Dragnet (TV Series) The Human Bomb (1951) User Reviews

Tense...very, very tense.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 16 December 2013]

"The Human Bomb" is unusual in that it's set in real time, though "The Big Jump" is another "Dragnet" episode that is written this way. Both are well worth seeing and are among the better episodes you can watch.

This show begins very unusually. Friday is called to city hall because someone )Stacy Harris) is there with a bomb and threatens to detonate it unless his brother is released from jail. The policeman in charge surprised me, as the captain was played by Raymond Burr. Can he and the detectives stop this nut? And, is the bomb even real? This is an unusual crime not only because of the bomb but because the man's brother is due to soon be released from jail anyway! So, it really adds credence to the notion that he really is insane. And, in the epilogue you learn that he convinced a panel of experts that he truly was nuts!

While this episode is great, one scene seems to have been edited out of sequence. Even though the brother WAS released, Friday talks in one scene as if this is something they MAY do! You can't win 'em all!

Dragnet - Episode one - Superb

[gordonl56 · 9/10 · 10 January 2013]

Dragnet – The Human Bomb – 1951 This is the first show from the 283 episodes of the first run of, DRAGNET. This series ran from 1951 to 59.

Detective, Joe Friday, (Jack Webb) gets a call to report to the 11 th floor of the new L.A. city hall. He is meet there by fellow Detective, Barton Yarborough and Police Captain, Raymond Burr.

Burr explains that there is a man, Stacy Harris, in the next room with what he says is a bomb. He is giving the Police 30 minutes to release his brother, Sam Edwards, from jail. He will set off the bomb otherwise.

Webb and Yarborough enter the room and try to talk Harris out of this action. It soon becomes obvious that Harris means what he says. The pair back out of the room, then have another talk with Burr. They brain storm for a minute, then call the fire department.

They ask the firemen to swing Yarborough down on a rope from the floor above. He is to enter the room by a window and clobber Harris. At the same time, Webb will grab the bomb. Webb and Burr now re-enter the room in-order to keep Harris busy. This plan does not work though as Harris sees Yarborough's feet as he comes down. Harris laughs and says he will now set off the device.

Burr stops him by saying that Harris's brother, Edwards is being brought up the elevator as they talk. The brother, Edwards is soon delivered to the room. He is not at all pleased with what is happening. He knows the place is lousy with Law enforcement types. "We will never get away!" He tells Harris.

After the failed attempt by rope, Yarborough has worked his way around the outside ledge of the building. He enters and gives Harris a bit of the sap behind the ear. At the same time, Burr tackles Edwards and Webb makes a dive for the bomb. He then takes the device out and places it in a large bucket of water. Webb roars into the elevator, down to the lobby, and out the main door. He carries the bucket down the stairs to a cleared area in front of City Hall. Just as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he trips, sending the bucket and contents for an unplanned flight. The contents start to fizzle, but does not explode.

Another day at the office! This is a fairly intense episode of one of the biggest hits of the 50's.

The episode was directed by Webb and is based on a radio play from the DRAGNET radio series. The d of p was Fred Gately, whose claim to fame was the low rent, I BURY THE LIVING.

Also in the cast were, Jack Kruschen, Herb Butterfield and Barney Phillips. Barton Yarborough would only last a few episodes before dropping dead of a heart attack. Barney Phillips would later join the cast as a Detective. (b/w)

Great First Episode, Bomber None, LAPD Won

[biorngm · 8/10 · 12 April 2018]

Review - The Human Bomb Airing 12-16-51 The premise to this inaugural episode is narrated by Sgt. Friday: a threat to destroy city hall by a distraught individual has put the entire city block in peril. Friday adds, they have less than a half-hour to stop this man from blowing up the building; the story is told in those twenty-six minutes. Chief Brown's instructions are simple, there's a man with a bomb in the next room, take it away from him.

Attempts to create a ruse, in order secure the bomb, after subduing the perpetrator, fail. There is tension in the room with the unstable man threatening the police in their own building. Also, the clock is continually shown, adding to the episode's drama, i.e. the clock or Friday's watch shows the time remaining. The nut job holding the bomb is demanding his jailed brother is released before nine AM, and he thwarts each police move to change his plan.

Going back and forth with the bomber resolves nothing. The bomber's brother is brought in at the last minute, stating a gun will be necessary to exit the building. Friday's partner, Romero, enters the room from the eighteen-inch ledge, eleven stories above the ground. He hits the bomber with his sap, Chief Brown punches the brother to the floor, Friday grabs the bomb, immerses it in a pail of water, runs to the elevator car, takes the elevator to the lobby, goes out the front door, trips, running down the city hall steps; bomb, bucket and water are seen scattered. Friday is face down and has covered his head with hands. At the base of city hall building, lies Friday, bomb-battery fizzling from the immersion, the crime lab Lieutenant is holding the trigger mechanism, partner Romero is holding one of several sticks of dynamite, and Chief Brown is crouched near Friday, thankful, all are safe.

Watch this first television episode from the series, that ran well into 1959; it will not disappoint, for it is filled with experienced actors, all providing credibility to their roles.

This Dragnet series run was from 12-16-51 to episode #276, airing 8-23-59.

This episode is complete with actors that have recurring appearances in the series, others are to go on to star in their own series, such as Raymond Burr.

Stacy Harris was a versatile actor with many credits, including thirteen in both Dragnet series, and a good friend of Jack Webb.

Jack Kruschen was merely 29 in this episode, the dark hair and mustache, rotund physique, with over 200 acting credits, including twelve episodes in this series.

Barney Phillips played the fire battalion chief, was Friday's partner in later season-one episodes.

Herbert Butterfield played crime lab Lt. Lee Jones, was in five Dragnet episodes.

See the first episode and enjoy the fine drama portrayed by all.

"Dragnet: The Human Bomb" was a great start for the radio series' first adaptation to television

[tavm · 10/10 · 10 July 2011]

After a few years on radio, star Jack Webb made the move to bring "Dragnet" to television. The first filmed episode takes place in real time as a man named Vernon Carney (Stacy Harris) has a bomb at city hall and is threatening to use it after a certain amount of time unless his brother Elwood (Sam Edwards) is released. Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough) huddle with their superior Thad Brown (Raymond Burr years before his "Perry Mason" fame) as well as the fire chief and the lab tech on how to quickly handle the situation. I'll stop there and just say what an excellently tension-filled episode this was! And while I'm sure the radio version written by James E. Moser was nail-bitingly suspenseful enough, the visual touches added by Webb made things even more exciting. So on that note, "The Human Bomb" is highly recommended especially to anyone interested in how Joe Friday was first handled on a visual medium.

The Human Bomb

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 24 January 2024]

Dragnet transferred from the radio to the television. The first episode is directed by Jack Webb who also stars as Sergeant Joe Friday.

Deputy Chief Thad Brown (Raymond Burr) calls in Friday and Romero (Barton Yarborough) as a matter of urgency. A man named Vernon Carney (Stacy Harris) is threatening to bomb City Hall unless his brother Elwood is released from prison.

Carney has given a time limit of 30 minutes and the clock is ticking.

The first episode is done in real time which adds to the intensity. The pressure is on everyone as Joe Friday stalls for time. Such as Elwood does not want to be released as he only has a short time left to serve.

Given this episode was made in 1951. Television drama production was still in its infancy, especially cop shows set in present day LA. You can sense that the audience would had found this to be edge on the seat.