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Dragnet - "Big Cat" (Old Time Radio, 1954) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On June 15, 1954, NBC aired episode 252 of Dragnet
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Big Cat. Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith, working
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Police Department's auto theft detail, receive an
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: unusual report from a carnival operator. Animals have disappeared from
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: a disabled circus truck. The matter takes on urgency when Dante,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a Black Panther, is reported loose in Los Angeles, sending
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Friday and Smith into a widening search that reaches the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Hollywood Hills and draws on the advice of the Griffith
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Park Zoo. Jack Webb stars as Friday, with Ben Alexander
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: as Smith. Webb also directed John Robinson's script. Chesterfield Cigarettes
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: sponsored the broadcast. And now, we take you back to
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the original broadcast.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: The names were changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: Drag men.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: You're assigned to auto theft detail.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: You receive a report that a circus truck has been
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: broken into. Several of the animals are missing. Some of
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: them are dangerous. Your job, find them.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: It was Monday, May 12th. It was cold in Los Angeles.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: We were working the day watch out of auto theft detail.
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Chief of
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: Detectives Thad Brown. My name is Friday. I was on
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: my way back for Superior Court and it was 11.46 a.m.
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: when I got to room 40. Auto theft.
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: Hi. Hi.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: How'd it go? Well, his lawyer's got a continuance.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: How come? I don't know. New evidence they want to introduce.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: What's the DA's office say? Well, it's nothing they can say.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: It comes under the heading of due process, you know.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: You think he's going to nail him? Alex thinks so.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: The guy's admitted his guilt. Now he's claiming his confession
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: is a lot of bunk. Says we got it out
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: of him by force. Hmm. Where now? Covey did it
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: without the confession, I guess. Shouldn't be too hard. We
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: got all the evidence. We get the chance to lay
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: it out for the jury.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: When do you go back? Let's see. Set it off
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: for a week, I guess. Yeah.
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: Anything come in?
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: No, not big.
• 2:25
  Speaker 5: Excuse me.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: Something we can do for you?
• 2:29
  Speaker 5: I can report something stolen.
• 2:30
  Speaker 6: All right, sir.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: Just come on in.
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: Sure gets service around here.
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: All right, sir. Now, what kind of a car was it?
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: Ain't no car.
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: Beg your pardon?
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: No car stolen. Stuff in the car.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: All right. What was it?
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: Well, it wasn't really a car anyway.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: A truck.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: A truck.
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: That's where they stole it from, a truck. All right.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: If you'll give us a description.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: As far as I know, they might not have stolen
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: it anyway. Might just have opened it and let them
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: all out.
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Well, the sooner we get this report filled out, the
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: faster we can start looking for the stolen merchandise. Yeah.
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: Should have thought of that myself.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: Should have. All right, sir. Now, what's your name?
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: Clarence Havel. H-A-V-I-L-L. No R. Most people put an R
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: in it.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: Havel.
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: It ain't.
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: It's Havel. Where'd the theft take place?
• 3:15
  Speaker 5: Corner Fountain de Longpree. Right on the corner there. Just
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: south of the red zone on Fountain.
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: All right, sir. What was taken?
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: You see, I got this call from one of the
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: drivers who works for my brother and me. Drives one
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: of our trucks. Called and said the machine had broke down.
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: Wanted me to bring another tractor over.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: Well, we can get to all that later, Mr. Havel. Now,
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: what were the stolen articles?
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: Animals.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Sir?
• 3:40
  Speaker 5: Animals from our carnival.
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: What kind of animals?
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: Oh, a couple of monkeys, Cody Mundy, two raccoons.
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: All right, sir.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: Anything else?
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: Yeah, here comes the bad part. This is what I
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: was afraid of.
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: What's that, sir?
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: It's the reason I waited so long to record it.
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: I thought maybe he'd turn up.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: What's that, sir?
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: A black panther.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: We got a.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: Discussion of the animals and a local broadcaster's gotten out
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: on them immediately. 12.18 p.m. We continued to talk to
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: Clarence Havel.
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: Friday night.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: That's when it happened.
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: What time Friday night?
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: About 7.05 or 7.10, right after the fights went on.
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: That's when the phone rang.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: I see.
