I loved towards the end of the movie when Joe Friday simply calls her "Connie Swail", and Pep says "Don't you mean 'The Virgin Connie Swail?". The smirk on Akroyd's face as Joe is priceless.
@@larrybremer4930 I was a bit disappointed Minty didn't mention that. It was a great close to a funny movie. I always liked how they turned a serious TV show into a comedy, yet were still able to honor the original. Putting Harry Morgan in there was brilliant too.
I'll never forget the day I was old enough to get that joke. As a young child we always laughed, because we knew there was a joke there by the way the music came on, but after not watching it for years than putting it on when I was 16 or so, I finally got it and couldn't stop laughing.
I love this film I thought it was naughty & hilarious when I was a kid. I was already big a fanof Dan Akroyd & Tom Hanks. They could totally reboot this & check in on the characters like bringing down the producer of reality shows who runs a human trafficking operation.
Nowadays, "Dragnet" would likely refer to a TV network for drag queens. Plus, the original radio show and TV series from the 1950s kickstarted the whole "copaganda" phenomenon, as explained by iilluminaughtii, and while Tom's career would go on to even greater heights, Dan's career would hit the skids. If I'm following correctly, Dan's character Joe Friday (the nephew of the character of the same name originated by Jack Webb), following a three-month screening process in 1973, joined the LAPD in February 1974 and graduated from the Academy in June/July 1974 after a 20-week training course (which would be around the same time his namesake uncle retired from the LAPD). After his six-month-long field assessment ended in December 1974, he would progress from PO1 to PO2 and join the Robbery-Homicide Division, where he would meet his partner for the next 12 years, Frank Smith. From there, he would progress to PO3 in August 1979, Det. I in September 1984, and Det. II in March 1986.
@@andrewbloom7637 I always thought it was hysterical all the way back to when I became aware of it in the early 80's that the number on the badge, 714, was the same number that was stamped on Quaalude's. No doubt that's something that slipped past Jack Webb, but I'll guarantee you it wasn't lost on Aykroyd.
I came here to post something similar. I genuinely think this movie was where I gained an understanding as a child of what "on-screen chemistry" even meant, as I would sometimes re-watch parts of this movie just to see those two interacting.
There was another (criminally underrated) Aykroyd buddy cop movie in 1990, with Gene Hackman, called Loose Cannons. I'd love to see it in your show sometime, Minty.
Not only was Harry Morgan (as Captain Gannon) in the movie, but when Dan Aykroyd walks into headquarters at the start of the movie there is a mural in which squad car Adam-12 is featured. Dan Aykroyd is an expert in nostalgia.
You can see the photo of the original stars behind Harry at his desk. Danny also allegedly carries a police badge on him at all times. Part OCD, part security talisman or something.
I remember seeing this in at the movie theater. I initially thought it was okay but as I grew up I appreciated the humor even more. You can't mention this movie without mentioning Dabney Coleman who was everywhere during the 80s and 90s
Glad you covered this film! I know it isn't the best dated film from the 80s, but I love Aykroyd's lightning fast delivery, Hanks playing funny Tom Hanks before all the critical acclaim and how the film is really a great tour of the city of Los Angeles. It still is pretty funny and worth the time of any fans of 80s comedies.
Dragnet was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, thanks to Nick at Night. This movie with Dan Aykroyd (my favorite Ghostbuster - which is my favorite movie of all time) is just icing on the cake! I always read that his love of Dragnet, and Jack Webb, really influenced his characters, in having them spout of a ton of information in a fast dead pan manner.
@roopjm What year were you born? I was born in 1982 and also loved this show on Nick at Night. Did you watch Get Smart? Mel Brooks wrote for that series and it is still easily one of the funniest shows ever, and so incredibly clever! I miss when TV was actually smart…
@@Catmom-gl5nt i was born in 1981. I LOVED Get Smart, it was my identity in like 5th grade! Nick at Nite had such great shows. Especially the best of SNL when it showed us all the classic original cast
@roopjm Someone after my own heart! Yes, classic SNL, poor Mr. Bill… Did you ever watch Car 54? Now, I want to binge classic television. So much better than the dreck we have now. Can you believe we grew up basically nothing to watch after 10:00? And less than 10 channels including cable 😂. I still remember my grandmother’s tv that had to have its channels manually changed.
Absolutely one of my all time favorite movies growing up. I was kind of hoping you would have covered how Dabney Coleman got involved. He was one of my favorites back in the day. Excellent actor.
Love this movie, shame it's so forgotten, well done sir. The Dragnet radio shows are available on the Internet Archive at Old Time Radio. Bit of a hoot if you're into that kind of thing. Note: Gunsmoke radio shows are amazing.
I wanted to see it in the theaters, but my parents refused. They did rent it for us when it came out on video. It was one of my favorite movies and one of the most quotable. I still shout out "Look out, Muppets!" or "Blow it out your pants, COP!" to this day.
