Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Dragnet: The Big Press (EP1610)
Transcript
- 0:28Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
- 0:34is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
- 0:38to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at
- 0:44Radio Detectives, and come to one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot
- 0:49com slash Radio Detectives. Well, before we do get started, I do
- 0:54want to let you know this program is brought to you by the financial support
- 0:58of our listeners and and I want to thank Lindsey who became our eighth Patreon
- 1:03supporter, supporting us at the rookie level with a donation of two dollars or
- 1:11more per month. You can support the show support dot Great Detectives dot net,
- 1:18and if you want to give on a recurring basis, go to Patreon
- 1:23dot Great Detectives dot net. Also over a Great Detectives dot net, I
- 1:27take a look at a great classic television series, Ellery Queen, and you
- 1:33can get all of my reviews delivered automatically to you. If you have the
- 1:38Kindle, you can try that out free for two weeks. You can also
- 1:42just read the article today at Great Detectives dot net. Well, now,
- 1:46from June fifteenth of nineteen fifty. Here now is the big press, ladies
- 1:56and gentlemen. One year ago, tonight, through the of your local National
- 2:00Broadcasting Company station, we were privileged to enjoy your attention at the premiere broadcast
- 2:06of a new series of authentic documented dramas entitled Dragnet. This evening, on
- 2:12the occasion of our first anniversary as weekly guests in your home, the cast,
- 2:16technicians and producers of Dragnet wish to state publicly that our indebtedness is enormous
- 2:23for the degree of success which Dragnet has achieved during the past year. Our
- 2:29first and greatest obligation is to you, our weekly listeners, for your support
- 2:35for your many kind letters of encouragement, criticism and appraisal. If Dragnet is
- 2:39a proven success, then you have made it so. Behind the scenes.
- 2:45We have many more people to thank, our engineers, our sound technicians,
- 2:50our caste to the radio editors and columnists across the nation, also a sincere
- 2:57thank you for your judgment of our efforts. Additionally, claims on our thanks
- 3:01are held by the Los Angeles Police Department for the National Broadcasting Company. To
- 3:07all of these and to you, our gratitude here at the starting point of
- 3:15Dragnet's second year of broadcasting. Our wish is twofold. First that we may
- 3:21enjoy your continued support. Secondly, that we may deserve that support. Thank
- 3:28you. The story you are about to hear is true, only the names
- 3:40have been changed to protect the innocent. Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant.
- 3:55You're assigned to robbery detail. Scores of law women have been beaten and robbed.
- 4:01The victims have been unable to identify the criminals. Your job get them.
- 4:17Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next thirty minutes,
- 4:23in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by
- 4:27step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police
- 4:30filence, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the
- 4:36story of your police force in action. It was Monday, July first,
- 4:45was mild in Los Angeles. You're working to night watch out of robbery detail.
- 4:47My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is ed Walker, Captain a robbery.
- 4:50My name is Friday. Was nine to twenty seven PM when I left
- 4:54the phone booth at the Sunset driving and got to our car eightk anything new.
- 5:02Captain Walker's wife had her baby boy eight pounds. Oh that's swell.
- 5:05She all right? Yeah, so does the captain? Look at the uniform
- 5:10on the waitress them. They should dress them up, don't they good?
- 5:13Evening? Hi Daisy? Oh hello, didn't recognize you. What do you
- 5:16have? The usual? No? I think I'll have something else besides the
- 5:19hamburger this time. Here's the man. You take a choice, Thank you.
- 5:25I'm kind of hungry. Maybe I'll take a mill two are eight sixteen
- 5:29west five shrimps? Good? Where's that right there? Oh? Yeah?
- 5:34Ninety five cents? What's all this stuff I've been reading in the paper?
- 5:39What's that? A couple of guys going around snatching purses and beating up women.
- 5:44Paper says it's happened seven times in the last two weeks. Roast beef
- 5:47ninety cents. Roast beef's good too. Don't you know who's been doing it?
- 5:51No? Not yet. What do you get from these liver and onions?
