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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A market robbery in Los Angeles sends Sergeant Joe Friday
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and Officer Frank Smith of the LAPD robbery detail following
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: an informant's lead. From NBC, this is Dragnet, episode 249,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Big Watch. First heard May 25th, 1954. Their investigation begins
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: at a neighborhood bar, then turns on a stolen watch
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: as records checks and witness interviews narrow the trail. Jack
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Webb stars as Friday, with Ben Alexander as Frank Smith.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: John Robinson wrote this broadcast, directed by Webb, and now
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: our story begins.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery details.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: You've been looking for a suspect in a market robbery
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: for three weeks. Finally, an informant calls you with information.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Your job? Check it out.
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: It was Tuesday, February 17th. It was cold in Los Angeles.
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: We were working the day watch out a robbery detail.
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Chief of
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: Detectives Thad Brown.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: My name's Friday.
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: We were on our way out from the office, and
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: it was 10.56 by the time we parked our car
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: and got to 4278 Winona, the Bellamy's room.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: Hi, Joe, Frank. Van, how's it going?
• 1:36
  Speaker 5: Hi, Van.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: I'm walking around about all I can expect. Sit down.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Get you anything? No, no, thanks. Just made
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: a fresh pot of coffee in the back. Like a cup? Yeah,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: I might go for one.
• 1:49
  Speaker 5: How about you, Frank?
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 1:51
  Speaker 5: I'll get it. You both take a black, don't you?
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 1:54
  Speaker 5: Yeah, man.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: What was it you wanted to talk to us about? What?
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: I say, what was it you wanted to see us about?
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Just a minute.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: I'll be right with you.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Hey, you want to take one of these cups? Yeah.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Let me give you a hand there.
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: Here you go, Frank.
• 2:07
  Speaker 5: Thanks. Thanks.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: What do you got for us, Dan?
• 2:11
  Speaker 6: I read in the paper a couple weeks ago where
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: you had a stick-up at that big market out in
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: the valley.
• 2:15
  Speaker 5: Is that right? Yeah.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Pete made it. It was close to $ 7, 000. You got
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: anything on it? Well, what'd the guy look like?
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: Well, the description we got was 28 to 30, 5'8.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: 5'10, 145 pounds, dark hair, dark eyes. He was wearing
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: a leather jacket and denim pants. It was all in
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: the paper, Dan. Well, it might fit, then. All except
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: the clothes, huh? There's been a bohunk hanging around here
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: the last couple weeks. He's got a roll that'll make
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: a horse pretty sick. Yeah?
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: The funny part is that I've seen him around here
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: for a year, and he never had two dimes to
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: rub together. All of a sudden, he turns up loaded.
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: Popping for drinks.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: All over the place.
• 2:45
  Speaker 6: Loaded down with expensive watches, good clothes, everything that goes
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: with money.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: What's his name, you know?
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: I don't know the whole thing.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Been calling him Nick. That's all I know.
• 2:52
  Speaker 6: He matches the description pretty close, huh? All except the clothes.
• 2:56
  Speaker 6: Rags he's carrying now are the best. Don't look like
• 2:58
  Speaker 6: they come from plain rags.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Did he come up with any kind of a
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: story about the money? No, I kind of hinted at
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: it a couple of times. You know, on a joking
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: sort of way. I didn't want to be too nosy. Yeah,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 3:07
  Speaker 6: All he says is that he met the locksmith at
• 3:09
  Speaker 6: Fort Knox. Passed it off as a big joke.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: Says he found the easy.
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: Way to live.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Might be our man. You have any close friends? No,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Joey plays it kind of solo. He dated Madge a
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: couple of times. Who's Madge? She's a waitress here. Comes
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: in about six. She works the tables and back.
• 3:22
  Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Did she tell you anything about the guy? No, I
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: asked her, but she says they.
• 3:26
  Speaker 6: Had dinner, took in a couple of clubs, then he
• 3:28
  Speaker 6: took her home.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Played it straight all evening.
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: Kind of worried Madge for a couple of days after.
• 3:32
  Speaker 6: Figured she was kind of slipping a little.
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: She didn't say anything to her?
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: No, no kind of a tip-off. Played it real straight,
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: like I said. Does he have a job?
