Product Details

• Actors: Jack Webb, George Fenneman, Hal Gibney, Ben Alexander, Olan Soule
• Directors: Jack Webb
• Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Alpha Video
• DVD Release Date: January 21, 2003
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000087F1X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,625 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Dragnet, Volume 1" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Just the facts. Starring Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday and Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith, "Dragnet" was the most popular detective series of the 1950s. It aired weekly on NBC from 1952 to 1959 in its first run and influenced countless police shows to come, including today's real life crime show "Cops." It spawned a movie version in 1954 and again in 1987 with Dan Aykroyd.

Episode 1: A wave of thefts along a 10 block area of Wilshire Boulevard. Looks like the work of a kleptomaniac.

Episode 2: A hit-and-run turns into murder when the victims die. A grandmother and grandson.

Episode 3: An abandoned baby at a bus depot. Seven weeks old. No leads.

Episode 4: Four-year-old twins are missing, last seen playing in the park. Distraught mother. Star Jack Webb directs.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 1950s Dragnet series is a winner April 10, 2003

By Robert Huggins VINE™ VOICE

This might not be the very best Dragnet DVD available on the market today, but it does feature four good episodes, including:

1. The Big Show
2. The Big Shoplift
3. The Big Hit-Run Killer
4. The Big Crime

Dragnet focused on the methodical procedures used by the police to solve cases and employed a documentary film approach to tell its stories. The 1950s black & white version of Dragnet is generally recognized as being superior to the color version that appeared in the late 1960s and was largely based on the radio version of Dragnet that began in the late 1940s. Although Sgt. Joe Friday (Dragnet creator Jack Webb) had several different partners in the 1950s series, all episodes on this DVD feature Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith, arguably Friday's best known partner, and certainly the best known of the 1950s version.

All of the episodes included are in the public domain and so you will find them on other Dragnet DVDs. However, the episode "The Big Crime" is tougher to find than the others and deals with the crime of child molestation, which is somewhat surprising to see in a 1950s television series.

The video images and audio from this Alpha Video release are generally good, though the episode "The Big Show" has some print damage in the early goings. Expect to see some film speckles and the occasional scratches on each of the episodes. That said, this is a decent release for fans of the original Dragnet television series.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 Classic Episodes October 16, 2005

By James Bair

Dragnet, Volume 1 (Classic TV Series). Dragnet Volume 1 features four classic episodes. The original titles and airdates:

Episode One: THE BIG SHOPLIFT (3/11/54)
Episode Two: THE BIG HIT-RUN KILLER (3/18/54)
Episode Three: THE BIG SHOW (1/22/53)
Episode Four: THE BIG CRIME (9/9/54)

Transfer quality is good on this DVD. Worth every penny.

If you're new to Classic Dragnet, Amazon also sells a set called DRAGNET (25 EPISODES) -- The best and most complete collection of the many first-run Dragnet sets available. The set features 25 Dragnet episodes on 5 one-sided DVDs in a fold-out package with an attractive slipcase. Start there for to begin your collection.