- 5:56With everything else? Dow potatoes and coffee eighty five cents? Could just
- 6:00take the purse? Fa do they have to beat up the women? We
- 6:02don't know. The headlines during me in the face every time I open the
- 6:05paper. I'm getting afraid to walk home at night. Do you get coffee
- 6:09and dessert with the Salisbury's Day? Yeah? Sixty five seventy two t Roger
- 6:15and your car here? Do you guys know what I've been talking about?
- 6:17Yeah, Daisy, you know I'll take the Salisbury's Day. Yeah, Saul,
- 6:21I Hamburger specials on two. Well done on mine? Please burn?
- 6:27Okay, be a couple of minutes. Thanks. All units in the vicinity
- 6:31of one oh one six North Magett, that's us get ready four ps from
- 6:35slugging three All units in the vicinity of one oh one six North Mcatten for
- 6:43eighty four ps and slugging prow three sixty one. I have take the call.
- 6:47I let her know where's going. Okay, I'll be right there.
- 6:51Oh we're leaving, We'll be back. Okay. You know I've been wondering,
- 7:00and said Hamburger and Salisbury's take. What's the different price? To the
- 7:14police officer. The lowest thief and most cowardly is the person snatcher who prays
- 7:17on women for more than a month. Alown women throughout the western section of
- 7:21the city have been robbed and beaten The descriptions were confused and varied because the
- 7:26attacks took place at night. Ten oh six pm. We got to the
- 7:30location on North McAdden where the woman was lying on the sidewalks. She'd been
- 7:32badly beaten about the face and neck, and her jaw had been broken.
- 7:36Officers Read and Shell of Unit sixty one half were already there. Any witnesses
- 7:42offer, Yeah, there's man in the sweater here, saw it happened?
- 7:45Says the victim's name is Swanson, is mister kahnn How do you do?
- 7:48This is Sergeant Roma. My name is Friday. I wonder if we could
- 7:50talk to you please, certainly? Do you want to come into the house.
- 7:53It's right over here, will be all right. Our officer there says
- 7:57that you saw it happen. That's right. I was watching television. I
- 8:00heard this scream outside. I looked out and saw the two men beating her
- 8:03up. Can you describe it? The light there wasn't real good. But
- 8:07they're about as tall as you two, but they had slighter bills. How
- 8:11old were they could you see that? I'd say they were young and maybe
- 8:13eighteen nineteen. I saw them knock her down. It was terrible. They
- 8:16hit her and then they kicked her. They picked up the person and ran
- 8:20down that way, and you called the play, Yes, but not right
- 8:22away. I ran out and saw them get in the car across the street.
- 8:26They drove right past me. Then they turned east there on remain.
- 8:31Can you describe the car for I got the license number for you. The
- 8:33last three numbers were five five two, Just three numbers. Yeah. Can
- 8:39you describe the car? What kind was it? Oh? I don't know.
- 8:41It was new. I think it was black, maybe it said or
- 8:43was it a large car or small? Oh? Kind of medium. Do
- 8:46you notice the back of it? Yeah, that's where I saw the license
- 8:50plate. No, I mean did you notice anything about the car? Maybe
- 8:52a dent on the fender or sticker on the window. I didn't look at
- 8:54the window. Did the car have a spot ladder, a radio antenna?
