When no-nonsense Captain Mathews or his team frisked a suspect, they never took the suspect's hat off, a good place to hide a small gun or a blade I always noticed that and wondered why. I watched the fast-paced reruns growing up and Highway Patrol always engrossed me. The stories were plausible, it was interesting to watch how Matthews worked to solve a crime and capture a criminal and the show is a time capsule in every way, clothes, cars, buildings, helicopters. Broderick Crawford was close to perfect: the fast-talk, aggressive attitude, the look of a real person, not a cool guy glamour boy. He moved faster than he looked. We never saw his private life or knew anything about him beyond the job. He treated attractive females, either suspects, victims, coworkers or witnesses, in a professional way just like he would treat males. Sometimes the story would end abruptly, such as in Season 2 #22 "Suspected Cop" about a gas station attendant who stole gems out of a car. The daughter of the victim, who was in the hospital after being found passed out behind the wheel, accused a deputy of stealing them when he took inventory. After Matthews and his deputy arrested the crooks, the episode ended and we never see the daughter's apology. Matthews would arrest or shoot most criminals with the assistance of one or two deputies. Today on modern cop shows, an army of militarized police officers are used in apprehending subjects. 39 episodes were produced each season for 4 years. Today's shows are usually half that number.
Review of Highway Patrol
