Dragnet (1987 film)
Encyclopedia
Dragnet is a 1987 film comedy starring Dan Aykroyd
and Tom Hanks
, directed by Tom Mankiewicz
, based on the television crime drama of the same name starring Jack Webb
. The screenplay is written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel
and Mankiewicz. The original music score is by Ira Newborn
. The film was marketed with the tagline "Just the Facts."
At Rotten Tomatoes
, the film has a 46% composite score.
and homage
to the long-running Dragnet
television series, Aykroyd plays Joe Friday
(nephew of the original star of the series) while Hanks plays Pep Streebek, his new partner.
Harry Morgan
reprises his role of Bill Gannon (partner of Friday's late uncle), having been promoted to captain. Alexandra Paul
plays Friday's love interest, while Christopher Plummer
plays the villain, a soft-spoken televangelist, who secretly runs a cult of Pagan anarchists. Dabney Coleman
plays the publisher of a skin magazine
called Bait.
As did the TV series, the movie begins with Sergeant Friday's voice-over narration about Los Angeles
and (nearly) ends with a mug shot
of the villain and a stern voice-over describing the sentencing.
The title credits featured an update to the series original theme by the British group Art of Noise. They set the Dragnet theme against a hip-hop style breakbeat
with soundbites such as Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" timed to the music.
The soundtrack includes an original song, "City of Crime." The track features a hip-hop style collaboration between Aykroyd and Hanks that is performed with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and guitarist Pat Thrall
. The track is played over the film's closing credits. The best selling single also had a music video shot for the track, which was played in heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of 1987.
Sgt. Joe Friday's nephew and namesake (Dan Aykroyd
), whose anachronistic views reflect those of his late uncle, is involuntarily assigned to a smart-alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebek (Tom Hanks
). Their contrasting styles clash at first, Friday disapproving of his young partner's attitude, hair, and wardrobe, but they gradually bond over their first case as a team, an investigation of a series of bizarre thefts involving items as disparate as a tanker full of chemicals, a wedding dress, a lion's mane, and the entire monthly print run of the pornographic magazine "Bait".
The cops follow the trail to an Orange County-based cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness And Normalcy). Friday and Streebek focus on one of the cult's henchmen, a brutish limousine driver named Emil Muzz (Jack O'Halloran
).
An informer tells them that a local milk factory is being used by the P.A.G.A.N.s to mass-produce a toxic gas made from the chemicals they stole. Friday and Streebek commandeer a police tank and use it for a destructive raid of the factory, which turns out to really be producing only milk-- the real gas factory being next door.
Friday and Streebek disguise themselves and sneak into a secret P.A.G.A.N. ceremony where they witness the masked P.A.G.A.N leader attempting to sacrifice a virgin, Miss Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul
). Friday and Streebek disrupt the ceremony and save Swail from being eaten by a pair of giant snakes. In the process, Swail and Friday discover a mutual attraction and he invites her to join him at a birthday dinner for his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mundy. To Friday's chagrin, Streebek crashes the dinner party, but his partner charms Granny Mundy with his outgoing demeanor.
At a restaurant, Connie identifies a fellow patron, the televangelist Reverend Dr. Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer
), as the P.A.G.A.N. leader. This puts Friday and Streebek in a difficult position, since Whirley is not only a highly respected community leader, but he is also currently dining with their boss, Capt. Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan
), and Police Commissioner Kirkpatrick (Elizabeth Ashley
), a personal friend of the Reverend. Despite Whirley's political influence and Streebek's warnings, Friday tries to publicly arrest Whirley, which motivates Kirkpatrick to suspend Friday and order Gannon to take Streebek off the case.
In retaliation, Connie is kidnapped by Whirley and taken to the estate of pornography magnate Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman
), whose business has become so infiltrated by the cult that his mansion has become its de facto headquarters.