- 8:58I guess I didn't see any. I was trying to look at the license
- 9:01plates. Did you know anything unusual about the car and any identifying marks at
- 9:05all? Oh? No, I didn't notice. How about the make of
- 9:07the car. Do you see what kind of one? No? The last
- 9:11three numbers on the license plate were five to five two California license plate,
- 9:15Yes, it was. That should be enough here. Do you think you'll
- 9:18catch them tonight? Do you know how many plates end? In? Five
- 9:20five two? Well? Ben called in a general description of the car and
- 9:28the two attackers. I talked to the other bystanders. I found out that
- 9:31the victim's name was Missus Frida K. Swanson, a widow. She had
- 9:35a room at one to three North McAdden. None of the neighbors had seen
- 9:39the robbery or the beating take place. Eleven, twenty eight pm, Ben
- 9:43and I arrived at Hollywood Receiving Hospital interview Missus Swanson, but she was unable
- 9:46to talk or to identify her attackers. She wrote on a piece of paper
- 9:50that she'd been slugged from behind. She never got a good look at the
- 9:54man. Besides a broken jaw, she was suffering from a fractured wrist,
- 9:58a broken nose, and bruises about the face body. Tuesday, July second,
- 10:01the getaway car used in the attack on the previous night was found abandoned
- 10:05on Hollywood Boulevard and proved to be a stolen car license number six young four
- 10:11five five two. The victim's empty purse was found inside. Routine investigation developed
- 10:16no leads. We met with Captain Walker. Because the last four attacks had
- 10:20taken place within a six block radius. We set up a plan of decoys
- 10:24in an attempt to trap the two perse snatchers. Four policewomen from Juvenile Bureau
- 10:28and a special detail from Metropolitan Division was signed Tuesday four pm. The special
- 10:33detail was ordered to the squad room for briefing. Oh, Joe, Oh,
- 10:37Hier Dorothy, hi's a taxedo back in Mossball? Yeah? Hi,
- 10:41are your feet? My feet? Nothing the matter with them. You're a
- 10:43good dancer. Yeah, I bet I could use some lessons. Oh,
- 10:45you don't need lessons, Joe, you need practice. Okay, let's get
- 10:48started. I don't have to tell you the risks involved in an operation like
- 10:54this. I want all of you to know where everybody will be at any
- 10:58given time, by all of you police women and also the men who'll be
- 11:01in the squad Guys. If anybody misses anything, stop me. If we
- 11:05don't have much of a description of the men were after the two of them
- 11:09both about eighteen years old. Usually they wear sneakers, slacks, and sport
- 11:13coats. They've been in different kinds of cars, all of them stolen and
- 11:16keep each car for a few days and ditch it. Hould on the map,
- 11:20will you, Joe? Yes? Over Now, here's the area here
- 11:30residential. Ninety percent of the dwellings have garages, so if a car is
- 11:33parked on the street, it might be on you. Each of you will
- 11:35be given a list of cars stolen in the last forty eight hours. Still
- 11:39outstanding. I want you to check all park cars against the hot sheet.
- 11:43Oh first, hold up your purses, please, young lady. That person
- 11:48is too small. I'm afraid let's make it look worthwhile. Yes, all
- 11:52right, once you won't be carrying your guns in your purse. You wear
- 11:56a shoulder holster. Before you leave, Sergeant Friday will pass out some mark
- 12:00bills I want you to carry. Okay't off, police woman short. You'll
- 12:05board a westbound street car at Western and Santa Monica Boulevard at at nine o
- 12:11three pm. Don't worry about these schedules the street carlb there. Get off
- 12:16at Las Palmas at nine thirteen, walk south to Willoughby, turn east on
- 12:20Willoughby to Hudson, and north one block to Romaine. You go westn Romain
- 12:24to Kowenga, then retrace your steps to the starting point and you're through.
- 12:28Got it? Yes, you'll be covered by Unit eighty one cave yep.
- 12:33How fast or slaw should we walk? Oh, I'd say a pretty good
- 12:37pace. No woman likes to be alone on the streets at night, so
- 12:39it'll be natural. Yes, police woman ball. Yes, you board an
- 12:43eastbound bus at Lebray and Melrose at nine thirty five pm. You get off
- 12:50at Wilcox and Melrose at nine. Walk north on Wilcox to Wearing, Turn
- 12:56west on Wearing for two blocks, and north on Cherokee. Follow Cherokee for
- 13:03two blocks, Turn east on Romain, follow Romaine to Cold, and turn
- 13:09north on Coal. When you get to Santa Monica Boulevard, retrace your steps
- 13:11to your starting point. You'll be covered by Unit eighty seven. K Will
- 13:16the cars be cruising or will be part both Friday and Romero be cruising all
- 13:20the time. I'll get to the others when I finished with these instructions.
- 13:24Of course, if you see any police car, give no recognition. Yeah,
- 13:28you said the two suspects were sneakers. That's right. It'd be pretty
- 13:31hard to hear them come up behind you, I'd say, so, did
- 13:33any of the victims here they had they wouldn't be victims. Nine pm the
- 13:43decoy plan went into effect. We waited. Tuesday night passed, nothing happened.
