If you've ever wondered how Webb perfected the hard-boiled detective persona he would further cultivate on radio & television as Sgt. Joe Friday in Dragnet, Novak is a good place to start. Pat Novak makes most of his living renting fishing boats in San Francisco, but, like most gumshoes of the era, like Philip Marlowe & Sam Spade, Novak gets tangled up in one murder after another, and has to deal with an ornery police detective, in this case Inspector Hellman (a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr). In the grand tradition of Spade, Marlowe, et al, Novak fires off some choice putdowns of Hellman (example: "You couldn't smell a rat in a basement full of cheese!") that aren't meant to be funny, but I do find them amusing.
It's a pity Webb didn't create or obtain the rights to Pat Novak himself, as this might've been a worthy TV entry. It still could be, transposed to modern times if need be. However, with the oversaturation of the CSI & Law & Order franchises on the air today, Pat Novak would be considered an anachronism, out of place in today's television universe.
Worth noting is the fact that actress Virginia Gregg, who played virtually all of the female characters on Novak, would become part of Webb's repertory company, making frequent appearances on Dragnet & Adam-12, among others.
Rating: A.
Updated, 9/23/13: I've added the episode, "Go Away, Dixie Gillian". Webb originated the role on a regional broadcast in 1946.
Edit, 4/28/22: Had to change the video.
It's probably as hard boiled as Old Time Radio gets, and it's fun hearing Webb take heat from the cops.
ReplyDeleteOh, like the shoe on the other foot, eh?
ReplyDeleteJust as a comparison, check out Jack Webb's brief appearances in 1950's "Sunset Boulevard" as assistant director Artie Green.
ReplyDeleteI have XM Satellite Radio and I have heard this show on their old time radio channel quite a few times; it's interesting to say the least to hear Jack in a different role other than the one he's most famous for. Slightly Off-Topic but the main host of the channel(whose name is Greg Bell) who also hosts the syndicated OTR series When Radio Was is pretty cool to listen to; for example in the past when talking about Vincent Price's career before an episode of his series The Saint he happened to mention that Vincent had done a voice on a Scooby Doo series, also after an episode of the series The Whistler which featured voiceover personality John Stephenson he mentioned all of the cartoon roles that he had done and that he was sometimes the voice of the villain on Scooby Doo, which I thought was pretty cool as a Scooby fan.
ReplyDeleteScoobyfan1: What you'll find is a lot of voice artists got their start in radio. BTW, in case you weren't aware before, John Stephenson was one of the announcers on the 1967 revival of Dragnet, alternating with Art Gilmore.
ReplyDelete