Independent Films, Film Profiles

Dragnet (1987 film)

Dragnet is a 1987 film starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman, Harry Morgan, and Alexandra Paul, directed by Tom Mankiewicz. The screenplay is written by Dan Aykroyd, Alan Zweibel, and Tom Mankiewicz. The original music score was composed by Ira Newborn. The film was marketed with the tagline "'Just the Facts.'"Sgt. Joe Friday's nephew is involuntarily assigned to a smart-alecky, street-wise partner, Pep Streebeck, and they are charged to investigate a series of religious cult crimes in Los Angeles. The two cops follow the trail to a phony televangelist, The Reverend Jonathan Whirley. From there, they are only a step away from uncovering an Orange County-based religious cult calling itself P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness And Normalcy). During the investigation, the attempt to arrest Emil Muzz, the Reverend's henchman, but he drives off. This is followed by Pep and Joe chasing him in Joe's car. This ends with Pep's terrible driving causing both cars to crash into a beach house.That night, Pep's informer tells them that the fresh wholesome milk factory is actually the hideout of the P.A.G.A.N.s evil gas makers. So, Pep and Joe commandeer the big bullet proof police barricade van and completely obliterate and destroy the fresh wholesome milk factory which turns out to actually be a real fresh wholesome milk factory. After sneaking into a secret ceremony, Friday falls in love with the sacrificial virgin Connie Swail. So much so that even his superior Captain Bill Gannon orders him off the case, but Friday continues on. But after being fired, Joe takes Connie up to a cliff edge to look up at the stars where the Reverend's henchman Emil Muzz kidnaps them. Muzz takes them to an old abandoned museum and ties them to chairs where Reverend Whirley turns up, reveals his master plan, and takes Connie away, leaving Joe on his own.Pep rescues Joe soon after The Reverend, Muzz and Connie have left. The story ends when the army of P.A.G.A.N.s seize control of one of their rich victim's mansion at the top of a hill. When Streebek calls up the entire SWAT department, a huge war of police versus P.A.G.A.N.s forms at the mansion. But the P.A.G.A.N.s' weapons are much better and they are heavily secured inside a large mansion. Luckily, Joe Friday returns in the police department's bullet proof baricade van and destroys the mansion's metal fences so that the other police officers and SWAT men can get in and storm the mansion. But when they discover that Reverand Jonathan Whirley has escaped and kidnapped Connie Swail, Joe and Pep commandier a police cruiser and flamboyantly drift, screech and skid their way to the airport where they see The Reverend take off in his private jet with Connie tied up and gagged in the passenger seat. So it is all down to an air pursuit with The Reverend's private jet and a new police jet piloted by Pep.