- 13:50Wednesday night nothing. Thursday July fourth, the decoy plan was enlarged to
- 13:54include a larger area, but everything was quiet. Friday July fifth, Captain
- 13:58Walker decided that the new plan, covering an area from Robraya to Vine Street
- 14:03and from Sunset to Beverly, would be kept in operation. Ten forty five
- 14:07pm, Ben and I cruise the exposed area. We've been thinking about moving
- 14:11to a new place. Yeah. Only trouble is we don't know what's gonna
- 14:15happen. You mean if rent control goes off. Yeah, we don't know
- 14:18if prints will go up or now he's got a lease. Seventy one and
- 14:22Mariposa five h seven parties. We're gonna know what to do. We even
- 14:26toss the coin to decide. It's about as good a way as any coin
- 14:31came up tails four times in a row. You know, wife changed your
- 14:33mind on each coss No decisions Rogers seventy one on not a policewoman down there,
- 14:39Yeah, Nancy, sure you've got a right there. South on Hudson
- 14:46east on Melrose, then up will Cox to Sunset all units will it be?
- 14:50And Hudson for eighty four bs and slugging both three. Let's roll on
- 14:54it eighty three, Ye will it be? And Hudson for eighty four bs
- 14:58and slugging code three. We drove to Willoughby to solve the corner and saw
- 15:07a woman sitting on the grass with a few people around. She was a
- 15:09young woman, about twenty five. Her clothes had been torn and was a
- 15:13red weld in her right cheekbone. She was trying to get to her feet
- 15:15as we came up. There'll be an ambulance here in a few minutes.
- 15:18Miss, Can you tell us how it happened? My cheeks swelling? Did
- 15:20you see who attacks? Yes? I did. I can tell you about
- 15:22him. Look here I ripped off one of their pockets. These cards fell
- 15:26off m driver's license George Landon. Here's the piece of cloth I threw off
- 15:31his pocket. Sun take that man? Thank you? You want to stay
- 15:33with her? See if I can get a make on this license here?
- 15:35Okay, would you give me your name? Please? Barbara Cutis I live
- 15:39on put eighty K to control one eight? Ok? To control one.
- 15:48Go ahead, Eddy check suspect for making warrants. George Landon mail, White,
- 15:54age eighteen, five feet nine inches, one hundred and fifty five pounds,
- 16:00blue eyes, black hair, Address twenty seven, twenty two and a
- 16:03half, Arthur Avenue, Cam E three six seven, God your eighty k
- 16:11I'm gonna Did you see the car? Yes? I saw a white sidewall
- 16:17tires of the club coup. I tried to see the license to play.
- 16:19I couldn't make it out. What good was it case? I don't know,
- 16:22God Green, I think I'm so mad I could boil. Can you
- 16:25describe the man? Well, you got the driver's license, it's all there.
- 16:27Well it's just for one of them. And you said there were two
- 16:30men. I don't know. I grabbed one of their coats and the other
- 16:32one hit me. I think I'm so mad about it. If I tried
- 16:36to scream and nothing had come out, I understand. All right, Hi,
- 16:40you're the sixty three f we got the call. It's fine. This
- 16:41is the victim of this, Curtis. If you'll handle the report and see
- 16:44that she gets home. We got to lead to check out here. Okay,
- 16:47thank you? Can't your call back, Jill, we better get it.
- 16:52Come out of eighty k to control one go ahead, eighty k.
- 17:03Suspect as mister minor m felony record one arrest suspicion of robbery and one arrest
- 17:08GTA no once at this time all streets and address on suspect twenty seven twenty
- 17:14two and one half Arthur Avenue, Roger been in trouble before fell a named
- 17:18mister Mayor. Yeah, and he and dress matches maybe this cloth does?
- 17:33You? Are listening to Dragnet? Friday, eleven PM. Ben and I
- 17:45drove to twenty seven to twenty two and a half. Arthur Avenue was a
- 17:48small house at the rear of a lot on the east end of town.
- 17:51Alongside the front house, there was a narrow passageway leading to the house in
- 17:53the back of a small lawn. Between the two was no alley, and
- 17:57anybody leaving from the front or back door had to go through the narrow passage.
- 18:00As we approached the house, a light was on in the front room
- 18:03and through the window we could see a middle aged woman reading a magazine.
