Broadcast April 2, 1956.



One of my favorite stories about Highway Patrol concerns Broderick Crawford's heavy drinking at all times. At times, Crawford was so drunk on the set, they used to film some of his scenes with him lying down on the floor and then rotate the camera 90 degrees to make it look like he was standing against a wall. I kid you not.

If I remember correctly (I might not), there are no scenes with Crawford actually driving a car, his driver's license having been suspended for DUI.

Well he sure drive the car in that episode. This was before my time. Never saw it before. I would love to see one of those 90 degree filmed scenes.

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At times, Crawford was so drunk on the set, they used to film some of his scenes with him lying down on the floor and then rotate the camera 90 degrees to make it look like he was standing against a wall. I kid you not.

HOLY CRAP, that is NUTS!!! If I was so drunk I could not stand there is no way I could "act" a scene of any kind.

I am not sure if this is a black mark against his character or a testament to his acting skill.

The scenes where Crawford drives a car- these were mostly shot on back roads or private roads.

Regarding his acting while lying down drunk scenes-

Many years ago- I think around 1999 or 2000, I read a TV fans forum. One guy in there said he worked as a gaffer (lighting technician) for the company which produced Highway Patrol. It's a well-known story that Crawford broke his ankle getting out of a helicopter while filming an episode of the series and he had to wear a cast for a while, which can be seen in a couple of episodes. This gent said that that's how the 'filming while lying down' stuff began, but even after the cast came off, Crawford liked it so much, he would still insist on it when he was especially blitzed. He said Crawford received regular booze deliveries to the set and the producers just looked the other way.

He also said that Crawford- Academy Award winner that he was- was not like the typical Hollywood types. He referred to Crawford as "a regular Joe."

I just looked around online today but it appears that the forum is long gone, can't even find it with the Wayback Machine. It's a shame, because I recall that this guy had some really great stories about HP and other low budget TV series of the time.

MeTV reruns Highway Patrol. I enjoy the cars and when I can ID a filming location, I look at it on Google Earth. The changes over time are interesting. I do the same thing with the MeTV reruns of 60s Dragnet and Adam-12.

During the early Covid days, we DVR'd Highway Patrol on MeTV and watched it everyday for a couple of months.

At an estate sale years ago, I bought a book titled "Of All The Gin Joints", a book about the partying days of Hollywood's Golden Era. One of the anecdotes involved Crawford, his buddy Frank Sinatra, and Robert Mitchum, three of the biggest drinkers in Hollywood. On the set of a movie they were filming, all three constantly drinking and carousing, Sinatra kept teasing Crawford, calling him "Lenny", the dumb character in Of Mice and Men. Tired of it, Crawford tackled Sinatra onto the ground, punching Mitchum in the process, and started to eat Sinatra's toupee. A staff member had to tear him off and get him to puke up the hairs. Director Stanley Kramer called the set "10 weeks of hell". A really fun book to read.

Great story, never heard that one before.

The film would have to be Not as a Stranger and it's interesting that Sinatra was calling Crawford "Lenny", because also a cast member in that film is Lon Chaney, Jr., and he actually did play Lenny in Lewis Milestone's 1939 version of Of Mice and Men.

Looking at the film's trivia on IMDB, I found this: There was a such a boisterous atmosphere on this shoot that Robert Mitchum described it as "not so much a cast as a brewery!"

**edit**

I see why now- Crawford played Lenny on Broadway.

That was a actually a good episode. I don’t really remember Highway Patrol, but I certainly knew of it. Pretty good script

This show used to play all the time when I was a kid. I remember one episode where Crawford got into a helicopter, which then took off- really took off, so this wasn't one of those low-angle shots of an idling helicopter sitting on the ground with everyone acting like it's airborne.

Crawford got into the passenger seat and tried to buckle the seat belt, but he couldn't buckle it because of his big stomach, so he just let the belt go and had a stupid smile on his face while the helicopter took off. It was obvious, and you would think the director would say "Let's try that again, only this time don't bother with the seat belt," but no, they just said "screw it" and left it in.

Even at ten years old, I could tell that this show was the cheese.

Thanks for this one, I never watched Highway patrol.. it was either before my time or just not on the two channels we got back in the early 60's. I started to watch it and ended up watching the whole thing....the husband running the dinner sure was a dick.

For what I see as a 'low budget' TV show there were multiple levels in that one episode.

I do remember watching the series back in my youth. This was just prior to Clint appearing on Rawhide in 1959. I ran across this episode of Highway Patrol a few weeks back on You Tube just didn't have time to watch it right then. Lots of good stories about the cast of Rawhide if you want to go down a rabbit hole sometime. Eric Fleming (Gil Favor) drown while filming a rafting scene on a river in Africa I believe. Always did his own stunts. He was supposedly on his way to being a major lead actor in the likes of Clark Gable or Rock Hudson. Always felt his acting in Rawhide was quite good.

I grew up watching Highway Patrol in the '50s. It became a running joke among us kids to grab an imaginary fedora brim and run for the heliocopter (or in our cases family cars) ala Dan Matthews.

The Mrs and I have a number of seasons on DVD and are so hooked we got a copy of "Highway Patrol Locations Then and Now" by Jerry L Schneider.

We've spotted a number of actors getting their starts in the 50's like Clint Eastwood-Stuart Whitman, Leonard Nimoy and my all-time favorite William Boyette who went from Highway Patrol sereant to LAPD sergeant on Adam 12.

The gun handling is interesting, too. Dan Matthews is dead on at 50 yards from the hip with a snubbie and the patrolmen stick their revolvers in their belts when handcuffing the suspects because of the awkwardness of reholstering with clamshell holsters.

We were also pretty amused by the level of trauma sugery in the 50's-"The bullet's too close to her heart-I'll have to take it out here" at a ranch house with just the doctor's little house call bag...victims were tougher back then.

You'll recognize all of these guys

Many years ago, when I was Town/Village cop, (Manlius/Minoa NY) I stopped Broderick Crawford for speeding. He had a rep as a drinker, but was sober when I interviewed him roadside. He was very friendly and I was so starstruck I wished him well and sent him on his way.
Wish I'd had a camera...

One of his best roles as LA. Governor

Well, yes, it's one of his best roles. He won an Academy Award for it, which is one of the reasons why the producers of a low budget TV show put up with him being drunk on the set.

That Oscar win also opened the door for Crawford to play roles like this, in Born Yesterday with the great Judy Holliday. Crawford is not remembered for comedy roles, but he's perfect in this one.

You dont see them much, but if you can, catch Crawford in these flicks:
Down Three Dark Streets.
The Mob.
Human Desire.

"Human Desire".

One of Crawford's best roles, IMO.

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Originally posted by GWbiker:
"Human Desire"

A remake of Jean Renoir's La Bete Humaine with an ending created for American audiences.