Posted on 10/04/2015 5:14:40 AM PDT by NonValueAdded
Highway Patrol is a syndicated action crime drama series that aired from 1955-1959. The series was syndicated by Ziv TV.
It starred Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews, the gruff and dedicated head of a police force in a large, unidentified Western state. A signature shot of the series was fedora-wearing Mathews barking “10-4!” and other rapid-fire dialogue into a radio-microphone as he leaned against the door of his patrol car (call sign ID# “2150”).
...
When asked why the show ended after four seasons, Broderick Crawford said, “We ran out of crimes.”
(Excerpt) Read more at the60sofficialsite.com ...
And 10-4 unsuited? Broderic without his suit?
That's gotta be a 'Broderic in the bath tub', I'd fold it.
At UCSB many years ago, on occasion we would ditch a class and I introduced others to watching Highway Patrol. It was so much fun to be drinking while watching and mocking Dan Mathews. The show was so badly done.
If they did a remake of ‘Harbor Command’ set in San Fran, most of the characters would be either gay or transgendered, not normal.
I just watched a couple of episodes on Youtube.I thought that the camera work was pretty good for the period,plus it’s a good look at America as it was back then.
Yes, HP was really not a very good show. But when you're 7-10 years old, you can't see the holes in the plot of a particular episode or just the ludicrousness of one single cop capturing virtually every bad guy in California.
That’s one of the virtues of “Highway Patrol,” along with a lot of other Ziv shows. They filmed almost exclusively on-location, utilizing real backdrops. Scenes at office buildings, motels, farms, whatever, were real locales. Not Hollywood soundstages. Hence, it really captures the visual and cultural tone of its era.
Plus, I just personally relish the no-nonsense flavor of the narratives. No overblown scenes of self-indulgent emoting, no flamboyant direction that draws attention to itself, none of the weird, operatic excesses that frankly makes modern film fare seem so idiotically contrived and over-the-top. None of the smug, sarcastic ‘detached irony’ of the current culture. Those old shows are like such a breath of fresh air to me.
Time to stop the car, and stand with the door open, one foot inside, one foot on the ground, and talk on the radio.
Thank you all for your contributions to this annual thread, too many names to gather for the address line. Carry on, fellow fans ...
I remember his squad-car as capable of squealing its' tires on a gravel road. A feat I tried to duplicate but never mastered...
Regards,
GtG
Used to watch HighWay Patrol all the time when I was a kid.
I watched the show as a kid. My brother used to call Crawford “$hit on a stick”.
Continuing on from Gunsmoke:
“I’m that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal — the first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It’s a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful . . . and a little lonely.”
Just watched another episode and was surprised to see Leonard Nimoy had a part as a small time hood in a protection racket.Episode 8 Blood Money is you want to take a look.
I think I recall that one. There’s also a 2nd-season episode in which Barbara Eden has a decent-sized role. And, there’s that motorcycle-gang episode with a young Clint Eastwood. I have all four seasons on dvd. In retrospect, the time I once met Nimoy, I wish I’d thought to ask him about some of those early, small roles in Ziv shows. I also recall him playing a bit in an episode of Ziv’s “Man Called X” series.
Another actor (in his salad days) you see a lot on “Highway Patrol” is Stuart Whitman, portraying the accompanying patrolman who always assists Dan Mathews. Other times, it’s b-western badman Terry Frost who assumes that patrolman role.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.