- 18:07We rang the bell, Yes, police officers, does George Landon live here?
- 18:18Why? Yes, he does? I miss aunt, Miss Landon,
- 18:22what do you want? Will we come in? Why? Yes, i'll
- 18:29won't you sit down? Thank you? Man? Is George Landon at home
- 18:33now? No, he isn't, but I think he'll be home soon.
- 18:37He never stays out late. He isn't in any trouble, is he.
- 18:41Do you know where he is with his friends? I suppose he's a popular
- 18:45boy. He really should be home soon. Where has he been, miss
- 18:49Lendon? I don't know. He goes out at night, you know,
- 18:53with his friends. Well, I really don't know. You see, it's
- 19:00difficult to keep track of a young boy. He's a big boy, and
- 19:03he's full of vitality. He has to find things to do. Yes,
- 19:07ma'am. He lives here with me. I'm his aunt. I'm not married,
- 19:11so I take care of him. His parents died when he was a
- 19:15baby. I say, is George worker? Does he go to school?
- 19:18Oh? He's finished school. You aren't here about that automobile that was torn
- 19:25a year ago, are you no, ma'am? Oh, he had some
- 19:29trouble then. I'm sure he didn't do it. Since then, he's been
- 19:33very good. He hasn't missed a day's work, and he goes to church
- 19:38with me anytime I ask him? Where does he spend his evenings? Do
- 19:41you know what I told you? With his friends? A young man has
- 19:45to use up his energy. I don't try to hold him too tightly.
- 19:51Good boy like him. Can we look at his room? Oh? Yes,
- 19:55if it's right here, right, I'll show you how neat he keeps
- 19:59it so there in that night, Yes, ma'am. I'm not trying to
- 20:07defend him. I'm only telling you about him. He keeps his room cleaned
- 20:11up himself. He smokes a little, but I've never smelled a drop of
- 20:17liquor on his breath. He's a very good boy, yes, ma'am.
- 20:21He even reads a lot. You. You can see his books over here.
- 20:23Yes, ma'am, you learn if we look around little No, No,
- 20:27that's all right. Should be home soon. He's probably at a movie.
- 20:34Do you wanna wait for him? No, I won't be necessary.
- 20:38He's always home by midnight. I'm telling you. We're here. Oh that
- 20:45must be George, now, George. Yeah, these men would like to
- 20:48talk to you. They're police officers. All right, Take it easy,
- 20:53young fellow. We'll go hold him, turn him around. Yep, how
- 20:57stands for a young fella. That's no gun. What do you guys think
- 21:02you're doing? I didn't do anything. It was just out for a ride
- 21:06this year, nephew. Yes, coat string Joe pocket ripped off this year.
- 21:11Driver's license here, George, Yeah, I lost it when last week?
- 21:18It was found tonight. So what how'd you tear your coat getting out
- 21:23of the car the other night? Here's a piece of cloth. A girl
- 21:26who was attacked tonight gave it to us. It matches the tear there in
- 21:30your coat. What if you done? George? Tell her I didn't want
- 21:34to do it. I didn't want to do it anytime he talked me into
- 21:37it, he made me do it. He's got a gun, and he
- 21:40stole the cars. He made all the plans. Who made all the plans?
- 21:42Tommy? Oh, we never did anything. He said to hang out
- 21:45at the drug store until that time a year ago. What's his last name?
- 21:47He said that it had always be held against me, and I better
- 21:48go along with him. Tommy? Who Decker? Was he with you tonight?
- 21:52Yeah? He's the one that hit her when she grabbed hold of me.
- 21:55He's the one that always had him. I never wanted him to do
- 21:56it. Where's the stuff you took out of that purse. Tommy's gonna hide
- 22:00it where back of where he works? Where's that garage? Someplace? I
- 22:06don't know where. He just started working there. Where does place on West
- 22:10Sixth? I never been there. What does this Decker look like? Same
- 22:15age I am, but about an inch taller and must be fifteen pounds heavier.
