Shark Bytes

Too bad they never wrote in any foot pursuits for old Brod--it would have been hilarious watching him lumber out after the bad guy, especially as polluted as he was!!

"TEN-FOUR"

can't remember another damn thing about it

I was 3 or 4 when I watched it. I didn't have a clue as to what the hell was going on but I loved it anyway.

A true 1950s classic. Broderick Crawford had previously won a "Best Actor" Oscar for "All the King's Men", but by 1955 he had acquired a reputation for "elbow bending" and belligerence. Frederick W. Ziv took a chance on him, though, and his judgment proved to be well-founded. Mr. Crawford's tough, fast-talking persona suited the show perfectly. My personal favorite among his end-of-show safety messages was "The careless driver isn't driving his car - he's aiming it!" The program hasn't been seen on television for some time and I don't know the status of any preservation efforts for the films. However, I hope the show will somehow make it to DVD before they deteriorate beyond reclamation.

T-T-T-T-TEN-4 ! Then Brod Crawford throws the mike on the floor as he races after the bad guy in his black-and white . Brod was always half-shit faced in every episode ,and it showed ! What was cool about TV in the late 50s and early 60s was a number of dog-face actors like Crawford ,Richard Boone and Jack Welch got lead parts , before the very fake premium of perfect features . "Highway Patrol" was different from many 50s shows as there were a lot of exterior shots in the deserts of Southern California, when most TV production was cloistered in studio sets .

Although I never saw it, a "Happy Days" episode where Fonzie's motorcycle is trashed mentions it in a classic scene where Fonzie follows Potsie's suggestion that they make plaster tire tracks from the damage area. Potsie got the idea from watching "Highway Patrol." So I guess if Fonzie thought that idea from the show was cool, then I guess "HP" was a good show as well.

Sgt Dan Mathews - makes todays tv cops look like wimps. Talk about tough and "matter of fact". Crawford was one of the all time great cops.

Additional sign-off memory "The clowns at the circus are funny, but on the highway; they're murder"

Never Jumped!!! Brodrick Crawford's sign off... "Leave your blood at the Red Cross, not on the highway" Is an all-time classic. Only Dennis Franz could deliver that line now.

It never jumped the Shark - Broderick said in an interview he cancelled the show when "We ran out of crimes!"

HOW could the cops on highway patrol make the tires on them big buicks squeal on dirt???

I only have the most vague recollection of this show and I would like to have the opportunity to see on to see if it is as good as I remember.