Dragnet Jack Webb "A Quirk In The Law" Classic Speech!

[@recordman64]

Get your head up when I'm talkin' to you!! NO ONE could tell another person off quite the way Jack Webb did!!!

[@johncollorafi257]

The guy gave speeches and one liners people remember fifty years later.

[@KororaPenguin]

I've even Shakespearized this one: *Bradford:* What didst thou with that lass? *Rockwell:* I'll say no more. An agent of infection swallow thou, O Æthiop policeman! *Friday:* List to me, O noisome-mouthéd knave! I've had thee here Before, and an’ the world entire were sea, 'Twould still require a month to clean these hands! I'll tell thee what thou didst two days ago! Thou didst stake out a bench in West Lake Park, A sack of penny candy in thy hand. A sordid vigil thou maintained'st then, In hopes some lass of single-digit age Would come along. At four o'clock one did. Didst offer her a ride around the block. She got into thy car, began to weep. Thou smote'st her in the mouth twice and thy ring Her lip did cut, three of her teeth knocked free. And then, O villain, thou wost what thou didst! _[sees Rockwell's head down]_ Now keep thy head up; I'm not finished yet! In this account I told thee naught except That which thou said'st unto the watchmen who Arrested thee! They told thee of thy rights Ere thou didst say a word! And now thou hast The gall to say thou didst not understand Them at the time; thou liest! Thou understood'st Their meaning then no less than now! For while Thou wast in lockup, thou didst get the word That had they not informed thee of thy rights, Or else, an' thou hadst understood them not; Nor waived the right to silence utterly, No court this thy confession could accept. Some forty hours since, thou owned'st up And told the truth. Now sittest here to claim Thou didst not understand, O lying knave! Like every villain, Cain up through Capone, Hast found some hole within the law to hide Within. And wretch, a farthing knave art thou! Hast twice been locked up for threats thou didst make With deathly weapons, thrice for drawing latch, And twice for violations done with force; 'Twas I that locked thee up for those two crimes. And now, into the privy hast thou moved: Didst violate a child! O gallows-bird! Thy record here is lacking brevity. Wast guilty than, as thou art guilty now! Now one thing more, O false and whoreson cur: The city watch found him a worthy man, _[indicates Bradford]_ So question not the color of his skin!

[@Warbuff-yc8wk]

“Took me a month to wash off the filth” Jesus that is cold and brilliant

[@squidface4381]

Maybe that's how you get your kicks, Seinfeld... you and your good time buddies.

[@56squadron]

@@squidface4381 - That was a bit non sequitur, but the library cop was one of my favorite Seinfeld characters. That's how perverts like Seinfeld get their kicks... "...when some poor kid sees a picture of pee pee's and wee wee's in Cat in the Hat... doesn't he deserve better?" He was great in that role.

[@squidface4381]

@@56squadron Not a non-sequitur at all. The library cop was obviously based on Jack Webb's character on Dragnet giving awesome, long , not-coming-up-for-air rants, usually to some hippie hopped up on goofballs, grass, speedballs, skalliwag, h, horse, Mrs. Gomez, acid, or some other far-out trip.

[@glory2christcmj702]

Don't take the Lord's Name in vain

[@Warbuff-yc8wk]

Cyrus M Jonason you must be new here

[@maryhlad5277]

I felt safe and protected when Sgt. Friday was on TV.

[@michaelmohrle1773]

He still is, MeTV

[@MainEventMafia4Life]

Jack Webb's line delivery still after all these years is unmatched. You always knew shit was real when he spoke about anything. But when he spoke you dropped everything and listened. That's a capability most actors don't possess these days. And I'm not sure it's something you can even teach with complete sincerity. But even if Jack Webb told you how to spread mustard on bread you knew you better be listening.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Yeah, when he came to our school back in the day to talk to us about how, "only dopes use dope", he caught me looking out the window of our classroom. He immediately arrested me, dragged me out to his car and beat me seven ways to sunday! I'm still doing time for it here in San Quentin. Every parole hearing they play this video of him chewing out that guy, I get denied every time.