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: Well, not so as you'd notice. Doesn't seem to have
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: any working hours. Used to walk in here at all hours.
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: Got any other friends?
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: No close ones.
• 3:45
  Speaker 6: He'd buy drinks for anybody that was around when he
• 3:47
  Speaker 6: was popping, but he never came in with nobody.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: He never left with anybody. You seen him around lately? No,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: not for a couple of days. Got any idea where
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: he lives? No, I don't think he pads down here
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: in the neighborhood. How about a car?
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: No go.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: All the time I saw him, he rode cabs. Took
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: him here and left in them. Well, last time he left,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: you see where he's going? No.
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: Just shoved off.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Said he might not be around for a couple of days,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and I have a hot cup of Irish coffee waiting
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: for him when he got back. What's Irish coffee?
• 4:10
  Speaker 6: It's a new drink I got from a friend of
• 4:11
  Speaker 6: mine up in San Francisco. A cup of coffee, Irish whiskey,
• 4:14
  Speaker 6: topped with a jolt of whipped cream. Drank him all
• 4:16
  Speaker 6: the time.
• 4:17
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's got the whole place on him.
• 4:19
  Speaker 6: You come in some night, we got more coffee cups
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: on the bar than glasses.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Didn't give you any idea where he was going, did he? Well,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: if he threw it, I didn't hear it. Anybody around
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: the place you might have talked to? Well, I can't
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: give you no names. You might talk to Madge. I
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: don't think she'll come up with anything, but you can try.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: What time did you say she came in? Six. That's
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: when she's supposed to check in. Once in a while
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: she's late, but she's supposed to have her apron on
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: about six. Okay, Van, thanks for the call. We'll be back. Now,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: if this Nick comes in, give us the ring, will you?
• 4:45
  Speaker 5: Sure.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: If he's in town, he'll be back.
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 4:47
  Speaker 6: He's all the time telling me we got the best
• 4:49
  Speaker 6: Irish coffee in town. That's all he drinks, so it
• 4:51
  Speaker 6: figures he'll be here to get some. Right away I
• 4:53
  Speaker 6: see him, I'll give you a call.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: All right. Thanks, man. I sure hope it's the guy
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: you're after. Yeah, so do we. Seven Gs, a lot
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: of money. You can buy an awful lot with that. Well,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: we better take it easy.
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Better not hit that Irish coffee too hard.
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: Three weeks previously, on Monday, January 19th at 9.40 a.m.,
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: a masked man had walked into a supermarket at the
• 5:18
  Speaker 4: corner of.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Camarillo Street and held up the
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: store for a total.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: Of $ 7, 367. The alarm had gone out immediately, but the
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: holdup man succeeded in getting out of the area. All
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: routine procedure had been followed, but it resulted in no
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: information to put us any closer to the thief. Local
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: broadcasts and APBs had been gotten out. The description of
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: the thief had been taken and checked through the stats office.
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: All leads had been followed up without result. The phone
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: call from the bartender appeared to be our first break
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: in the case. Frank and I went back to the
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: city hall and checked the name Nick and the description.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Through the moniker file and R & I. There were
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: only four possibles turned over to her.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: We showed the mug shots to the bartender, but he
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: couldn't give us an identification.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: We got the home address of Madge, the cocktail waitress,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: and we went out to see her. The landlady told
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: us that she wasn't home and that when the girl
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: had left, she said she'd go straight to work.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: We waited for her at the bar, but after talking
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: to her, we had no additional information to work with.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: The following morning, we began to canvass the neighborhood.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: We talked to shopkeepers and store owners. In several clothing stores,
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: we found clerks who thought they remembered the man, but
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: they were unable to give us any information on him.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: Late that afternoon, we talked to a jeweler. We asked
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: if he had a customer who might fit the description
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: of the suspect.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Seems to me I remember a man like that.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: What can you tell us about him, Mr. Hobbs? Not much.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: Bought quite a bit of merchandise. What is it you
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: want to know? Could you give us his name? I'm
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: afraid not. How about receipts? Anything like that? No, sir.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: It's a cash sale. There's no reason to take his name.
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: Uh-huh.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Can you give us any information on him at all?
