MovieChat Forums > The Interview (1998) Discussion > This movie has many dialog similarities ...

This movie has many dialog similarities to 1950s Dragnet episode

posted 11 years ago by colbarre
5 replies | jump to latest

I actually have this movie on DVD and have always and will continue to think of it as an excellent movie. However, I just recently watched an old Dragnet episode on youtube where the dialog is eerily similar to a good chunk of dialog in this movie. Near the end of the movie where Eddie is describing the faces he was seeing - the almost exact same exchange occurs between detective and suspect at the end of this episode. IF you want to check it out to YouTube and look up Dragnet The Big Cast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0vDl3w6URo

I'm certainly not knocking this movie because it was very well done and certainly a lot more in-depth than a 25 minute episode. Having watched The Interview several times the similarities in dialog from the Dragnet episode jumped out at me. In some spots, the dialog was word-for-word. It also surprised me how much a young Lee Marvin (who played the suspect) resembled Hugo Weaving.

[–] tha_ej 10 years ago

I love The Interview, but I have just watched that Dragnet episode and I have to say the similarities are very obvious. Although it has been a few years since i've seen the movie, some Lee Marvin's responses jumped out at me too. I have no doubt Craig Monahan was highly influenced by this Dragnet episode.

I'm not sure if this affects how I view The Interview now. While not exactly a movie remake of a TV show episode, we don't discredit remakes for simply being remakes. I would be more comfortable with it if I had heard Monahan reference his inspiration somewhere. He may have, for all I know, but I certainly can't find any reference on the web.

Good find, colbarre.

[–] colbarre 10 years ago

Supposedly Dragnet was based on real cases so whether this particular Dragnet episode and the movie The Interview were based on the same case could be another possibility.

I don't feel that this should affect how anyone should view The Interview. It still is a great piece of work. I'm sure both of us would agree that whether or not Craig Monahan was influenced by this episode diminishes this movie at all. Like you say tha_ej, remakes are done all the time.

I actually stumbled on this Dragnet episode accidentally myself on YouTube. Love watching the oldies.

[–] tha_ej 10 years ago

This is a bit funny.

http://m.iphotoscrap.com/Image/509/1310625291.jpg

The quote from Russell Smith on a promo poster/cover: "...makes The Usual Suspects look like an episode of Dragnet."

[–] colbarre 10 years ago

😀😀😀

Little did Russell Smith know LOL!

[–] FieryJack 9 years ago

Agree that it's a great film but am surprised nobody has commented on the many similarities to this classic.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070468/combined?mode=desktop