[@georgiaconti1667]

Go Sgt. Friday! I love it when. He tells criminals off!!

[@webbauthority714]

Great Job....Joe Friday for President!!! Dragnet 1966 is a hit with TV audiences all over again... According to the family scrapbook it was shot in March of 1966 and the pictures show a lot of smiles on the set. Dragnet was being revisited for the 1960's...If Jack had lived, it would have also been reborn again as Dragnet 1983. The Family of Jack Webb

[@superpac]

Neither did I. Grew up watching this and "Adam 12" as a kid. Great stuff!

[@ksk96kk]

GET YOUR HEAD UP WHEN I AM TALKING TO YOU

[@lunawolf2289]

He said the Now get your f$@& ing head up

[@RBAILEY57]

When Jack Webb died, he was buried with the honors given a fallen LA Cop. As one of the members of the force said, "He was one of us!"

[@otaviofrn_adv]

The 714 badge was retired by the LAPD as well

[@tanagerffolkes5180]

Probably had something to do with his nearly life-long mission of producing propaganda for the LAPD, famously, one of most corrupt, and racist, Police Departments in the country.

[@shamrock1961]

Webb played that part to perfection and beyond! RIP Jack. You were my childhood hero when they mattered most.

[@STP43FAN1]

"Now I DIDN'T say that, Rockwell, YOU did."

[@STP43FAN1]

Boy, imagine what Friday would do to Jerry Sandusky.

[@kapowcomics5183]

Mister we could use a man like Joe Friday again

[@kendallevans4079]

"Boy. the way Glenn Miller played......"

[@Holly1960-]

..🎶Songs that made the hit parade...🎶

[@kendallevans4079]

@@Holly1960- Guys like us, we had it made.....

[@Holly1960-]

...Those were the days...🎶

[@kendallevans4079]

@@Holly1960- And you know who you were then, Girls were girls and men were men......

[@marlenalinne7958]

NOBODY could play Joe Friday like Jack Webb did.

[@trwent]

Yeah, he did a MUCH better job than all the others.

[@13thwho]

That’ s because he created the character, and honed it first on the “Dragnet” radio series, then on the 1950s TV version.

[@Deutschlieber]

God bless Joe Friday. No flimsy moral relativism, thank you so much!! More such posts please!

[@rawpowergroudon1]

And Christianity is a parasite.

[@kojifresh]

I'd thought I'd never say that I actually miss DIALOGUE-especially this damn good-in tv shows today.

[@muffs55mercury61]

They don't write good dialogue anymore.

[@luislaplume8261]

@@muffs55mercury61 Nowadays he would be in trouble with the Mayor and the entire Los Angeles City Council plus the mainstream media!

[@muffs55mercury61]

@@luislaplume8261 I don't doubt it ! They have to coddle criminals today.

[@jasonpp1973]

The person in the beginning of this clip is baseball player John Roseboro, Jack Webb was a big baseball fan, his 714 badge number was a tribute to Babe Ruth.

[@jamesw1659]

His "714" badge number was the area code for Los Angeles.

[@nicolenewsome4863]

But, Babe Ruth is still awesome.

[@JarrodFrates]

@@jamesw1659 The Los Angeles area got 213 when area codes were first assigned in 1947. Orange County got the 714 area code in 1951. The 714 area code never extended to Los Angeles itself, or even very close to it.

