Review of Highway Patrol

Made with the cooperation of the California Highway Patrol at first, they soon jumped ship, and for just cause. It was clear, as in Art Gilmore's bare-knuckled narration, that "Highway Patrol" was only a metaphor for any police enforcement agency, including 'the militia' which isn't a state agency at all. The ZIV gods were not interested in stories restricted between two highway lanes. So Broderick Crawford rapidly expanded into performing police duty in the city, the country, and even the air. So much to admire and more to be amazed at in this time capsule of Americana. Look at how rural so much of Los Angeles was, even as late as 1959. Those country shacks are now someone's million-dollar home. Look at the smog covering the hills. Reviews dated 20 years ago are now outdated by technology. Once "lost", this series is now available in a wide variety of formats, including YouTube. I'm watching on METV, who time compress it and edit out Crawford's hey-pal-listen closers, but are still fun. Lots of early career actors to spot. The plots are as bare-bones as HP's detection skills. It seems Crawford's hunches are always right, and he's rarin' to pull out his gat and start blasting away. The body count is pretty high. Google "Fearless Fosdick" if you like. But when your TV screen was only a 13-inch circle, it must have been great fun! Still is.