The Rewatch Podcast: RW571 - Tom Hanks 80's Rewatch

In this episode of The Tom Hanks 80's Rewatch, Cory and Eoghan face lions and bats and snakes in the city of crime... oh my - as they discuss Dragnet.

Trailer:

Tom Hanks Timeline:

Tom Hanks was offered the role of Lone Star in the Mel Brooks Spaceballs, but turned it down to do Dragnet. The part ultimately went to Bill Pullman. Albert Brooks was offered the part of Pep Streebeck, but turned it down. He was also offered the lead in Big, but didn’t feel comfortable playing a child character. Aykroyd originally wanted Jim Belushi to play Streebek, but Belushi was unavailable and Tom Hanks was cast instead.

Our Favourite Trivia:

On a budget of $20 million, Dragnet performed well at the box office, grossing $57.4 million domestically with an additional $9.3 million internationally, for a total of $66.7 million worldwide.

The script for Dragnet was written by Dan Aykroyd and Alan Zweibel, who had worked together during Aykroyd's tenure on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd had in fact starred as Friday in a Saturday Night Live parody of Dragnet in 1976. Tom Mankiewicz, best known for his work on Superman and the James Bond series, had a deal at Universal and was brought in to work on the film script with them.

Of the Joe Friday character, Dan Aykroyd has said: "I've had a fascination with Joe Friday since I was a kid. Next to Clouseau, he's the most famous cop in the world. I've studied his speech inflections, his mannerisms, his walk. During filming, I'd listen to tapes of the old shows. I even started dreaming in character. If there was ever a character I'd always wanted to play, it was this . . . "I'm a huge fan of (Jack) Webb's. I basically just love everything he did. Dragnet was something I'd always wanted to do, but I never thought the opportunity would come up, because I didn't know who owned the rights to the idea. When Universal called and said they were interested in doing it, I think I made a deal to write the script the next week".

When Joe Friday is doing his opening narrations as he sits down at his desk, he says "My partner is Frank Smith..." Frank Smith was Friday's fourth partner in the history of the Dragnet series after Ben Romero, Bill Lockwood and Ed Jacobs as well as his longest-serving partner.

British electronic group Art of Noise produced an update of the series' original theme music for the title credits. They set the Dragnet theme against an electronic breakbeat and added soundbites from the film, such as Friday's trademark lines "This is the city", "Just the facts, ma'am", and "I carry a badge", timed to the music.

The soundtrack includes an original song called "City of Crime", a rock/hip-hop hybrid collaboration performed by Aykroyd and Hanks with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes guitarist Pat Thrall, and was choreographed by Paula Abdul. The track is played over the film's closing credits and had a promotional music video that featured Aykroyd and Hanks.

Aykroyd is a former reserve commander for the police department in Harahan, Louisiana, working for Chief of Police Peter Dale. Aykroyd carried his badge with him at all times. He currently serves as a reserve deputy of the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Hinds County, Mississippi.

Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, which he had played twice before in "Dragnet" shows, in the television-movie Dragnet 1966 (1969), and in the second "Dragnet" television series, Dragnet 1967 (1967).

Detective Streebek's television watch was real. SEIKO invented it in 1983. It had a black-and-white display and a separate battery pack/tuner about the size of a Walkman.

James Bond Octopussy commercial:

When Joe Friday first sits down at his desk, a pack of Chesterfield cigarettes is on top of the newspaper. Chesterfield sponsored the Dragnet radio series and Jack Webb, the original Joe Friday, used to participate in Chesterfield ads during Dragnet radio and television episodes. Another cigarette brand, Fatima, was the original sponsor of the Dragnet radio series.

What's Up Next?

Hanks' much acclaimed performance comes out in Big.

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