[@jamesw1659]

@@JarrodFrates You are correct. I wasn't precise enough; having lived in Orange Country for many years, in the days before cellphones, the two area codes that covered most of SoCal were 714 and 213, and that's what I was referring to. I (wrongly) remembered Frank Smith (original partner) as being badge 213 (It was 613), so I have always thought that they simply used the main area codes in the LA area. I have since learned that Webb was a big fan of The Babe, and so used his homerun tally, but also that Webb's mother's birthday was 7-14...apparently, which of these (or other) reasons actually apply has been lost to history. Interesting bit of trivia, which I did remember: Area codes always had a 0 or 1 as the middle digit, and exchanges never had a 0 or 1 as the middle digit. This was so the early mechanical phone switching frames could determine which they were dealing with; with modern electronic switching systems, this is no longer necessary (and hasn't applied for years).

[@timweir3606]

Give 'em hell, Jack!

[@josephstevens9888]

Sgt. Joe Friday - now that is one darn good cop!

[@StukInBuf]

Where that hoodlum is going, his fellow inmates will do the same to himself... and MORE!

[@PJBearstein]

There is a daddy bear waiting for him.

[@StukInBuf]

@@PJBearstein " Come... to... *PAPA!!* "

[@michaeljacques5128]

Nothing like a great Friday to make your week.

[@benniebarrow348]

I luvs me some Sgt Friday ……da man !

[@dacosta0656]

true American Joe Friday

[@LarryLeeMoniz]

GO JOE!

[@michaelmisczuk1188]

He's The Speechifier. Loved him for decades.

[@Wa3ypx]

Joe Friday for president

[@curtpiazza1688]

Love ya Joe Friday! Love your speeches! ❤

[@briane173]

I was 10 y/o when _Dragnet 1966_ rolled out, and for a kid at that age this was about as rough-&-tumble as TV got. Joe Friday was a _badass,_ and after about the first two episodes I was like "I want nothing to do with the police and I don't know why these criminals would either." Kept me on the straight & narrow.

[@trajan75]

Great scene. See the Dragnet Christmas show. It shows another side of Sgt Friday.

[@Markieo]

From the feature length movie, which was made before the 1967 series started, then finally aired on NBC in the winter of '69. Classic!

[@Paul-vc8on]

Jack Webb was the fucking shit, right up there with Wayne and Bronson and Marvin and McQueen.

[@cornstorm666]

Just the facts ma'am!!!

[@GeorgeVreelandHill]

What a great show this is! Dragnet is still popular. I remember when it was new. They don't make good shows like that today. George Vreeland Hill

[@paulsimon8269]

He was a ww2 hero coming home to kick some ass...r.i.p. Sgt. Joe Friday.

[@alanstrong55]

Love that stiff and stern style of Jack Webb.

[@turnoutjim]

As good as the "Law & Order" franchise have been, they all lack one thing, you guess it, Joe Friday

[@kenle2]

Law and Order was well acted and technically well written. It was pure political propaganda. Ninety percent of the criminals (in New York City) were rich, right-wing business people, Pro-life leaders or Neo-nazis. It got funny after a while.

[@michaelmorgan7893]

True, but I've seen Alex Cabot and Casey Novak go head to head with some of these sicko- clients they deal with.

[@mikepeterson764]

Oh I can hear it now. Wednesday January 7th it was snowing in New York City. I was working the day watch out of homicide my partner's Lenny Briscoe. The boss is Captain Cragen. My names Friday

[@otaviofrn_adv]

@@mikepeterson764 Briscoe and Friday, that would be a good pair

[@jang6969]

Joe Friday, Bill Gannon, Pete Malloy and officer Jim Reed! All top cops..👍🏻

[@clearcreek69]

Kent McCord died yesterday & now my viewing recommendations are of Dragnet.

[@Stevesguitartraveling777]

Damn, this guy was decades way ahead of his time. It’s like the 1960s version of Billy Mays but a detective version.

[@LuvvyDuck]

That speech was EPIC!! I really loved the original "Dragnet" movie, and they rarely show it now. I wonder if the series (or the movie) is on DVD?

[@timboslice1979]

Seen that whole scene. Powerful

[@dtt1900]

We need more Joe Friday

[@hawkeye9090]

yes you could swear to a slight degree. notice at the end he says" you damn well..." they just knew how to use swear words back then. for effect not for dialog.that to me is good writting.