• 6:50
  Speaker 8: Maybe if you could tell me what this is all about,
• 6:51
  Speaker 8: I could help you out.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Well, it's a police matter, Mr. Hobbs.
• 6:54
  Speaker 8: You must understand, Sergeant, I want to do what I can,
• 6:56
  Speaker 8: but it's rather difficult without knowing exactly what it is
• 6:59
  Speaker 8: you're after.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: Well, we want to find the man. Any information you
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: have that'll help us do that.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Will be appreciated. Afraid there's nothing I can do for you. Well,
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: how about the.
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: Things you bought?
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: You want the complete list?
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: Yeah, how much did you buy?
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: I'll have to look it up. Just a minute. All right, sir.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Keep a record of your sales, do you? Yeah, I
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: have to for tax purposes.
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: Just a minute.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Uh-huh. I'm not certain of the date. Take a minute
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: to find. All right, sir. Take your time. Let's see.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Here. There it is. Bought a gold tie bar, set
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: of cufflinks, and a wristwatch. Can you give us the
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: description of the goods?
• 7:39
  Speaker 8: Plain gold tie bar, square ends, cufflinks were plain, sort
• 7:44
  Speaker 8: of square design, no relief work.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: How about the watch? A Patek Philippe, solid gold. Anything
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: about the watch that would make it easier to identify? No.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: You got a record of the case and movement number?
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: Mm-hmm.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: You want that? It might help. Yeah, I can get
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: it for you.
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: All right, fine.
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: How'd he pay for this merchandise?
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: In cash.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. But what about the denominations of the bills?
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: Would you remember what they were? I'm sorry, Sergeant. I
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: can't help you. That was a while ago, and I
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: don't remember. Mm-hmm. Is there anything at all about the
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: man that might help us identify him? An accent, maybe?
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Way walked, way dressed? No. He was well-dressed. Conservative. Well,
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: except the tie. That was rather jarring. What's that? He
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: had on a dark flannel suit, button-down collar, black shoes. Mm-hmm.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Everything went together except the tie. It was bright red. Mm.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: What about his speech? Was there anything there? Not that
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: I remember. Nothing else about it? No, sir. Well, all right, Mr. Hobbs.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: I'm going to leave one of our cards with you.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: If you think of anything else, we'd appreciate a call. Mm-hmm.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: As for you, Mr. Freddie? Well, either me or Frank
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: Smith here. All right. If I think of anything. If
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: you'll get the numbers on the watch course, please. Oh, yeah.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: I almost forgot.
• 8:48
  Speaker 5: Say, there is something.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir? When he bought the new watch, he was
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: wearing one. Uh-huh. Asked me if I'd give him anything
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: for it. Wanted to trade it in. Yeah. I told
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: him it wasn't worth anything to me. Suggested he try
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: to sell it to a second-hand store. Yeah. He said
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: he's seen the last of Hawk shops. Said if I
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: didn't want to buy the watch, he'd make me a
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: gift of it. Well, did you take it? He left
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: it here. You still have it? I think it's still
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: in the back. I got a box of old parts.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: His watch might be in there. I wonder if you'd
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: mind checking that, sir. Yeah, just a minute. Let's see
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: if I can find it.
• 9:17
  Speaker 5: What do you think?
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: I don't know. It might be something. We're due for
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: a break. Yeah.
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: We gonna tag the office after this?
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess so. You want to go home for dinner? No,
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: not tonight.
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: He's got the girls from the bridge club coming over.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: I thought I'd go by Alan Lum's, get some shrimp
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: and lobster. You want to go with me? Where?
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: Alan Lum's. Oh, yeah.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Good lobster club. Sure, I'll go with you.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: In here.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: It is. Watch is in here now someplace. What kind
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: of a watch is it, sir?
• 9:46
  Speaker 5: Off-brand.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: Should be here someplace.
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: But this one here, broken. Let me see. Oh, yeah.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Why?
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: Nothing special.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: Kind of nice looking. If it worked, we might be
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: able to make a deal. Okay. I sold you that one,
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: I'd be in jail tomorrow, sure. Oh, wait a minute.