• 4:21
  Speaker 5: I was kind of sure about being interrupted when the
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: fights was on. Always watch them. Most of my friends
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: know not to call me then.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 4:29
  Speaker 5: Well, anyway, the phone rang. I got up and went
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: over to answer it. It was Bert.
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: Who was Bert?
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: Bert Newell.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: He's a driver.
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see.
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: Said he had a breakdown at Fountain D. Longcrete. Asked
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: me if I had an extra tractor. Happened I did. Uh-huh.
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: Burt asked me to bring it over. Said he wanted
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: to use it to get the show to Nevada.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: So you drove over then, huh?
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: Not right away.
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: How's that?
• 4:51
  Speaker 5: Well, it looked like the fight wasn't going to last
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: much longer, and I wanted to see the finish of it.
• 4:55
  Speaker 5: So I stuck around for a couple more rounds. After that,
• 4:57
  Speaker 5: I left.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: Drove over and found Burt right on the corner, just
• 5:01
  Speaker 5: standing there, not trying to do nothing about the breakdown,
• 5:04
  Speaker 5: just standing there.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: Well, you just bet I read him off. Told him
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: the least he could have done was get out a
• 5:10
  Speaker 5: wrench or something, tried to find the trouble... I read
• 5:13
  Speaker 5: him off good.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: Didn't do no good. He's shiftless, you know. Real shiftless.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: You know Bert, do you?
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: No, sir. Shiftless.
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: You know him, you know that.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: You want to go on, please?
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. Well, we got the trailer on the hitch
• 5:29
  Speaker 5: and the tractor hooked up. Only took a couple of
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: minutes and got it done and Bert took off.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: Where was he going, you know?
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: Over to Nevada. Going to play a show there.
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: Overton.
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: Going to play a show there.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: Right by Lake Mead.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Overton. Yes, sir. When did you find out the animals
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: were missing?
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: When I got the wire from my brother. That's when
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: I got the first inkling.
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: When was that?
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: Last night. The company phoned me about, oh, I guess
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: it was about 8.30.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: I see.
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: You have the telegram?
• 5:55
  Speaker 5: No. I told you they phoned it.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: What did it say?
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: Yes, the animals are gone from my brother. Said that
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: the animals were in on the truck when I got
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: to Overton. Told me about how the locks on a
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: couple of the cages was busted and smashed and the
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: animals was gone.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: Well, now, sir, is it possible that the cages might
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: have been broken into some other place than Los Angeles?
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: Might be, yes, might be. It ain't likely.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: Why do you say that?
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: Only reason I know of, because it ain't likely. Not
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: only that, I got proof of it.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: How do you mean, sir?
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: Well, as soon as I got the wire, I went
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: down to Fountain D. Longcree, went right there and looked around.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
• 6:30
  Speaker 5: Figured I might as well go down there and look around.
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: I might find something, you know. Took a big four-cell flash,
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: went down the corner... I see. Yeah, I was right.
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: That's where it happened. Yeah, that's where they got away.
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: Found the spore, you know.
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: What did you find?
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: Spore. Cracks.
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: Found them all over the place.
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see. Of the panther?
• 6:50
  Speaker 5: No, raccoons.
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: Oh, I see.
• 6:52
  Speaker 5: Not only that, I found something else. Yes, sir? Monkeys.
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: Found them, too.
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: Well, where were they?
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: Phone pole, right up on the top, just sitting there shivering.
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: They're kind of little, you know. Get real cold easy.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: We have them around the place. They wear little sweaters.
• 7:07
  Speaker 5: Get chilly real easy.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: How about the rest of the animals? You see any
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: sign of them?
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: No, I went over to a little store near there
• 7:14
  Speaker 5: and got a head of lettuce. 17 cents. Took it
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: back to the phone pole, showed it to Cesar and Salome. Oh,
• 7:19
  Speaker 5: they loved lettuce.
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: Was that the monkeys?
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: Yeah, mama's white-eared. Loved lettuce.
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: They came right down then, did they?
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah, right down the pole. Slithered right for the lettuce.
• 7:31
  Speaker 5: And they were scared stiff. Being up there on that
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: pole all night. Should have had their sweaters.
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: What about the other animals?