[@robertmorris2388]

The ideals, and ideas are still the same. No excuses.

[@yellowwing]

Dang, one heck of a rant!

[@XavierKatzone]

Nailed it - in so many ways

[@TheSignal337]

A Classic

[@chaosinc.382]

The pure, raw venom in this speech was so authentic its scary!

[@KororaPenguin]

"[There is no] inconsistency between having a love for humanity and a hatred for inhumanity!" -- G. K. Chesterton, _Orthodoxy_

[@strycian]

I don't understand how a cop can sit there and talk to a piece of crap like instead of beating the crap out of him and saying he fell down the stairs.

[@BigBrainNicky]

That's a big reason I won't become a cop even though I would love to. I'd kill these fuckers.

[@OneWeirdDude]

I would agree except that's not his job and you don't want the bleeding hearts taking the crook's side like they always do.

[@samstevens7172]

@No because they know what all cops know - the only people more disgusted by child molesters than normal society are the general population in prison. And some way, some how, they always make it clear to new “residents” who are so diseased. All a cop has to do is get them there.

[@ebonyprince9546]

Because Friday had FUCKING principles!

[@nicolenewsome4863]

His eyes said he wanted to but, he didn't because a cop doesn't do that. They can get in big trouble by their supervisor.

[@seveglider8406]

The Black Cop was John Roseboro who was a catcher for the L.A. Dodgers.

[@Bertonator]

Jack Webb is one of the best actor/producer/directors of his time. Too bad they can't make programs like this anymore. Dick Wolf tried, but just wasn't the same.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Law & Order was a good show but too steeped in liberal bias. The shows that succeeded it are totally inferior and saturated in wokeness

[@Terryfan]

If I had a Mount Rushmore of the best fictional law officers joe Friday would be on there

[@westy40]

You're completely right!

[@thetribunaloftheimaginatio5247]

"Like every hoodlum since Cain up through Capone, you've learned to hide behind some quirk in the law. And mister, you are a two-bit hoodlum." "Now one last thing, you smart-mouthed punk... if the department doesn't question the color of his skin, you damn well see that you don't." ...I've gotta remember these so I have more arrows in my "Nazi Puncher" quiver.

[@recordman64]

It's from the pilot film of the second version of Dragnet, filmed in late 1966 but not shown on TV for some odd reason until 1969.

[@johnthompson1280]

I will never get myself in a situation like that loud mouth punk did.. Joe Friday did another outstanding job of putting another criminal in his place.

[@Thinkmacflythink]

Where's our Joe Friday today?

[@stevenhandzel5929]

I think Jack Webb was the only person allowed to say “damn” on tv in the ‘60s.

[@felicciasc]

I wear a fedora becuase Jack Webb was a real man

[@OofusTwillip]

The show began on radio, when dialogue really mattered. When it moved to TV, the only thing that changed was that now you could see it. If you haven't heard the radio version, you're missing out.

[@2ndarmoredhellonwheels106]

When I had satellite radio in my semi a few years ago I would listen to the oldies radio channel at night.they played all the old radio shows

[@nicolenewsome4863]

I have and it's wonderful Jack Webb still had a punch in radio and TV.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Among the TV shows, I prefer the 60's run.

[@michaelmohrle1773]

​@@ricardocantoral7672Me too, and Harry Morgan was great as Off. Gannon. Then even better as Col.Potter in MASH.

[@an152771]

After this speech, even I thought I was guilty.

[@nicolenewsome4863]

Ikr. Like that's how talented Jack Webb was.

[@gyrosplater]

Excellent actor!

[@superpaperdude]

well spoken randy-----unless you are comatose or catatonic---you KNOW your miranda rights

[@CatapultYourMom]

EPIC WIN!

