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Frank Drebin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Drebin
Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
First appearance"A Substantial Gift
(The Broken Promise)" (Police Squad! Episode 1)
Last appearanceNaked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult
Created byJerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker
Portrayed byLeslie Nielsen
In-universe information
AliasTony De'Wonderful[1]
Locksmith
Bob Kelly[2]
Enrico Pallazzo
Nick "The Slasher" McGuirk
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Phil Donahue
Title
OccupationPolice officer
SpouseJane Spencer-Drebin
ChildrenFrank Drebin Jr (flashforward) from Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult

Franklin "Frank" Drebin is a fictional character in the Police Squad! television series and The Naked Gun movies played by Leslie Nielsen.[3]

Appearances[edit]

Television[edit]

The character of Frank Drebin was first introduced in the six episodes that were aired of the 1982 Police Squad! series on ABC, starting with the episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)". Drebin is a police sergeant and detective lieutenant of the Police Squad task force. The show was cancelled after four episodes, though two more were broadcast later.[4][5]

Film[edit]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Leslie Nielsen, playing the role, featured in 1990 TV adverts for the English cider producer Taunton Cider Company's Red Rock Cider brand.[6]

Conception[edit]

Leslie Nielsen primarily played serious roles until the release of Airplane! in 1980. Director David Zucker chose to have Nielsen portray the straight man in the film, drawing inspiration for the character from actors Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. Scriptwriter Pat Proft crafted all of Lieutenant Frank Drebin's lines without any improvisation. The surname "Drebin" was randomly selected by Zucker from a phone book. Zucker, along with collaborators Abrahams and Zucker, believed Nielsen was well-suited for the role due to his extensive experience in the types of serious roles that the film aimed to parody. rodying.[7]

Characterization[edit]

Frank Drebin has been described as a "detective with a heart of gold and a brain of wood" and "an anachronism, a detective who's unaware of how out of time (and out of his depth) he really is."[8] Frank Drebin is a member of the Police Squad, a special department of the police force, where he served for many years. In the original TV series, he is a competent police officer who plays the straight man in the unique comedy going on around him. He is transformed into a more comical character in the subsequent films. He is renowned for his inept nature, which results in numerous issues, frequently more than he resolves, despite his complete ignorance of them. He consistently demonstrates respect for his associates and those he assists in the television series, despite occasionally inadvertently causing them some distress. In the film, unlike people such as his friend under whom he works, Captain Ed Hocken (Alan North/George Kennedy), he is a very indiscreetly and unsympathetically outspoken man, therefore tending to appear cold and insensitive towards people, and cynical. He just as well lacks having pity and compassion towards struggling individuals when they need it and having any of it when conversing with officials who confront him about his mistakes. All of this may be due to the news Frank receives from Ed in the first film: His dedication to police work has caused his wife to leave him for an Olympic gymnast, and she is now having "the best sex she's ever had."[9] While he works under Ed, in the Police Squad, he works with Norberg (Peter Lupus). In the Naked Gun series, he works with Nordberg (O. J. Simpson). Drebin has held the ranks of Sergeant and Lieutenant Detective.

Reception[edit]

In 2008, Drebin was selected by Empire magazine as number 55 on The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time,[10] as well as 74 on their newer 2019 list.[11] In 2000, TV Guide named him to its list of the 25 greatest TV detectives, ranking him #23.[12] He was also named by UGO.com as one of The 100 Best Heroes of All Time.[13] Ryan Lambie on Den of Geek argues that, "Nielsen's performance is so perfect because he plays the role of the clumsy, clueless detective almost entirely straight; the situations in which Drebin finds himself may be absurd, but the character at the center of them is entirely serious" and that with his deadpan portrayal, Nielsen's character could very well have been taken straight out of one of the more serious 1960s or 1970s television series.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)". Police Squad!. Season 1. Episode 6. 1982-07-08. ABC.
  2. ^ "Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)". Police Squad!. Season 1. Episode 2. 1982-03-11. ABC.
  3. ^ Canvy, Vincent; Nichols, Peter M.; Scott, A. O. (2004). "The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made". New York City: Macmillan. p. 687. ISBN 9780312326111.
  4. ^ Ramsey Ess (July 28, 2017). "A Lost Script from the Files of the 'Police Squad!'". vulture.com. Vulture. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (producers) (November 7, 2006). Police Squad! (DVD). ASIN B000H7JCFK.
  6. ^ Simon Brew (April 3, 2020). "Leslie Nielsen, and the adverts that (sort of) let him become Frank Drebin again". filmstories.co.uk. Film Stories. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  7. ^ Werts, Diane (November 10, 2006). "Badge of Humor – Short-Lived 1982 Series that Spoofed Cop Shows Comes with some Great Extras". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. 11.
  8. ^ a b Ryan Lambie (December 2, 2019). "The Timeless Buffoonery of The Naked Gun". denofgeek.com. Den of Geek. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "The Naked Gun Script - Dialogue Transcript". Script-O-Rama. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters [2008]". Empire. London, England: Bauer Media Group. October 2008. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  11. ^ "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters [2019]". Empire. July 31, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  12. ^ TV Guide Book of List. Running Press. 2007. pp. 219. ISBN 978-0-7624-3007-9.
  13. ^ "UGO's 100 Best Heroes of All Time". UGO.com. January 21, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.

External links[edit]

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