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jazzerooni
Reviews
Dragnet 1967: The Prophet (1968)
Wealthy global celebrity who sells dime bags at local junior high
I give this ten stars as a time capsule for what >50 crowd must have believed about the sixties. While the script focuses on drugs, the show essentially indicts the entire counterculture. However, thanks to that force of gravity known as reality, the program betrays its pro-establishment stance when you think through what's actually going on. Let me get this straight: the guru is a world celebrity who's making filthy lucre from his records, books and speeches, but sells penny ante drugs to the local school kids. The guru has an advanced education, but gets caught in the simplest logical errors made by Friday and Gannon. Finally, would beat cops and a Timothy Leary character waste twenty-three minutes arguing about LSD? Doubtful.
The Guru (1969)
Interesting study of Western stereotypes of India, and vice versa
Aside from the great Indian music in this film, and some noteworthy cinematography, I think the takeaway for me was the study in preconceptions held by the British and Indians about each other.
British perception of Indians: stoic, wise, untouched by materialism. Reality: Indians can be as materialistic, petty and emotional as Westerners.
Indian perception of the British: foolish, intriguing, wasteful, decadent. Reality: The main British character (Tom Pickle) is arguably the wisest character in the film.
I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about a moment in time when East and West began opening up to each other, and learning each others' strengths and weaknesses.
Indestructible Man (1956)
Film Noir Meets Frankenstein
Well-shot film noir (standard elements: LA setting, hardboiled detectives, police cars dispatched onto rainy streets in LA where it rarely rains), but with a Frankenstein plot. As with Shelley's classic, a scientist revives a criminal. Lon Chaney Jr.'s presence completes the circle.
Insert the preceding Frankenstein ingredient into the Maltese Falcon, dumb it down a bit but not too much, and you have "Indestructible Man" in a nutshell.
Keep an eye out for Max Showalter as the Lieutenant on the killer's trail. He would later play MANY bit roles in Dragnet, a show that seems a direct descendant of this one--"normal" LAPD cops trying to deal with dangerous freaks.