You are absolutely right. When he wanted to, Webb could be a very innovative and talented director. I was watching the pilot episode of the series, "Emergency," a little while back and was struck by the great direction, especially the first few minutes as the camera goes through the quiet fire station. The early episodes of "Dragnet," like the episode you mention, are just full of direction techniques that were cutting edge and completely new at the time.
Sadly, Webb appears to have lost interest later on, and some of the later episodes of Dragnet appear to have been filmed while Webb was sleepwalking, or at the very least was just going through the motions.
Webb isn't given near the credit he deserves for helping to transform television. He did some pretty good movie stuff as well. The theatrical Dragnet is very well directed. I think that film and television historians are beginning to recognize the great contributions this man made, and his work will be seen increasingly for its artistic merit as time goes by. It is a testament to him that three of his shows, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency continue to be popular so long after they were originally produced.
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
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