Highway Patrol

This is an unforgetable series. Broderick Crawford set the standard for toughness with a badge. Sgt. Joe Friday couldn't carry Dan Matthews socks...Broderick was tough, scary and that rapid fire dialogue is burned into the memory of anyone who even thought for a nano-second of being a cop and interrogating a suspect. This is an American legand. Long Live ZIV!

This series did for the California Highway Patrol what "Dragnet" did for the LAPD; i.e. established a mythology and a standard of professional conduct. I knew two retired CHP officers (both retired in the late 1960s) who loved this series. It is no small joke that in the Dan Aykroyd movie comedy Dragnet, Harry Morgan is watching "Highway Patrol" on TV when Aykroyd's character calls him on the phone. I, too, wish the old tapes had been saved for posterity.

I was a viewer of this show when it originally aired. Now it's one of the few shows I record to view on Time Warner Cable.

It shows small town 50's USA with it's shops, businesses, cafes, motels and back roads in CA.

I am amused by the "machine gun fire" speaking by Broderick Crawford even when giving orders to subordinates, I have never heard one of them ask of him "Would you repeat that, and speak a little slower and a bit more succinctly?" It also is an amazing look into the social fiber of America at that time, it showed an angry Korean Veteran that couldn't find a job using his faked knowledge of bazookas to help do robberies, innocent vacationing honeymooners being kidnapped as well as interesting dialogue.

Do you wonder if American TV today is showing a positive or repulsive, ugly America to the rest of the world? Should it matter?

Although I often watch this show because I remember watching it as a little girl and still enjoy the plots and acting, my husband watches because he enjoys seeing all of the 1950's cars. He drools over them because they are in pristine condition, a condition that is impossible to find even at car shows. He especially likes the the late 50's Chrysler Corporation cars. He also enjoys seeing the Los Angeles area locations, especially Griffith Park where so many of the chases take place. He also enjoys all of the train stations. Many of them are no longer there, and the ones that remain aren't in the beautiful condition they are in this show. Surprisingly quite a few shows have people getting on and off passenger trains. I would recommend this show if you enjoy police procedural and 1950's ambiance.

I was about 14 when this show first aired and like most teenagers I used to like the cars and the car chases. My uncle had a 1955 Buick Century hardtop and I would pretend that it was a Highway Patrol Car. I saw a few poor copies lately and the production values were rough but I still wish I had some good copies of the shows. Too bad they are not on video.