Ben Alexander

Dragnet, one of TV's most famous and innovative shows from the 1950's comes to colorful life in a classic full-length feature. Jack Webb (Sgt. Joe Friday) recreates his memorable portrayal of a Los Angeles cop–"Just the facts, Ma'am"–in this action-packed tale. A mysterious gangland slaying has taken place and it is up to Joe Friday and the Los Angeles Police Department to put together the pieces. They enlist the services of pretty and daring police woman to trap the devious mobsters and bring them to justice. Friday gets his man with help from his partner, Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander), in a crime caper so tough it could only be called Dragnet.

Of the cities in the world, few are depicted in and mythologized more in film and TV than the city of Los Angeles. Carefully weaving together footage from films made in or about the city, Thom Andersen gradually builds his thesis about how Hollywood has represented, and misrepresented, its hometown.

When Professor Carroll, a U.S. Army scientist, is murdered after formulating a powerful chemical explosive, Military Intelligence assumes the criminal investigation, leading to a foreign spy ring. Carroll's younger brother, Army Corporal Greg (Eric Linden) goes AWOL with a goal of locating his sibling's killer. Greg is known to have had in his possession a list of other researchers involved in the development of the explosive who are in danger. Both M.I. and a number of enemy agents are after him to obtain the list.

When a local sheik captures his brother, a French legionnaire in North Africa must choose between saving him and honoring his duty to France.

A German youth eagerly enlists as a soldier in World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horrors of warfare.

A Westerner in the Union Army discovers that gold shipments from the West are being captured by Southerners.

Ellory Bugs has offered a massive donation to his old alma mater, which will only come if his son, interested in the band, becomes a football hero.

Released from a prison for a crime he didn't commit, a man seeks to clear his name while falling for a woman with connections to those who framed him.

A wealthy industrialist relates tales of how his father-in-law’s gambling and that of his three sons had tragic consequences for his family.