[@deepvoodoo]

It's only a matter of time before they "get" this one, but man, I'm thankful for this poster for these great cop monologues.

[@bullsboat1]

We NEED more cops like JOE FRIDAY!!!!!!

[@WildmanWoodie]

In Webb We Trust!!!!

[@genenco1]

I was like 16 or 17 years old when I heard or should I say watch this video and it's stunned me because at that point I'm like going "Damn you don't want to touch little kids!" But of course from reading Leviticus it's kind of like it's been done since the dawn of mankind😢😢😢

[@hershelronson2564]

Just like a man who relies on accuracy, that is something today's directors and producers seem to have none of, Jack Webb knows what he's talking about. Especially when he has studied Los Angeles City municipal codes.

[@LuvvyDuck]

Sweet!!! ^___^ Thanks!

[@pastormattwells8825]

Two big issues in the news this week are racism and police brutality and Dragnet actually covered both those topics during it's run. This show was ahead of it's time. Not to mention the fiery issue here, child molestation--certainly not a subject television would have broached very often in that era. Well done, Jack Webb.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Joe'd never have any patience with BLM or Antifa

[@briane173]

Back in 1966 most TV execs wouldn't _allow_ those subjects to be broached in _any_ context let alone a cop show the caliber of _Dragnet._ My guess is that's one reason why it took so long to get it back on the air in 1966 after the '50s run. Jack Webb was having none of it. Before _D-66_ swearing wasn't allowed on network TV; he broke that mold with this episode and almost every one thereafter. He dealt with the reality of crime in order to make people face it -- at a time in California when crime was as out-of-control as it is in 2023. I'd bet my bottom dollar that Webb got behind Ronald Reagan's campaign for Governor and the redux of _Dragnet_ was the best publicity Reagan's stance on rampant crime in California could've gotten. Well, it worked -- for both of them.

[@MrUnidyne]

All the cops I have ever met worship Jack Webb's Joe Friday.

[@Mattleycrue66]

@06bigd2000 This is from the 1966 pilot movie. You can find it on the new Dragnet 1968 DVD set distributed by "Shout! Factory."

[@WildmanWoodie]

RIGHT ON!

[@repeatagain1789]

Jack Webb would definitely make the perfect "PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES" tell it like it is! R.I.P. sir!

[@trwent]

Oh, yeah, making TV shows about cops really well-qualifies you to deal with Russia and China.

[@delam1970]

My favorite tv cops from Sgt. Joe Friday from Dragnet to Sgt. Olivia Benson from Law & Order:SVU!!!

[@sleedolfine15]

I love Joe Friday's strait laced moralism--his outraged tirades. His code of ethics is as black and white as the car he drives. Medicine for an ambivilant world.

[@silverfishimperetrix4818]

"When you stand for nothing, you fall for everything." ~ Alexander Hamilton

[@fromthesidelines]

That's right, 'Mark'. The movie "pilot" for the new series went into production as "Dragnet 1966", and was to have been shown on one of NBC's movie nights that fall- but then, there was a "hole" in the network's Thursday night schedule when "THE HERO" was cancelled. The co-sponsors of that show, R.J. Reynolds and Lever Brothers, wanted to sponsor a new "DRAGNET" series for January 1967....

[@hawkmaster381]

Damn, Joe! Get him!

[@captainredneck1983]

If most people knew just how much damage has been done thanks to quirks in the law, they would crap their pants.

[@Green18600]

(The Late) Entertainer Jack Webb said it all. A smart ass punk like him should have received life imprisonment without parole for his crimes in California. He was a two-bit criminal who stunk to a new low. A Brilliant 5!! Even an aggravated battery of a child conviction would have sent him to prison permanently.

[@KororaPenguin]

"This is the real case against crime, that a man does not become wilder and wilder, but only meaner and meaner." -- Father Brown, "The Sign of the Broken Sword"

[@pigletized]

Go get'em Joe!