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: Here.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: Here it is. This is it? Yes, sir. Well, now,
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: is there anything about the watch that would make it
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: possible to tell where it was bought? No, sir. It's
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: a cheap brand. Most of the drugstores in town carry them.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: What if you mind if we take it with us?
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: We'll give you a receipt. It won't be necessary. I
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: trust you. You appreciate it, Mr. House. We'd better give
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: you a receipt. All right. I'll get the book.
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: Oh, I just thought of something.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: It might not work, but it's worth a try. Yes, sir.
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: What's that?
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: Just a minute. Yeah, he did, sir. He had the
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: watch repaired at one time or another.
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: You see here?
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: Let me see. I don't believe I see what you mean.
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: Well, here. Here.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: See the initials there and the numbers? That's RJ10567, is
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: that it?
• 10:51
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: That's the initials of a watcher's family worked on the watch.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: That should make it pretty simple, shouldn't it? Yes, sir,
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: it'll help. Yeah, simple.
• 10:58
  Speaker 8: All you have to do is find RJ and get
• 11:00
  Speaker 8: the name of the man who had work number 10567.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: He should be able to give you the name of
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: the man you're looking for. Simple.
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: Yes, it's not quite that easy, but it's a place
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: to start. We left the jeweler and we went back
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: to the office. We checked the phone book for watch
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: repairmen with the possible initials of R.J.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Frank got on one phone and I got on another.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: There was a long chance that the watch had been
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: bought and serviced in Los Angeles. We went through the
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: watch repair companies with the initials we were looking for,
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: and then we started at the top of the list
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: of jewelry concerns.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: I see.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: That's right, Frank.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: Well, thank you very much.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: That's all the information we have.
• 11:42
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: Thanks a lot.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Goodbye. No, I wouldn't be able to tell you anymore. Bye.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Bye.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: I got nothing. Well, we better get on with it.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: We're going to have to wait until tomorrow.
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: 5.20.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Most of the place is closed in a few minutes,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: so let's stay with it. Yeah. It's getting so I
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: can't see the numbers on this dial anymore. Oh. This
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: is Sergeant Friday, Los Angeles Police Department. Hello. Yes, sir.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: This is Officer Frank Smith. No, there's nothing at all.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: Do you have a watch repairman who uses the initials R.J.?
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: I wonder if you can give me some information. No,
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: that's R.J. Yes, sir.
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: Do you have a watch.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Repairman who uses the initials R.J.? No, sir. No, we're
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: looking for information. I'm Robert J. S. and J. We'd
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: like to talk to you. Nothing at all. Yes, ma'am.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: All right, sir. Thank you.
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: I'll wait.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: Bye.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: I'll hang up.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Nothing here.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Maybe we got a dead end. Yeah.
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: She's gone to look here.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: I see. Mm-hmm.
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: What's that? Uh-huh.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: Hello, this is Sergeant... Wait just a minute, will you? Hey,
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: hold it, Joe. I got one. Just a minute, please. Yeah,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: that's right. This is Frank Smith. Hang on a minute,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: I got one. This is Frank Smith, robbery detail. Uh-huh.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: Can you tell me who gave you the work number? Uh-huh. No,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: can you tell me who you gave the work number
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: 10567 to?
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: That's right. 10567.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. I'll hang on.
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: I've got a guy now.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: He's checking it.
• 13:09
  Speaker 5: Does it look good?
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: Well, it might be.
• 13:11
  Speaker 5: Place down on 5th. West 5th.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Well, I'll let this one go for a minute. Yeah. Hello, sir.
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right, sir. Well, I'll call you back. 567.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: No, it's nothing important, sir. Well, I may call back.
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: Do you have an address for him?
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Thank you very much. I see.
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: Do you remember him at all? Mm-hmm.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Well, thanks very much. We'll get in touch with you. Well,
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: according to this guy, the watch was brought in.
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: By Mike Langley.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Well, maybe we know who we're looking for now. Well,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: there's another problem, though. Yeah?
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: There's no address on Langley. We checked the name Langley
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: through R & I, but without any description to work with,
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: there was little chance that we'd find anything. We checked
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: the description on the arrest reports against that of our suspect,
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: and we ruled out all the possibles that we came
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: up with. We checked the name in the phone book,
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: but we found no listing.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: We checked the city.