I loved this movie. I got the DVD and haven't watched it in a while. After seeing this episode I'm now going to start watching it. Thanks for this Minty!
The whole scene where Friday and Streebek are talking to the landlady Enid Borden always had me rolling as a kid. I used to rewind that part multiple times.
I absolutely love this movie. It's actually a 4th if July tradition at my house because one year it was 2 hours until dark when we could light off our fireworks and we needed a movie to watch. Still doing it 35 years later. Oh, and "Look out! Muppets!" is a highly underrated comedy quote.
One particular episode of the original Dragnet series dealt with the ever-growing problem of narcotics. It was called "Blue Boy Takes Up Gardening" and was about this young man who was so strung out and died of overdose by the end.
"Not that it's any of your business, Mr. National Inquirer. But I had the pleasure of spending a quiet evening in the company of Connie Swall." "Wait a minute. Don't you mean The Virgin Connie Swall?" [Dragnet theme starts and Joe gives a raised eyebrow] One of the best movie endings ever.
Great video. I saw the TV version of this a lot growing up and have often wondered why they never made a sequel. I loved the relationship between Hanks and Akroyd and wanted to see more of it.
This movie is like all my favorite things put together. I'm a huge fan of old time radio and have been since the late 80s. Of course any kids born in the 80s has a soft spot for both Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) and Hanks (Big, 'Burbs). All those movies are pure MAGIC and so it this. Somehow, I didn't find out about this movie until maybe the late 2000s, 2010s when I started collecting VHS. It was such an amazing find.
Aykroyd is brilliant. Sadly I didn't see this in the theater and I regret it. I DO remember being in a movie theater (they were AWESOME back then) and seeing all the cardboard adverts around, not just the posters. I remember seeing the poster for Dragnet AND the cardboard standee for Robocop. For Robocop, I remember thinking "Oh my God, that looks so dumb!" Boy, was I wrong.
I remember this being on TV so much during the early nineties. Although not the most memorable movie of that era for me, I still have fond memories of it.
@@xerothedarkstar Hell yes! For some reason one of the funniest bits is where the crazy neighbour Mark Rumsfeld threatens to staple the ass shut of the dog that keeps crapping on his lawn 😂
Oh Man, you just took me back. This was my very first date Movie. We ate at McDonald's and then went to see the Movie. I remember being so nervous but when the movie started we just laughed and laughed. It was a good date. Sherry Morrison were ever you are out there. Thank You Matt.
I have such fond memories of seeing this ridiculous movie on vhs as a kid one day when we were skipping school and going through my Dad's movie collection. Great times.
I put this in the same category as another Dan Aykroyd movie that also doesn't seem to get the love it deserves, Spies Like Us. They both have that unmistakeably 80's comedy vibe and in my opinion are two of his best outside of Ghostbusters.
Glad you discussed the popularity of the theme music. It was basically a meme before memes were on the internet. I best remember it from Pitfall! and the Tums commercials.
I really enjoyed "Dragnet!" This was such a great movie and the pairing of both Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks was just gold! Their styles were perfect for their characters! I wish both of them did more movies together. ✌️😎
Saw it on video as a kid, cuz I loved Tom and Dan back in the day. Watched the 6os version a lot on Nick at Nite. The snake scene and the Pagan Party rocked.
“The virgin Connie Swail” is a running gag/setup for the final line of the movie where Friday refers to her as Connie Swail. Streebek responds, “don’t you mean the virgin Connie Swail?” Friday turns toward Streebek (cue music)
One of my favorite movies of the 80's! By the way...very cool Calvin Candie shirt! Django is another one of my faves, I can watch it over and over and never got tired of it.
My brother and I used to watch the VHS tape of this movie all the freaking time! I remember going to the tape shelf and just defaulting to Dragnet so many times!
I saw Dragnet on Netflix and I think its pretty enjoyable. Sure it's no Lethal Weapon, Tango & Cash or Beverly Hills Cop, but this is actually a decent entry in the 80s action comedy/Buddy Cop genre. In my opinion Tom Hanks really stole the show too. I also like how Dan Aykroyd plays a serious no/nonsense cop while Tom Hanks is more of a chill and laid back dude, rather than reusing the Riggs and Murtaugh formula of a pairing a loose cannon cop and a by the books officer.
Personally. I do think it is a classic in my eyes. I wish this version had a sequel. I wish more Dan Akroyd projects would come out in general. And remember to always be polite when asking for a Snickers & Chewing Gum. Or else it's the draw for you Sonny. (Nes Manga)
This brings back some very fond memories of watching this with my grandfather. I recently saw this available on Prime and introduced my kids to it and they really liked it.