• 7:39
  Speaker 5: Not a sign of them. Just the spore of the raccoons.
• 7:43
  Speaker 5: Haven't got the slightest idea where they might have gone.
• 7:46
  Speaker 5: No real problem knowing about them.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: How do you mean?
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: Easy to replace. Just go up in the Hollywood Hills,
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: lots of them there. Found all over the place upsetting
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: garbage cans. Imagine some of the people would be glad
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: to have me come up there and take them away.
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: Raccoons ain't no problem.
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: Well, Mr. Haver, what about the panther?
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: Well, he's a problem.
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir. Can you give us a description of the animal?
• 8:07
  Speaker 5: Yeah, he's black.
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 8:09
  Speaker 5: Like the inside of a well, jet black. Even blacker
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: than that ink they're talking about.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: Really?
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: About seven feet long. Oh, easy, that.
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 8:17
  Speaker 5: That's counting a tail. Seven feet.
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: Anything else about him that we should know?
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: No, just a plain black panther. Nothing special.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: Is he dangerous?
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Well, not unless he meets somebody.
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: Dandy's got a temper.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: That's the name of the animal, is it, Danty? Yeah.
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: Maybe that's because he's blacker than the pits of the inferno.
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: Danty. You're pretty sure he got out of that truck
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: when the monkeys did, huh?
• 8:37
  Speaker 5: Well, I ain't going to give you no written guarantee,
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: but I'm sure of it.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: All right, sir.
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: We'll start looking for him right away. Mr. Havel, where
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: were these animals coming from?
• 8:44
  Speaker 5: Winter quarters. The standard orbiting is going to be our first,
• 8:48
  Speaker 5: just starting the season.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: Well, is there anything else you can tell us that
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: will make it easier to find the panther?
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: No, not a thing. Just be careful, that's all. Don't
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: hurt him. He's really as gentle as a kitten when
• 9:00
  Speaker 5: you get to know him, like a big overgrown cat. Gentle.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: That's something Clyde didn't understand.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: Who's Clyde, sir?
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: My brother, Clyde.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see.
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: He didn't like Danty. Didn't understand him. That's what caused
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: the trouble.
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: What was that?
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: Last winter, Clyde came to see the show, tell me
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: about the booking.
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: We discussed about how the best way to exhibit Danty
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: would be, and Clyde got too close to the cage.
• 9:24
  Speaker 5: Danty almost killed him.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: All officers in the area where the panther had escaped
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: were notified, and an additional team of men were called
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: from Metropolitan Reserves to patrol the vicinity. The presence of
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: the animal on city streets presented a very real menace
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: to all citizens in the city. A team of detectives
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: from Auto Theft Detail were dispatched to the corner of
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: Fountain and DeLong Prey to talk to the people who
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: lived in the area. However, they were unable to come
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: up with any new information on the escaped panther. Frank
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: and I talked to Chief of Detectives Thad Brown and
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: with Captain Nelson. It was decided to start a block-by-block search.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: for the missing cat Authorities from the Griffith Park Zoo
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: were consulted as to the possible hiding places of the
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: animal When the afternoon newspapers hit the streets, calls began
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: to flood the complaint board asking for additional information on
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: the Panther Local radio and television broadcasts carried stories about
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: the escape and the number of calls went up Additional
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: men had to be called to care for the switchboard.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: The search went on. Frank and I worked in the
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: field along with the other men from Auto Theft Detail
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: and officers from Metro Division. Every possible hiding place in
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: the vicinity of Fountain and Delong Pre was searched without
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: turning up any new information on the cat. It was
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: the opinion of authorities that the Panther might try to
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: hide in the brush of the Hollywood Hills, and the
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: search was moved to that vicinity. Tuesday, May 12th. Frank
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: and I got back to the office from the area.
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: We'd been up all night looking for the animal. You
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: want to check with the skipper? Anybody around who can
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: bring in some coffee?
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: I'll call Sal.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: He'll bring some over. That'll be a good idea. Ask
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: him to send over a sandwich, too. What kind do
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: you want? I don't care. Just tell him to make
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: sure the coffee's hot.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir?
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: I'd like to talk to the men who are working
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: on the panther thing.
