Captain Timothy 'Two Gun' Nolan is appointed head of the New York detective force, and as his first act, rounds up every criminal in town. Gang boss 'Dapper' Frank Trent stands bail for all of them as independent minor gang-leader.


If you are looking for a polite, neatly packaged crime procedural, The Dragnet is not for you. This 1928 silent feature is a muscular, often ugly piece of filmmaking that prioritizes atmosphere and physical presence over complex plotting. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in the roots of the noir aesthetic ...

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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

Josef von Sternberg

Bruno Ziener
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"If you are looking for a polite, neatly packaged crime procedural, The Dragnet is not for you. This 1928 silent feature is a muscular, often ugly piece of filmmaking that prioritizes atmosphere and physical presence over complex plotting. It is essential viewing for anyone interested in the roots of the noir aesthetic or the development of the 'hard-boiled' archetype. However, those who struggle with the slower, more deliberate pacing of late-silent melodramas might find the middle act—where the..."
Fred Kohler
Oliver H.P. Garrett, Charles Furthman, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Jules Furthman
United States