Fun Fact about the TV series, Webb wanted as much realism as possible. All the cases depicted were closed cases from law enforcement agencies all over the country
You may want to look into an US show called "The Master" from 1984. It only ran for 13 episodes. But it caused quite a stir in Europe and the UK. As the show made the Ninja throwing stars rather popular with kids at the time. I believe the show even got banned in several countries. This uproar caused a whole backlash on anything ninja because of the violence on the show. And was most likely (directly or indirectly) the reason Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became Hero Turtles in the UK. And why the Ninja scene was deleted from the movie in de UK.
Not ever mentioned or shown up close in Ghostbusters, the characters wear an expensive SEIKO Voice Note watch that is often sought after by fans. Love Dragnet! Awesome video, Minty!
Ironically, Jack Webb got his inspiration from an acting job he did for a movie called He walked by night staring Richard Basehart. A film noir from 1948. Webb used that movie as inspiration for Dragnet.
I must have watched that movie more than a dozent times in the 90s 😀 Weak bulls don't bite.... Well bulls is a german slang word for the police ;-D So it could be translated "Weak Coppers Don't Get You"
In the 80's and early 90's the UK's British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) technically didn't ban nunchucks outright. Bizarrely they only banned then with a chain connecting them. So the TMNT cartoon just made Michelangelo's Nunchucks connect by a rope in post production. Same with the 1990 life action movie, they changed them to be connected by a rope and not a chain. The BBFC have always been a bit weird with what they will and wont allow on screen.
I used to love this film as a kid but the last time I tried to watch it I was disappointed... Which disappointed me 😂. Still has an epic theme tune though! Point of interest, the nunchuck scene and where the young thug tries to take Friday's head off with a spin kick were only edited out in TV broadcasts. The VHS tapes you could rent or buy still had all those scenes intact. Same goes for Weekend at Bernie's. Maybe I just wasn't in a good place at the time and need to rewatch them both again in the spirit of fairness. Great video, Minty!
Another movie Dad took me to the movie theater to see, when I was probably too young. But I definitely remember it, even if I haven't seen much of it since other than in passing.
As a kid I remember "look out! Muppets!" followed by the slow-motion crash through the huge stacks of stuffed animals making me laugh so hard I could not breathe. Good times.
I loved DRAGNAT since I was a kid and teaming up Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd as these two cops is so hilarious! By the way: In Germany, nobody knew about the DRAGNAT Series at the time when the movie has been released. So, for the distributers it probably would not have made any sense to go for the original title because nobody would have been able to identify with „the brand“ DRAGNAT. Moreover, on the other hand it is quite a common thing in Germany and the German speaking territories “to Germanise” foreign movie titles. Or at least to add a ridiculous German explanatory title after the original title of the movie. In German the word BULLEN is indeed a metaphor (or even a swearword) for cops. So, although both Aykroyd and Hanks were already huge stars in the 80s, I guess the German distributers wanted to add a funny, catchy supplement to the "for us" unkown DRAGNET brand and mixed the phrase thoroughly with the proverb “Dogs that bark don't bite” --> “Limp cops don't bite = Schlappe Bullen beissen nicht”). Whatever that was supposed to mean... That´s quite annoying because lots of these additional German titles often make no sense. For instance with movie titles like: “Escape from N.Y. = DIE KLAPPERSCHLANGE“ (-> which means: THE RATTLESNAKE) „Dawn of the dead = ZOMBIES IM KAUFHAUS“ (-> which means: ZOMBIES IN THE MALL) „Stripes = ICH GLAUB’ MICH KNUTSCHT EIN ELCH!“ (-> which means: I THINK I'M BEING SMOOCHED BY A MOOSE) „Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind = VERGISS MEIN NICHT!“ (-> which means: DON'T FORGET MINE) „The Pacifier = DER BABYNATOR“ (...THE BABYNATOR ?!) „Wag the dog = Wenn der Schwanz mit dem Hund wedelt“ (-> which means: WHEN THE TAIL WAGS THE DOG) „Quigley Down Under = QUIGLEY, DER AUSTRALIER“ (-> which means: QUIGLEY, THE AUSTRALIAN. although the protagonist is an American sniper!) And of course „Die Hard = Stirb Langsam“ (-> which means: DIE SLOWLY…!!!) It´s such nonsense, you should make a whole standalone Video about this 🤣 Greetings from Berlin (which is the capitol of Germany) See ya! 😅
When it came out I took my 2 littlest nieces to see it. They had never even heard of the old TV show, so half the humor in the film went right over their heads.
When Dragnet got green lit by the studio John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were who the script was originally written for. Unfortunately, John died of a drug overdose and a replacement had to be found. Tom Hanks did a great job but next time you watch the movie think about John Belushi and how different the Pep Streebek lines would come across. Like the introduction to the character and the Pagan party... We missed out hugely.
This movie is hella underrated! I always enjoy giving this movie a watch. (The music that plays while the credits roll is epic, a hip-hop track performed by a Blues Brother)