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir. Come right in.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: Over here at the end of the hall, I'd find
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: him here.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: Well, I'm Sergeant Friday. Maybe I can help you.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: You working with the search party?
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: My partner and I have been out with them.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: Have they caught it yet?
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: No, sir, not yet.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: They know where it is? Well, no, sir, we don't.
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: That's what I thought. I'm Sidney Norton. I live in
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: this town. Yes, sir. Got a family. I pay taxes.
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh.
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: I just want to ask one question.
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir. Go ahead.
• 11:25
  Speaker 6: Now, according to the papers, this Havel, or whatever his
• 11:28
  Speaker 6: name is, he owns the Panther.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: Is that right?
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: His name's Clarence Havel.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: But he owns the cat. Yes, sir. That's right. And
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: I want his address. Thank you, partner. I want the
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: number of his house. That simple, isn't it?
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: Well, we're not allowed to give that out. I'm sorry.
• 11:38
  Speaker 6: All I want is his address so I can go
• 11:39
  Speaker 6: over there and punch him right in the nose. You
• 11:42
  Speaker 6: going to give it to me?
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: No, sir.
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: Who's your superior?
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: Captain Nelson.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: Well, where is he? I want to talk to him.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: He's in Chief Brown's office right now.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: Well, where's that?
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: Down at the end of the hall, office number 26.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: All right, I'll talk to him. I want that man's address,
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: and I want it now.
• 11:55
  Speaker 6: Terrible thing for the law to allow a person to
• 11:56
  Speaker 6: keep animals like that so they can get away and
• 11:58
  Speaker 6: walk around killing anybody they meet. If you cops can't
• 12:00
  Speaker 6: do anything about it, I can. You can just bet
• 12:02
  Speaker 6: I can. If you go out and cause Mr. Havel
• 12:05
  Speaker 6: any trouble, you're liable for arrest, sir.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: By whom?
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Any policeman that he wants to call.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: Well, you protect him, but you don't care about me
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: and my family, is that it?
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: No, sir. You've both got rights of protection under the law. Now,
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: if Havel's done anything, we'll take care of it. When?
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: As soon as we find that panther.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Well, you may just be wrong. I've been talking around.
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: There are a lot of people who feel like I.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: Do, a lot of them. Enough, maybe, to decide to
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: do things our way.
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: Well, I wouldn't try it, Mr.
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: Norton. Too late, mister. You can't do anything about it.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: We will. Me and my friends, we'll take care of it.
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: It's out of your hands. We'll take care of Havel.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: Take care of him good.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: I wouldn't make book on that.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Who's going to stop us?
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: Like I told you, any cop that Havel calls. Frank
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: and I talked to Sidney Norton, and we finally convinced
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: him that any action he might take would not help
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: the situation. We sent him home, and then we met
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: with Captain Nelson and Chief Brown. The progress of the
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: search was reviewed, and it was decided to continue it
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: in the Lake Hollywood area and in the upper grip
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: of Park Hill. All days off had been canceled, and
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: additional officers were joining in the hunt for the panther.
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: After the meeting, Frank and I got some breakfast, and
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: then we drove out to Clarence Havel's home. It was
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: a large ranch house at the corner of Victory Boulevard
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: and Monterey Avenue out in the San Fernando Valley. We
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: drove through the gate and parked the car. Clarence Havel
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: was sitting on the large porch waiting for us. A
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: small monkey was sitting on his shoulder.
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: Hi, come on up and sit down. Yes, sir. How's
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: it going, Mr. Friday, Mr.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: Smith?
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: All right, sir.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Pretty good, sir.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: Get you anything?
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: A glass of ginger beer, maybe? Got something cold in
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: the icebox?
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: No, sir, no thanks.
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: Heard from my brother this morning.
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: Is that right?
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
• 13:31
  Speaker 5: In Nevada.
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: Got a telegram.
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: Company phoned it to me again. Good news.
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: What's that, sir?
• 13:37
  Speaker 5: Well, beginning to look like it's all a mistake.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Sir?
• 13:39
  Speaker 5: The whole thing. Looks like the animals didn't get away
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: here in Los Angeles.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: Why do you say that?
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: Well, there's a telegram from my brother. Says they found
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: the Cody Mundy and one of the raccoons in Baker, California.
