Webb was a stickler for accuracy. That shines through in the shows. From what I've heard, the procedures shown in Dragnet are still pretty accurate, and were very accurate for those days. Dragnet hold up well, even though it's been almost 40 years since Jack Webb last appeared as Joe Friday.