1953 Dragnet (Badge 714)

[Richard40171]

This is indeed a rare comic clip from the series. The "bank guard" embellished his role with several gestures, the funniest of which was miming the arrival of the police car. He also mimed the bowling comment and the three numbers on the license plate. Re: Gitfidlpickr, those 2 (DRAGNET & GUNSMOKE) were indeed among the best. Both had anti-plot narratives that I wouldn't be surprised if the influenced cinema narrative, esp. DRAGNET might have influenced PSYCHO.

[OrodesIII]

I watched this before reading that it was your dad who played that part and while I was watching it, I found it about the funniest segment of Dragnet that I have ever seen. This is a gem.

[silentsensei]

@OrodesIII Thank you! It's also the funniest thing my dad ever did. :)

[Gitfidlpickr]

My father watched EVERY episode of Dragnet (we all liked it) and he watched every episode of Gunsmoke at least three or four times. There would be other series but those two were the best ... and Rockford.. that must have run for 25 years also.

[Matthewseven13]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing this!

[acemam1]

who is ur dad in this clip

[ristin59]

It would nice to have the whole episode instead of one section.

[fromthesidelines]

No, that's NOT Frank Nelson; he never appeared on "DRAGNET"- he was under contract to appear regularly on "THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM", sponsored by a rival cigarette manufacturer, American Tobacco [Lucky Strike] {Webb's sponsor was Liggett & Myers (Chesterfield)}. That's Jonathan Hole, who usually portrayed "fussy" types of people in various guest roles on radio and TV during the '50s and '60s [i.e. the "Hoboken Zephyrs'" team physician in a 1960 "TWILIGHT ZONE" episode, "The Mighty Casey"].

[slim195771]

sr video not verry CLEAVER!!

thank you

[celshader]

Is the bank manager Frank Nelson from the Jack Benny show?

He looks and sounds a fair bit like him.

I keep expecting him to say.

'Yeeeesssss?'

[silentsensei]

I believe it is Frank Nelson.

[JHORANX2O]

@celshader he sounds nothing like him

[sethwmd]

This was awesome! Now I want to know if they caught the bandit!

[enigma413]

Very good.

[Bestmanme08]

Great new bio (Charlton Heston: An incredible Life: revised Edition)at amazon! Jack Webb is in bio!

[biographco]

I don't think it's campy, I think it's great!!

[fromthesidelines]

...in fact, MCA managed to squeeze some more money out of those repeats by bundling several episodes together in another "package", retitling them, "CONFIDENTIAL REPORT".

[fromthesidelines]

"DRAGNET" became SO popular, MCA wanted to syndicate the series as soon as possible. However, at the time, there was a custom of retitling TV shows while first-run episodes continued to appear on the network (the better not to confuse the average viewer)- in 1953, the first 39 episodes of "DRAGNET" were released into syndication as "BADGE 714". As soon as more episodes became available "off-network" during the '50s, those were added and retitled as well...

[KC5E]

Weren't all "Dragnet" shows campy and overacted? I never missed one though. You must be proud of your dad. He did a great job for the day. He might have gotten Captain Kirks' role on Star Trek in the sixties. Bill Shatner is famous for overacting.

[arc20051]

Really good episode. You're Dad was great!

[silentsensei]

Dad was 6'4".

[GetMeThere1]

hehe. You're Dad did a GREAT job!

How tall was he? He towered over everyone else.

[jcurtman]

Awesome clip! You must be very proud of your dad. He played the part perfectly! Is he still around?

[silentsensei]

Thank you.

My father passed in 1982.

[AMCfan2007]

This makes me smile... I watched this once as a child and there was a fish with a crazy name on it and my mom asked me what kind of name is that for a fish and I told her that the names had be changed to protect the innocent.

[arc20051]

in 1953? That must have got a different reaction then as it would now I'd imagine.

[ass347]

haha, they talk so fast and in quasi-british accents. i guess that's what people were trained to sound like in the days of radio and early tv.

[Teflon65]

I read somewhere that they called the reruns of Dragnet "Badge 714", because the reruns were being shown, at the same time the 1950s version of Dragnet was still being made. They called it "Badge 714" to distinguish these episodes from the new ones. In a similar vein, reruns of Jack Webb's show, Emergency, were called "Emergency I", when Emergency was still being made.

[fun012345]

Dragnet 1949 NBC RADIO DRAGNET WAS REALISTIC ON RADIO AND TV IT COOL

[PolizeiPaul]

This is so great..^_^ I miss these old shows so much and I'm glad when I find them on DVD. Has anyone saw the Adam12 from the 1980's..I used to watch it too and it was very different from the old 1960's and 1970's ones and L.A.P.D. had the Red/Blue Federal signal Areodynics by then..No more soup can lights LOL.

[hourlynewscaster]

Hey, stop trashing "Dragnet." You have to remember it was a CHILD OF RADIO. Before television it was necessary to have strident dialogue and often stereotypical accents and characters so that people could "see" what was happening. Additionally, we owe a lot to Jack Webb for hiring radio actors to do television. That way we know what many looked like. NBC chided him for using "unknowns" that looked like "average people." He countered: "When a cop finds an 'ordinary person' isn't that the idea?

[silentsensei]

No one is "trashing" Dragnet.

You're preaching to the choir here.

[Escomillo]

Gibson and Allen are SO GAY! That the bank manager can describe the loafers, the shirt, the brown coat... I mean really...