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: Found them alongside the road.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: Tired and hungry.
• 13:53
  Speaker 5: Guess they're sorry now they got out of the truck.
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: How about the pants? Are there any word on him?
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: No, not yet, but Clyde sent some men out to
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: look for it. Sure, Dandy will turn up.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: How can we get in touch with your brother, Hamill?
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: Can't.
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: What?
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: Can't get in touch with him. Out in the desert
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: looking for Dandy. Out of touch.
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: Can you give us the address of your winter quarters
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: here in town?
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: I can't do that, Mr. Friday.
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: Why not?
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: You don't know him.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: Well, sir, you run a circus and you don't know
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: where the animals are kept?
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: Well, not really a circus, a carnival.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, we understand, but what's the address?
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: You haven't any idea?
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: Not the least.
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: And you can't tell us where to reach your brother?
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: He's out looking for Danny.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: Well, how about it, Havel, something that you're not telling us?
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: Havel?
• 14:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Well, is there?
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: We haven't got no regular winter quarters, not regular set up.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: That's why I can't tell you where it is. Ain't none.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: All right, go ahead.
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: You see, the Havel Amalgamated Combined Show is really a
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: gypsy carnival.
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: Why do you mean that?
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: Well, we ain't got no big operation. A couple of
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: mangy animals. We don't have a license to keep them
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: in the city. Only quarters we got are vacant lots.
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: We set up and stay there until the neighbors start
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: to complain, then we move on. Trucks for the shore
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: are registered in states where the fee is smallest, and
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: we got about every deal we could to keep the
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: cost of operation down.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Now, what about the pants?
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: Andy?
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir?
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: Only real attraction we got. Man killer. I told you
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: about how I almost got Clive, didn't I? I told
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: you that.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 15:20
  Speaker 5: You've got to understand that, dear, nothing works with him.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: Is that right? Might be something about Dandy.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: Could be our officer. We gave him this number.
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, just a minute.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: Hello?
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: Yeah, this is his number.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: Huh?
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: Yeah, just a minute.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: It's for you, Mr.
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: Prattie, your office. Thank you.
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: No problem at all. I like to do what I can.
• 15:51
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: Friday? Yes, Cooper. That's right. Well, you want to give
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: me that address? I checked out, didn't I? No, we'll
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: get right over. Frank, let's go.
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: Good news?
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: Well, we're not sure yet. Huh? They say they found
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: the Panther. The address we'd gotten on the telephone was
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: in the Hollywood Hills, just off Beachwood Drive. Frank and
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: I drove down the freeway, turned off at Gower, up
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: Franklin to Beachwood, and we continued up to Ledgewood Drive.
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: By the time we got there, other units had arrived
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: in the immediate vicinity where the animal had been seen
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: was surrounded. From one of the officers, we got the story.
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: The panther had been seen by one of the civilians
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: searching the area. The animal had run between two houses
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: and jumped through a window into a ground floor garage.
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: We checked the house, but we found that the occupants
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: were not there. Because of the danger of the Panther's
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: presence and the difficulty of taking it alive, it was
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: decided to try to shoot it. The officers involved in
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: the search were armed with large caliber weapons. Frank and
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: I took two sawed-off shotguns and we approached the door
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: leading to the garage. Who's covering the window?
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Mac.
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: All right. I'll hit the door. Stand back. We'll try
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: to see what's inside. Okay. I can't see anything from
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: the window. No. It might be behind those boxes at
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: the rear there. Yeah. You all set?
• 17:15
  Speaker 7: Yep.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: No.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Seen any? No. Wait a minute. Back there, behind the cases.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: Looks like something there. All right, you take that, son.
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: Take it easy. You don't have to spell it. Hi, Frank.
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: Right from where you are, can you tip those boxes
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: over there? Yeah, I think so.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: Well, let's try it. Maybe it'll drive him out in
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: the open.
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: Well, there he is. Yeah. Looks pretty mean. Black tomcat.
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: Black tomcat. The event was similar to several that had
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: happened during the hunt for the Black Panther. During the
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: 20-odd hours we'd been looking for the animal, there'd been
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: several reports that seemed authentic enough to be checked out.
