Video posted to YouTube by chuckcollins.

“Whenever the laws of any state are broken, a duly authorized organization swings into action. It may be called the State Police, the State militia, or the Highway Patrol. These are the stories of the men whose training, skill, and courage have enforced and preserved our state laws.” Highway Patrol narrator, Art Gilmore

And remember, leave blood at the Red Cross, not on the highway.” Broderick Crawford’s closing comments after each episode of Highway Patrol.

“My trademarks are a hoarse, grating voice and the face of a retired pugilist: small narrowed eyes set in puffy features which look as though they might, years ago, have lost on points.” Broderick Crawford

Highway Patrol (1955-1959) was hugely popular in its day. Oh boy, I loved it and Broderick Crawford. It remains the gold standard by which I still judge police procedurals. Showcasing the skill of state highway patrol officers and patterned on the California Highway Patrol, it demonstrated the most modern crime-detection tools of the day including high-speed cars, motorcycles, and helicopters. Like the original Dragnet series that preceded it (1950-1959), it was a police procedural supposedly based on real case files.

I suspect that ChiPs is largely remembered for the motorcycle officer Ponch; that is, Francis Poncherello played by Erik Estrada. It’s likely that Highway Patrol is best remembered for the performance of Broderick Crawford as Chief Dan Matthews, a force to be reckoned with.  The last show I saw Crawford in was a 1982 episode of Simon & Simon, where he went back to his bad-guy roots.

After years of playing a gangster in mostly supporting roles, Crawford won the Oscar in 1949 for his role as Willie Stark in the original move version of All the Kings Men. He was equally stunning as Lenny Small, the large, lumbering, mentally limited field-worker in Of Mice and Men. As near as I can calculate he played some 150 roles between television, movies and theatre during a career that was just sort of fifty years. But just as Highway Patrol is best remembered for him, Broderick Crawford is best remembered for Highway Patrol.