[@chrismc410]

I only know of one shooting he was in. It was a laundry room, we went for cigarettes, and if I remember correctly, someone was robbing the machines, he stopped them, took a shot at him and he shot back, killing one of them. Had some kind of board of inquiry afterward.

[@MegaJustGeorge]

Yes, Chris - that was the Los Angeles Police Shooting Board; under strict policy of LAPD, every officer is subject to an investigation by a three-member shooting board anytime said officer discharges their weapon outside of the police firing range.

[@anthonyw5261]

We could use a show more like dragnet today.

[@chrismc410]

@thespeez The problem with that is the possibilities of escape and/or doing the same crime in prison to other inmates or staff. When the maximum sentence one can give is life without parole, such people get the idea that "There is nothing more they can do to me and I now have nothing to lose." Many a person has said the most dangerous thing in any society is the man with nothing to lose. Most people deep down inside have some fear of death. Some more suppressed than others, but still there.

[@garylobo3]

The original Lt. Bookman.

[@takomaguy]

Is there a Jack Webb statue? If not ther should be! Dragnet has 'em all beat!

[@mynamesfriday]

The greatest show of all time, period. When right was right, and wrong was wrong. No secular logic here. The LAPD retired his badge number 714 and made him a honorary cop when he died in 1982. If only law enforcement were like this today. AWESOME. BTW. this is from the Pilot in 1966 which was not shown until 1969.

[@frankd1965]

The first seasonis out on DVD. Shout Factory will release season two next year.

[@hugatag]

Thanks for that info, its very interesting and I would really like to see this episode in its entirety.They used to show them back in the 1990's on the TV Land channel. I wonder if they are showing Dragnet anywhere else. Regards

[@tanagerffolkes5180]

Joe Friday: "Listen to me, punk! If the LAPD can overlook his skin color, than you better too!" Black Officer: "Say what, now!?"

[@blackmaxima]

One of Friday’s best takedowns. My favorite is the two guys who shot the cop from the car.

[@AtsfMike559]

You would probably be surprised just how many good cops out there have to face obstacles worse than this every day. I'm talking about the officers and deputies that work long hard hours to get evidence on the rotten scum out there, just to have their work thrown out of court on a technicality. The kind of thing that after a while drives a cop to do things he wouldn't ordinarily do. This day and age, it's tougher now for cops to do their jobs because of legal loopholes. Mike in Fresno, Ca.

[@evanshiong3557]

He died in 1982. And he really wasn't all that young-he was 62. For all I know he could have still been a cop for another decade or so and crime around LA would decrease like crazy.

[@cheril8891]

Nowadays, 62 is very young to die.

[@nicolenewsome4863]

He smoked to long that's what killed him.

[@hawkeye9090]

notice how he ripped the guy a new ass. and didn't swear one time. thats good writting and good acting. Dragnet was kind of preachy but good tv non the less.

[@johnurban7333]

He told one bad guy, Flinch and you’ll be chasing your head done 5th street

[@WildmanWoodie]

This is from the 1960's Dragnet pilot movie. It's rarely shown on tv but shows up on AMC now and then.

[@prxducerhxktxk]

I’m scared of joe Friday more than I am my father

[@nicolenewsome4863]

Yeah me too he gets me shaking in my boots. I would never want to cross Sgt. Friday.

[@kyokogodai-ir6hy]

I don't watch television any longer. There are no shows of the same caliber as Dragnet, and many other wonderful shows from the 1970's on back. I know there have been many successful shows since then, but of those only Home Improvement didn't take place in the gutter. Hollywood is only interested in making product full of things Jack Webb would have thrown away.

[@ApartmentKing66]

@StukInBuf Backatcha!! Sad, indeed. Kindred spirits are we!

[@budscin]

@thespeez It is a bonus feature from the second season of Dragnet (a/k/a) Dragnet '68. This was originally filmed in 1966. But not showed to the public until 1969 as a made for TV movie.