- 22:19He's got dark hair. How's he dressed? Just like me? Sneakers
- 22:23and bronze slacks and a tan sport code. Better call the office, man,
- 22:26Yeah? Can I use your telephone? Man, it's in the hall
- 22:30behind the door. You said Decker's got a gun? Yeah, officer,
- 22:37Will you tell me the truth? I'll try. Man. Are George and
- 22:41this Tommy Decker the two men the papers have been writing about. I'm afraid
- 22:45so the ones who'd been robbing the women and beating them up. I didn't
- 22:51mean it. I didn't know what I was doing. I raised your George.
- 22:53I didn't either. Eleven forty two pm we checked into the office with
- 23:02the eighteen year old suspect, George Landon. While Ben and a police deenographer
- 23:06took down the statement. I went down to R and I and pulled a
- 23:07package on the other suspect Thomas Decker. His MAMA sheet showed a petition had
- 23:12been filed on four fifty nine PC and FO eighty eight PC. They also
- 23:17showed three different recent addresses for Decker, one on West sixth Street, one
- 23:21on South Mariposa, and a third on North Catalina. Two units were dispatched
- 23:25to the first two addresses. Ben and I went to the address on North
- 23:27Catalina rooming house. We learned from Decker's landlady that he was working as an
- 23:32apprentice mechanic on the swing shift at a large garage on South Flower Street.
- 23:36Twelve fifty one am. Ben and I arrived at the garage. I beg
- 23:42you Parke, Yes, police officer. Does Thomas Decker work here? Yeah?
- 23:48He works here? Hicker? Why yeah here, Harry is back?
- 23:59Thank you? Where you want you Thomas Decker? Yeah, police officers like
- 24:07to talk to you. Watch it, Joe, come on him and he
- 24:11he's going in the locker room. All right, let's lock hit him.
- 24:18Don't go. Hey, you you over there and they're all out of this
- 24:22locker room. Yeah, come on, man, here we are. Watch
- 24:30it came from behind that car back. But they don't I cover me,
- 24:37all right, Ben, give it back to throw your gun out, throw
- 24:44it out right, I come on off, hands behind your head. I'll
- 24:51get the gun, all right. You turn around watching Joe, watch it.
- 24:56He's getting away and I'm loft outstairs. No, no, there,
- 25:11I go, come up, let me come, let me go, all
- 25:22right. I get the cups on them bed. Yeah, eighteen years old?
- 25:32What's it prove? Let I go? Sometimes you kind of wonder if
- 25:36it's true. What's There's no such thing as a bad boy. The story
- 25:48you have just heard was true. Only the names have been changed to protect
- 25:52the innocent. On November, first trial was held in Superior Court, Department
- 25:56eighty two, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In
- 26:00a moment the results of that trial, Thomas Decker and George Landon were tried
- 26:12and convicted on five counts of grand theft person, five counts of grand theft
- 26:17auto, and five counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm.
- 26:21They were sentenced to the state penitentiary for a term as prescribed by law and
- 26:25are now serving their sentence. Ladies and gentlemen, Chief of Police W.
- 26:33A. Wharton, speaking from his office in City Hall, Los Angeles,
- 26:37California. As Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles, I wish
- 26:44to extend my hottiest congratulations to the program Dragnet on the occasion of its first
- 26:51anniversary. The overwhelming success of this program, as indicated by the hundreds of
- 26:57commendatory letters, telegrams and personal comments I feel, has been due to the
- 27:04splendid job of portraying police officers and their work. The American public, by
- 27:12its enthusiastic acceptance of Dragnet, has indicated a desire for fractual police programs.
- 27:21The Los Angeles Police Department is proud to contribute to the constructive entertainment of both
- 27:26adults and children through this medium. May I extend my best wishes to the
- 27:33National Broadcasting Company, the sponsor, the actors, the writer, and the
- 27:37producer of Dragnet, and I trust there will be many more years of continued
- 27:44success for this program. You have just heard Dragnet a series of authentic cases
- 27:52from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of
- 27:57Police W. A. Wharton, S Angeles Police Department. Next, a
- 28:07great news show, Sarah's Private Caper on NBC. This is Andrew Ryan's with
- 28:26OTR Westerns dot com, where we stream live old time radio Westerns twenty four
- 28:32hours a day, seven days a week with a special twist. You select
- 28:36the tracks that get to be played. We've got a thousand different episodes from
- 28:40shows like Gunsmoke, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Escape, Genautry, and
- 28:44many more. Come check us out at OTR Westerns dot com slash live Again.