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: All of them turned out to be false. By this time,
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: there were over 300 officers engaged in the search. Frank
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: and I went back to the office and put in
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: a call to the telegraph company in an effort to
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: find Clyde Havel. They checked through their files, but they
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: were unable to find any record of any wires. We
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: then put in a call to the California-Nevada border station
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: in an attempt to get information. Yes, sir, that's right.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: Havel Amalgamated Combined Shows. What? A-V-V-I-L-L. Havel. Well, what we got,
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: it should have come through Saturday the 13th. No, it
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: might have been Sunday the 14th. You pretty sure about that,
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: are you? Was it possible? All right, I understand. Okay,
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: thank you. If anything turns up, will you call us? Friday,
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: extension 2507. That's auto theft detail.
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: Thanks again.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: Bye.
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: How about it? They got a record of the show
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: going through? They never heard of it. We immediately put
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: in a call to the authorities in Baker, California. We
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: talked with members of the state highway patrol, and from
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: them we obtained the information that there had been no
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: stray animals captured in the vicinity during the past few days.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: The conversation with them lengthened the possibility that the story
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: we'd gotten from Clarence Havel was a lie. We checked
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: his house, but Havel wasn't there. From his neighbors, we
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: obtained the name of his sister. 6.10 p.m. We drove
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: out to the address, a two-family stucco duplex. We rang
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: the bell and we waited.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: Miss Havel?
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: That's right.
• 19:46
  Speaker 7: What is it you want?
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: Well, police officers. Frank Smith, my name's Friday. Hello.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: How do you do, ma'am?
• 19:51
  Speaker 5: What is it you want?
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: Would you like to talk to me about your brother?
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: Clyde?
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: No, ma'am.
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: Clarence.
• 19:57
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 19:57
  Speaker 7: Friday, I've done what I can for him. If he's
• 20:00
  Speaker 7: in trouble again, he's just going to have to go
• 20:02
  Speaker 7: it alone.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: What if we could talk inside?
• 20:06
  Speaker 7: Well, come on in.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much. What's your brother done this time?
• 20:11
  Speaker 7: What's my brother done this time?
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: Does your brother own a circus?
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: Is this a joke?
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: No, ma'am. It's pretty serious, does he?
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: Sure.
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: A big one.
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: Have them amalgamated and combine shows. Travels all over the country. Animals, concessions.
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: Even got a man eating black pasta.
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. That's one of the things we want to
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: find out about.
• 20:29
  Speaker 7: Dandy?
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: You know the animal, do you?
• 20:31
  Speaker 7: Oh, Clarence's friends do. Talks about him all the time.
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: You know where the circus is right now?
• 20:37
  Speaker 7: Same place it's always been. Well, never been anyplace else.
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: No.
• 20:41
  Speaker 7: In Clarence's head.
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: We continued to talk to Lillian Havel. From her, we
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: got the background of the story. She told us that
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: her brother had been a press agent for one of
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: the larger carnivals, but that he'd been discharged several years before.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: Since that time, he talked of very little else but
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: the day when he'd be able to start his own
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: show starring Danty, the man killing Black Panther. She went
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: on to tell us that he'd spent most of his
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: time in the hills of the San Fernando Valley trapping
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: small animals, preparing for the first tour of the carnival.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: We called the office and notified them. The search for
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: the Black Panther was called off. 8.46 p.m., we left
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: the duplex and we drove out the freeway to the valley.
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: When we got to Havel's, he was sitting on the
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: front porch reading. The monkey was still on his shoulder.
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: Hey, come back, huh?
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: Found Danty yet? Sure hope you come up with him.
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: I hate to lose the main attraction. He's had any
• 21:33
  Speaker 5: word of him yet, huh?
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: No.
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: Nah, he's a sly one, old Danty. Sly.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: He knows if you.
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Find him, he'll go back in the cage. You just
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: keep looking, though. He'll turn up.
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: Search has been called off, Havel.
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: Called off? That's right. You mean you quit looking?
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 21:48
  Speaker 5: Well, you can't do that. You can't. Dangerous animal like
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: that loose in the city, all the people in dire danger.
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: You can't call off the posse.
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: Why don't you tell us about it?
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: What do you mean? All right, Havel.