Gannon reinstates Friday, who leads a S.W.A.T. team along with Streebek in a raid on Caesar's mansion. During the ensuing shootout between the P.A.G.A.N.s and the police, Whirley takes Connie hostage and escapes to the airport, where he takes off in his private Learjet. His getaway ends when Friday pursues him in a police T-38 jet, forcing him to return to Los Angeles and land.
An epilogue reveals that Friday is still working with Streebek and dating Connie; his smirk in response to Streebek's question about her virginity hints that the couple may have started a physical relationship.
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, directed by Tom Mankiewicz
Tom Mankiewicz
Thomas Frank Mankiewicz was a screenwriter/director/producer of motion pictures and television, perhaps best known for his work on the James Bond films and his contributions to Superman: The Movie and the television series, Hart to Hart.-Early life and career:Mankiewicz was born in Los Angeles on...
, based on the television crime drama of the same name starring Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
. The screenplay is written by Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel
Alan Zweibel
Alan Zweibel is an American producer and writer who has worked on such productions as Saturday Night Live, PBS' Great Performances, and It's Garry Shandling's Show.-Early life:...
and Mankiewicz. The original music score is by Ira Newborn
Ira Newborn
Ira Newborn is an American musician and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks....
. The film was marketed with the tagline "Just the Facts."
At Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has a 46% composite score.
Overview
Acting as both a parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the long-running Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
television series, Aykroyd plays Joe Friday
Joe Friday
Detective Sergeant Joe Friday is a fictional detective of the LAPD.-Original Series:The Joe Friday character was created and played by American actor, television producer, and writer Jack Webb on Dragnet...
(nephew of the original star of the series) while Hanks plays Pep Streebek, his new partner.
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
reprises his role of Bill Gannon (partner of Friday's late uncle), having been promoted to captain. Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992–97. She has starred in over 60 movies and television programs.-Personal life:...
plays Friday's love interest, while Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
plays the villain, a soft-spoken televangelist, who secretly runs a cult of Pagan anarchists. Dabney Coleman
Dabney Coleman
Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...
plays the publisher of a skin magazine
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
called Bait.
As did the TV series, the movie begins with Sergeant Friday's voice-over narration about Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and (nearly) ends with a mug shot
Mug shot
A mug shot, mugshot or booking photograph, is a photographic portrait taken after one is arrested. The purpose of the mug shot is to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of the arrested individual to allow for identification by victims and investigators. Most mug shots are two-part,...
of the villain and a stern voice-over describing the sentencing.
The title credits featured an update to the series original theme by the British group Art of Noise. They set the Dragnet theme against a hip-hop style breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
with soundbites such as Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" timed to the music.
The soundtrack includes an original song, "City of Crime." The track features a hip-hop style collaboration between Aykroyd and Hanks that is performed with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and guitarist Pat Thrall
Pat Thrall
Pat Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall is a native of the San Francisco area, and began his recording career in 1972. He played guiatar,vocals and percussion with the group Cookin Mama album: new day , that also had this brother Preston Thrall on percussion.Thrall has worked with former...
. The track is played over the film's closing credits. The best selling single also had a music video shot for the track, which was played in heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of 1987.
Plot
LAPDLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
Sgt. Joe Friday's nephew and namesake (Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
), whose anachronistic views reflect those of his late uncle, is involuntarily assigned to a smart-alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebek (Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
). Their contrasting styles clash at first, Friday disapproving of his young partner's attitude, hair, and wardrobe, but they gradually bond over their first case as a team, an investigation of a series of bizarre thefts involving items as disparate as a tanker full of chemicals, a wedding dress, a lion's mane, and the entire monthly print run of the pornographic magazine "Bait".
The cops follow the trail to an Orange County-based cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness And Normalcy). Friday and Streebek focus on one of the cult's henchmen, a brutish limousine driver named Emil Muzz (Jack O'Halloran
Jack O'Halloran
Jack O'Halloran is an American ex-boxer and actor.-Boxing:O'Halloran was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran out of Boston, Massachusetts, he was a heavyweight boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974...
).
