The Interrogation

This is an Internal Affairs story as a young cop, just on the force 114 days and working undercover narcotics, has to relate to Joe and Bill what he did all night. It seems a liquor store was robbed, and the policeman is a prime suspect. He expects favored treatment but you straight-shooters like Friday and Gannon are not going to give it to him. They just want the truth.

The most noteworthy aspect of this episode might be the fact that Kent McCord plays the young officer "Paul Culver." McCord went on to be the star in his own police show, "Adam -12." which ran from 1968-1975. He showed here that he can act. He's a fine career since then, too. Read his biography here on IMDb; it's interesting, filled with facts such as the fact that McCord was good friends with Ricky Nelson and appeared on over 40 episodes of "The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet" as a fraternity brother of Ricky's.

Anyway, is McCord innocent or guilty? It's hard to tell until the end the last few minutes of this episode.

Kent McCord does a great job with his part in this episode. Here he portrays a new policeman,"Paul Culver" that has been accused of a liquor store robbery while on the job working undercover. He is put through the proverbial wringer by the always-tough Joe Friday and Friday's trusty partner Bill Gannon. New officer Culver is questioned over and over again until he starts to get confused,which only increases Joe Friday's suspicions. Accused officer Culver offers to take a polygraph test,and he does indeed take the test. The whole time officer Culver denies robbing the liquor store,and starts to become angry and disgusted that his word as an officer means no more than the word of a regular citizen. As a side plot Culver's girlfriend has recently left him over Culver's job as a policeman,which is also stressing the new officer. Kent McCord did a very good job with his part in this episode,I'm sure that his performance here helped greatly to earn him his later spot on Adam 12 with actor partner Martin Milner. Jack Webb was a generous and loyal friend to many people in Hollywood,it seems that if you made a good impression on him you were assured to be offered steady work on his many shows and productions. This was a strong 4th episode of Dragnet that held my interest throughout the entire episode. The final verdict on officer Paul Culver remains up in the air until the very end. 9/10 solid episode.

This episode is interesting in that it starts with a different introduction--without the usual "Dragnet" theme music and a kettle drum instead. You also will soon notice that the guest star for the episode is Kent McCord--who later became famous on Jack Webb's show "Adam-12". Webb tended to re-use actors and McCord plays a cop but not the same guy from "Adam-12"--confusing but typical for this show. In other words, Jack Webb often used a stock group of actors and they played multiple characters on the show--good guys, bad guys and regular citizens.

This episode finds McCord playing an officer who is being held on the suspicion that he might have committed an armed robbery while on a stakeout! While this seems like a remote possibility, the facts keep stacking up against the young officer and it looks bad for him. As the Internal Affairs process proceeds (with Gannon and Friday playing IAD officers), the officer being investigated begins to crack under the strain and feels sorry for himself. Ultimately, this leads to one of the single best moments of the series, as Friday delivers an amazing monologue about how tough it is to be a cop. Surprisingly, it showed Jack Webb was an amazing actor. Perhaps it wasn't done in one take (though it appeared to be) it was a fine piece of acting and must be seen by fans of the series.

Overall, an average episode despite the great speech. Worth seeing but not among the very best of the shows.

Just caught this famous episode (for many reasons) late night, having seen it for decades, never forgetting a single scene. It's that powerful.

Friday and Gannon question young officer Paul Culver (Kent McCord) who has a lot of things going against him. He was on stake-out, yet stands accused of holding up a liquor store. One of those dramatic stories where deep down inside, you figure the guy is a victim of circumstances, however it's not an easy path to clear his good name, as you will see.

Outstanding writing, directing and acting on the part of Jack Webb, essentially the whole show. An Emmy nominee performance defined, due to his sobering "all in a day's work" summation of a dedicated cop at the close of the story. Brilliantly written and carried out. Sums it up in spades, even to this day, and makes you wonder how many young men and women Jack Webb inspired to join police forces nationwide.

Great part for Kent McCord, appearing in eight episodes, this leading to his co-starring role on ADAM 12. Yes, it's true. Jack Webb rewarded many actors with appearances in DRAGNET and other shows he produced for years. When he passed in 1982, he was, in fact, honored by the LAPD.

Something all us fans will never forget.

Just terrific. SEASON 1 EPISODE 4 dvd box set, billed as DRAGNET 1967. Released 2005. METV cites this as Season 9 Episode 4, if you were to couple this color series with the old black and white series of the 50s. Later box sets titled DRAGNET 1968, 69 and 70.

Your typical Dragnet episode revolves around Friday and Gannon dealing with the unsavory denizens of Los Angeles, often supported in some small way by various members of the LAPD. But here, it's only Friday, Gannon and the suspect; a young undercover officer pegged for a robbery.

The bulk of the episode is standard Dragnet stuff, with Friday's dry, staccato questioning and the suspect twisting in the wind, with the audience unsure whether they are guilty or innocent. What sets this episode apart and helps it to rise above your typical Dragnet outing, is Friday's several minute long monologue on the less than glamorous life of being a cop. It's a powerful sermon, and a great showcase for Webb's underrated skill as an actor and his absolute stranglehold on his iconic character.