Dragnet : The Big Producer

The Big Producer

Does anyone know where this was filmed?
It's obvious it was an old studio, but which one?
There are remnants of old standing sets plus a western street, which could have been at another backlot, but what intrigues me are the old studio sets.
What old studio was in such disrepair in the early fifties?

Re: The Big Producer

I happened to have just watched this episode tonight. I'm thinking that perhaps the "studio" where it was filmed was only made to look as though it were in disrepair. The buildings looked to be in pretty good shape, actually, and it wouldn't have taken much to scatter some tumbleweeds, or whatever those were supposed to be, on the main street of the Western town set, making it appear to be derelict.

Webb certainly liked to fill his shows with "characters", didn't he? The kookier the better. The old producer reliving his glory days on the set during the filming of the Western film, describing the action in detail while the camera pans around to the empty street and buildings. I don't believe that Jack Webb is really given credit by most people for the original and innovative qualities of his writing and direction. On one level, this early Dragnet series was dry as toast and as riveting as a routine police report...but his presentation of the silly, sad, sentimental and scummy side of Los Angelenos was also highly entertaining - particularly as it contrasted so radically with his own razor-straight cop character.

Re: The Big Producer

The fake mustache on the 'Big Producer' was almost laughable. Yes, Webb came up with great characters.

Re: The Big Producer

That 'stache reminded me of Salvador Dali, and the whole episode had a very surreal quality, gritty with a nod to "Sunset Boulevard." I love the pulpy nature of those early episodes as well as the later ones, and this was one of the best I've seen. 9/10 stars.

Re: The Big Producer

You are absolutely right. When he wanted to, Webb could be a very innovative and talented director. I was watching the pilot episode of the series, "Emergency," a little while back and was struck by the great direction, especially the first few minutes as the camera goes through the quiet fire station. The early episodes of "Dragnet," like the episode you mention, are just full of direction techniques that were cutting edge and completely new at the time.

Sadly, Webb appears to have lost interest later on, and some of the later episodes of Dragnet appear to have been filmed while Webb was sleepwalking, or at the very least was just going through the motions.

Webb isn't given near the credit he deserves for helping to transform television. He did some pretty good movie stuff as well. The theatrical Dragnet is very well directed. I think that film and television historians are beginning to recognize the great contributions this man made, and his work will be seen increasingly for its artistic merit as time goes by. It is a testament to him that three of his shows, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency continue to be popular so long after they were originally produced.



"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak

Re: The Big Producer

I watched this episode, "The Big Producer," recently for the first time and I had the same questions. IMDB lists Republic Studios among the series' filming locations, so I did Google searches and found pictures of Republic's western backlot and my guess is that this episode was filmed on the Republic backlot, which later became the CBS Studio Center. Republic was still active as a studio around the time this episode of "Dragnet" was shot, so if that's where they shot it, they did a good job of making it look abandoned.

Interestingly, the "Sunset Boulevard" connection cited by WarpedRecord makes perfect sense when you remember that...Jack Webb co-starred in "Sunset Boulevard"!

Re: The Big Producer

The episode, the first of the 1954-55 season, may have been filmed at Disney. IMDb says that they were shooting there that year. They went back to Republic a couple of years later.

There was much more to Webb than "Dragnet." Any fan of the show or his body of work should read Michael Hayde's "My Name's Friday", which gives the full story.

Re: The Big Producer

'The Big Producer' is certainly one of the more offbeat ‘Dragnet’ episodes, with more than a few touches of ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ Ralph Moody is one of the most colorful characters to ever appear on ‘Dragnet.’ Here he steals the show as has-been producer Charles Hopkins who remembers the days of silent pictures. Even in 1954 they were pining for the good old days! An added bonus is the inclusion of a young Martin (Marty) Milner and Carolyn Jones.
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