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: Tell us why you did it.
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: Why'd you report the panther being gone?
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: Because she was. Wanted to save all the people from
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: dire danger.
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: Why don't you tell us the truth?
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: We've checked your story. It's a pack of lies.
• 22:08
  Speaker 7: You know it.
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: Now, just a minute. Ain't no man that says I
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: tell lies. No man.
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: You say you got two telegrams from your brother, is
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: that right?
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah, from Clyde.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: Well, we checked with the telegraph company. They've got no
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: record of any such messages.
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: It's a big company. They might have lost them.
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: No, I don't think they lost him.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: I have.
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: You told us the carnival truck went into Nevada, didn't you?
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: Is that right?
• 22:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: We checked at the border. They don't know anything about
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: the show.
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: Well, there are a lot of roads into Nevada. Maybe
• 22:34
  Speaker 5: you called the wrong station.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: We talked to the right one.
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: Big truck, red and yellow. That was combined, amalgamated shows.
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: Letters about this big on the side. Yellow letters, got
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: a picture of Danny on the side. Mean, you can
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: almost count his teeth.
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: You told us the truck was registered in your name.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: DMV has no record of it. We talked to your sister.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: She tells you you don't have any kind of a show.
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: Lillian said that?
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: That's what she said.
• 23:00
  Speaker 5: You here, too?
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: Lillian told you I didn't have no show? Lillian told
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: you that?
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: I'm going to get your coat, Hamill.
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: A little cold out tonight.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: You might need a coat.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: Are we going someplace?
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: We're going to have to take you downtown.
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: Why?
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: Well, you had half the city on a wild goose
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: chase here. Caused a lot of people a lot of work.
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: Turns out there was no reason for it. We're trying
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: to find out why you did it. Why? Yes, sir.
• 23:26
  Speaker 5: You ever wanted anything bad, Sergeant?
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: What?
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: You ever wanted something so bad you'd almost taste it,
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: get to a point where you think about it so much,
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: pretty soon it don't come over like a dream anymore.
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: It's real. Honest and true real. You ever wanted anything
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: like that?
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: I wouldn't know.
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: Well, that's the way it was with Havel's Amalgamated Combined Shows.
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: That's the way it was. I was weaned on sawdust.
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: Been around it all my life. The animals, side shows,
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: the alley, all of it. Been my whole life. When
• 23:59
  Speaker 5: I left, it just seemed like I jumped into a
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: big hole that didn't have no bottom. Wasn't anything to
• 24:03
  Speaker 5: hang on to. Nothing to tie down to, you know?
• 24:08
  Speaker 5: Always I had in the back of my head that
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: I could do it again. I was a good publicity man. Good.
• 24:14
  Speaker 5: Used to pack the main. Never no trouble getting the
• 24:16
  Speaker 5: people in when I was there.
• 24:18
  Speaker 7: When I left, I knew I'd be back.
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: I knew it with my own show. Have those amalgamated
• 24:24
  Speaker 5: combined shows, the biggest in the world. I guess I
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: just got so I believed it too much and lost
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: the line between what's real and what I was dreaming.
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: You know, this morning when you was out here, remembered
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: and tried to stop you from going on with it.
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: Tried and then there was a phone call where they
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: found Daddy. Didn't seem right to stop things then. Just
• 24:47
  Speaker 5: didn't seem right.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: You want to get your coat?
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 24:53
  Speaker 5: Are you going to take me downtown to the police car?
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: Can you use a siren?
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: A what, sir?
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: Siren.
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: There's no reason for any sirens.
• 25:01
  Speaker 5: I suppose not. Used to have sirens when I come
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: to town. Me and the chief of police ride down
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: the street, siren going. Everybody knew I was in town.
• 25:09
  Speaker 5: Big to-do. Everybody knew I was there. Things have sure changed.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: Not very much.
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: Things have changed. People used to know I was in town.
• 25:30
  Speaker 6: Clarence Neal Havel was held over for a sanity hearing
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: in Superior Court. On recommendation of the court, appropriate action
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: was taken.
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: Dragnet, the story of your police force in action is
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: THE END
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Our Dragnet presentation of Big Cat now comes to a
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: close follow Dragnet for more classic broadcasts