[raymond37148]

back then people looked at how you were dressed, how your suit was pressed if your shoes were shined if you cuffs were frayed, an not so much as gay as they jugded you on how you were dressed not whats on the inside

[Yep11111]

I uploaded Dragnet "1967" S2E1 - The Grenade

Check it out

[arequipa1]

great stuff :)

[reyzaguirr]

the 50's shows are in the public domain, so you could post the rest if you wanted to, the episodes that are still under copyright are from 1967-70.

[silentsensei]

That's good to know.  Thanks.

[silentsensei]

Daddy was 6'4".

[soremongs]

That was absolutely ridiculous...I love it!!

[bxnyfordham]

your father was great! Excellent!

[silentsensei]

Thank you so much!

[Whelt]

Ah I was getting into it, then it ended. Where's the rest?

[AmbientWarrior]

I love Dragnet! Thats awesome about your dad! :)

[tidq]

This is great. You're very fortunate to have a father who's done some stuff as cool as this. I thought he did a great job, as campy as it may be.

[ransomwri]

Gibson is cool!

[TravisNoah]

I love this show. I have a 3 CD Collection of the radio shows. As well as, Pat Novak; for hire. lol, I love the humor in that one. Great stuff. Now, who is your dad I keep reading about on the comments?

[rf396]

Is Pat Novack The Best or what? "Hellman's badge was shining like a lake in Ireland." Patsy, Hellman and Jocko, what a combo!!!

[raymond37148]

Gibson did the right thing that way the police cam get a good description it may be funny but in a robbery you do what the man with a gun says...... sgt friday would tell you the same thing....

[JackGrider]

damn straight.

[bachterman]

sensei! your dad rocks!

[silentsensei]

Thank you!

[barneyblogster]

Well done Gibson !

Who played the role of Gibson ?

[yellowwing]

Geez - Gibson must be a hell of a bowler!

[ewanjf]

Yeah you're dad did really well in that. My dad keeps on saying that tune at the start for building up tension in conversations (he's been doing it for years) and now I have finally found where it came from. 5 stars

[66ranchero]

You're dad did an awesome job! Awesome clip

[silentsensei]

Thank you!

[Jerseysson27]

That is so wicked! Congrats dude. I was on "The sopranos" i was the one in the background eating the pizza in the episode: "Walk like a man".

[vsionary1]

terrific antique clip

[GenericGene]

Great posts - thanks

[wormsoup]

One of them was your dad? Which one?

[silentsensei]

Leon Gibson - the bank security guard.

[wormsoup]

Thanks. He's a good actor. I bet it was exciting to have a actor in the family. Bet you met a lot of stars maybe.

[silentsensei]

Thank you. I was fortunate to meet and grow up with a lot of people in the business. It was a good life.

[wormsoup]

What is your dads acting name? I have seen him in some old tv westerns.

[silentsensei]

Ben Morris in the early days. Ben Chandler later in life. Some of his work is listed on the IMDB.

[wormsoup]

Thank you for answering. I looked but can't seem to find his IMDB under either name. Was he ever in a movie? If he was, who where some of the other stars in the movie? Perhaps I can find his IMDB that way. Thanks.

[silentsensei]

imdb[dot]com[forward slash]name[forward slash]nm0606375

imdb[dot]com[forward slash]name[forward slash]nm0151321

Hope that helps. :)

[wormsoup]

Thanks, I finally found it. Your dad was real busy thru the 50's it seems. Looks like his last acting job was 1960. Did he get tire of acting?

[silentsensei]

He spent most of the rest of his life doing radio news and commercial work. He did a lot of other programs as well; but they're undocumeted on IMDB and difficult to find. I've looked extensively, believe me. Thank you for your interest!

[senatorclaghorn]

The same Ben Morris who worked in Old Time Radio and took over the title role in "Pat Novak for Hire" after Jack Webb left the show?

[silentsensei]

Indeed. :)

[senatorclaghorn]

Well, it is always a pleasure to be able to pass along even indirectly a big "thank you" to someone for the many OTR shows I enjoy each day. I have somewhere between 20 and 30 thousand episodes and they are a true and constant companion for me as I go about my work as a truck driver each day. Just wanted to let you know the work of your father and so many others all those decades ago still lives on and provides enjoyment for a great many of us out here.

[silentsensei]

Thank you so much for your comments! They really brightened my day!  It was very kind of you to take the time to let me know that you appreciate my father's work in radio. I will pass your words along to my mother. I know she will appreciate them as well.

[rf396]

That's Ben Morris? Hmmmmm he sounded more hardboiled in Novack.

[seppojustnow]

Thank you! I love Sgt. Friday. And your dad is cool. We always looked forward to this show--back in the day.

[silentsensei]

Thank you!  It was one of my favorite shows as well.

[fromthesidelines]

When the first 39 episodes of "DRAGNET" was syndicated to local stations in 1954, the title of those repeats had to be changed, as the original "DRAGNET" was still appearing on NBC in prime-time. So the series became "BADGE 714" on local stations throughout the '50s and early '60s, eventually adding the remaining episodes as they went off-network.

[silentsensei]

A very interesting piece of trivia! Thank you for putting it in a comment!

[JackGrider]

too bad you can't post the whole episode. Love DRAGNET

thanks for the post.

[silentsensei]

Thank you for watching and commenting!

[internetguruking]

I think he did a supurb job of acting!

[silentsensei]

Thank you!

[jameszerukjr]

I like Leon, he looks very familiar, what else had he been in?

[silentsensei]

Many of the shows he was in are listed on IMDB.  He was in several Dragnet episodes, Lassie, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Zane Gray Theater, Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel, etc.

[HobokenDave]

Delightful clip!!! Thank you for posting this.  Your father was OUTSTANDING!!

[silentsensei]

Thank you! That's very kind of you to say!