- 28:48That's OTR Westerns dot com slash Live. You're listening to the great detectives
- 28:52of old time radio with Adam Graham. And now let's get back into the
- 28:56show. Welcome back. Well, they were a little late for strict first
- 29:07anniversary celebration, as that was on June the third. The last week's show
- 29:11was their fifty second script and this was their fifty third. Some preemptions and
- 29:17schedule changes played into that. I really appreciated the opening of the show.
- 29:23It showed kind of an old fashioned sense of gratitude to the audience, and
- 29:32whether every program did this or not, I think there was that sense during
- 29:37the golden age of entertainment. It was a reminder of what acting, performing
- 29:44singing was for the great mass of entertainers. Now you might have your prima
- 29:51donnas, your big big stars on occasion, but for a lot of actors,
- 29:56for most of them, acting was very g work. It was dependent
- 30:02on you going from town to town and city to city, gig to gig,
- 30:07playing the same part in the same role over and over again, never
- 30:11quite knowing sometimes where your next meal would come from. William Gargan wrote about
- 30:18his career on the stage of course, the star of Barry Craig, confidential
- 30:22investigator and such a great personality in Hollywood, and he wrote about how the
- 30:30type of things that you went through as an actor and even the early days
- 30:34of movies could often be quite brutal to many of the early stars of the
- 30:40silence and even into the talkies. So you have now starting the nineteen thirties
- 30:45radio where you don't have to go anywhere or travel anywhere. You're able to
- 30:52ply your trade every week because someone's willing to invite you into their hall.
- 31:00You are, i guessed in their home because they value what you have to
- 31:06offer. And this was the type of program different from other crime programs where
- 31:11parents would call their kids and say, come on, it's time to listen
- 31:17to Dragnet and they valued that because they remembered I think the roots of acting
- 31:23and what it often is for many amateur actors, people who never quite make
- 31:30it big, but major entertainment industry often gets disconnected from that. Maybe it's
- 31:37a familiarity with the idea of television and big movies and an expectation that this
- 31:45is the way that it ought to be. It may be a little bit
- 31:48of familiarity breeding contempt, but that's something you don't get from the golden age
- 31:52of entertainment. I think in this episode we also hear how drag that wasn't
- 31:59just about telling you how the police work, but really educating people in good
- 32:06citizenship and being a good witness. A chief example being that gentleman who really
- 32:13tried to help out the police but mispertinent details. Getting a license number is
- 32:20great, but you want to try and focus and get as much information as
- 32:24possible. Even if he'd gotten the full license number, it could have been
- 32:29a case where you could have a plight that doesn't match the car. And
- 32:36I will say that this first season of Dragnet, and it's pretty much true
- 32:40throughout this Throughout Dragnet, the main role we do see the policewomen in is
- 32:51undercover and in decoy sort of roles, and I think there is a certain
- 32:58element of realism, and that was, I think, at this point in
- 33:02history, one of the biggest parts of police work. And certainly that's always
- 33:09going to be true when you do have crimes that are targeted specifically against women,
- 33:16but it was very predominant in the nineteen fifties. Perhaps it's for that
- 33:22reason that the very first ever show about a policewoman as a television show was
- 33:29called Decoy. And while it's fair to criticize some of the limitations that many
- 33:35police departments placed on women, that should not be a criticism of the very
- 33:40brave policewomen in so many departments, because in any situation taking on this role
- 33:47as a decoy is this episode really illustrated that, despite whatever precautions they took,
- 33:57this was a dangerous situation that ultimately the guard against everything. For at
- 34:04any rate, a very interesting episode, and I think I probably spent more
- 34:07time talking about the introduction and conclusion in terms of recognizing Dragnet's achievement than I
- 34:15did the show itself. But that will do it for today. We'll be
- 34:20back on Monday with the Saint. Join us back here next Saturday for another
- 34:23episode of Dragnet. In the meantime, send your comments to Box thirteen at
- 34:29Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and become
- 34:34one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com. Slash Radio Detectives from
- 34:37Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Grahamson and Off