An informer tells them that a local milk factory is being used by the P.A.G.A.N.s to mass-produce a toxic gas made from the chemicals they stole. Friday and Streebek commandeer a police tank and use it for a destructive raid of the factory, which turns out to really be producing only milk-- the real gas factory being next door.
Friday and Streebek disguise themselves and sneak into a secret P.A.G.A.N. ceremony where they witness the masked P.A.G.A.N leader attempting to sacrifice a virgin, Miss Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Paul
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992–97. She has starred in over 60 movies and television programs.-Personal life:...
). Friday and Streebek disrupt the ceremony and save Swail from being eaten by a pair of giant snakes. In the process, Swail and Friday discover a mutual attraction and he invites her to join him at a birthday dinner for his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mundy. To Friday's chagrin, Streebek crashes the dinner party, but his partner charms Granny Mundy with his outgoing demeanor.
At a restaurant, Connie identifies a fellow patron, the televangelist Reverend Dr. Jonathan Whirley (Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
), as the P.A.G.A.N. leader. This puts Friday and Streebek in a difficult position, since Whirley is not only a highly respected community leader, but he is also currently dining with their boss, Capt. Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey...
), and Police Commissioner Kirkpatrick (Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:...
), a personal friend of the Reverend. Despite Whirley's political influence and Streebek's warnings, Friday tries to publicly arrest Whirley, which motivates Kirkpatrick to suspend Friday and order Gannon to take Streebek off the case.
In retaliation, Connie is kidnapped by Whirley and taken to the estate of pornography magnate Jerry Caesar (Dabney Coleman
Dabney Coleman
Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary...
), whose business has become so infiltrated by the cult that his mansion has become its de facto headquarters.
Gannon reinstates Friday, who leads a S.W.A.T. team along with Streebek in a raid on Caesar's mansion. During the ensuing shootout between the P.A.G.A.N.s and the police, Whirley takes Connie hostage and escapes to the airport, where he takes off in his private Learjet. His getaway ends when Friday pursues him in a police T-38 jet, forcing him to return to Los Angeles and land.
An epilogue reveals that Friday is still working with Streebek and dating Connie; his smirk in response to Streebek's question about her virginity hints that the couple may have started a physical relationship.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dan Aykroyd Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early... |
Sgt. Joe Friday |
| Tom Hanks Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title... |
Det. Pep Streebek |
| Christopher Plummer Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five... |
Reverend Jonathan Whirley |
| Harry Morgan Harry Morgan Harry Morgan is an American actor. Morgan is well-known for his roles as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H , Pete Porter on both Pete and Gladys and December Bride , Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet , and Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey... |
Captain Bill Gannon |
| Alexandra Paul Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992–97. She has starred in over 60 movies and television programs.-Personal life:... |
The Virgin Connie Swail |
| Jack O'Halloran Jack O'Halloran Jack O'Halloran is an American ex-boxer and actor.-Boxing:O'Halloran was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fighting as "Irish" Jack O'Halloran out of Boston, Massachusetts, he was a heavyweight boxing contender active from 1966 to 1974... |
Emil Muzz |
| Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ashley Elizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:... |
Commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick |
| Dabney Coleman Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman is an American actor, best known for his roles in 9 to 5, WarGames, You've Got Mail, Sworn to Silence, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of Principal Peter Prickly in Recess and Recess: School's Out.-Early life:Coleman was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary... |
Jerry Caesar |
| Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois... |
Enid Borden |
| Bruce Gray Bruce Gray Bruce Gray is a Puerto Rican-born Canadian actor.-Early years:Gray was born Robert Bruce Gray in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Canadian parents... |
Mayor Peter Parvin |
| Lenka Peterson Lenka Peterson Lenka Peterson is an actress of stage, film and television.On Broadway, Peterson's roles included Ella in Sundown Beach , Maude in The Grass Harp , Kitty in The Time of Your Life , Sally and Mary in All the Way Home , Rose in Nuts , and Sarah in Quilters ,... |
Granny Mundy |
External links
- Video of the Art of Noise performing Dragnet