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: Directory without results, 6.15 p.m. We got in touch with
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: the utility companies and asked them to check their records.
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: They told us they'd call us back by the next
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: morning with the information. Wednesday, February 18th, 9.12 a.m. Frank
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: and I were in the squad room.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: I got it. Robbery Friday. Yes, that's right.
• 14:24
  Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: Okay, yeah, go ahead.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. 2647 Gilbert. That's G as in George, I-L-B-E-R-T... Yeah. Okay. Uh-huh. Well,
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: how long have they had that service?
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Right. You betcha. Thanks very... Friday. Yes.
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much.
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: They came up with it, huh?
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Looks real good here. Service started on Friday, January 16th.
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Two days before the robbery.
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: 9.52 a.m.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: We made another check at R & I and then
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: we left the office. We drove out the Hollywood Freeway,
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: turned off at Vermont and drove over to Gilbert. 2647
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: was the last unit in the Spanish-style court. Frank covered
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: the back of the place and I went up and
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a woman
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: in her late 20s. She identified herself as Mrs.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: Pearl Langley.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: We asked about her husband. She told us he was
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: at work. Frank and I got the address and drove
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: over to the place. Mike Langley was a fry cook
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: in a small restaurant on Spring Street. We took him
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: back into the manager's office and we talked to him.
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: He matched the description of the suspect very close.
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: You're way off base.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Well, maybe you can tell us where you were on Saturday,
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: January 17th, huh?
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: Sure, I was home helping Pearl. We just moved into
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: a new place the day before. I was giving her
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: a hand getting things straightened out.
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: What about Sunday the 18th?
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: I worked.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Here?
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: It's the only job I've got. What about Monday the 19th?
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: Same deal. You were here. That's right.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: What time do you come to work?
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: I get in about 6.30, line things up in the kitchen.
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: We open at 7.30. You're pretty sure where you were
• 15:58
  Speaker 5: on the 19th, huh? Positive. Any special reason you're so sure?
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: What do you mean?
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: Well, any reason you'd remember you were working on that day?
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: Nothing besides I haven't missed a day since I took
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: the job.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: When was that?
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: About a year and a half ago. You'd have to
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: check with the boss.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: He'd have a record of what days you were here, huh?
• 16:13
  Speaker 9: That old skimfliny's got a note on every minute I
• 16:15
  Speaker 9: was in the kitchen. Probably tell you how many eggs
• 16:18
  Speaker 9: I fried since I've been cooking for him.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: You want to check on that, Frank?
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I want you to look at something here, Langley,
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: and tell me if you know who it belongs to.
• 16:26
  Speaker 5: Sure. What do you got?
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: Right here.
• 16:31
  Speaker 5: It's a cheap watch. It isn't mine.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: You ever seen it?
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: I don't think so. You ever been arrested? Why you
• 16:36
  Speaker 5: ask that?
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: Have you?
• 16:37
  Speaker 5: No.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Never been in trouble with the police?
• 16:39
  Speaker 5: Not in California.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Where?
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: Texas.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Where in Texas?
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: Galveston.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: What was the beef?
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: Drunk driving and nailed me on the boulevard.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: What'd you draw?
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: Paid a fine to 10 days.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: That's the only trouble you've ever had with the police?
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: That's it.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: You're sure about this watch? Yeah. Never saw it before? No.
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: Joe.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Be right back, Langley.
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: I'd appreciate it if you could step it up.
• 17:01
  Speaker 9: The boss is going to start docking me if I'm
• 17:02
  Speaker 9: off much more.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: What do you got?
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: I checked with the owner. Looks like we're far out
• 17:09
  Speaker 5: on this thing. Langley was working all day the night, Chief.
• 17:22
  Speaker 7: You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your
• 17:25
  Speaker 7: police force in action.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: We contacted the authorities in Galveston and talked with officers
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: Rex Torian and Reuben Guzman. They told us that Mike
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: Langley had been arrested for drunk driving. They went on
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: to say that he'd lived in the beach city for
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: several years and that until his arrest, he had never
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: been in trouble. We brought him down to the city
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: hall and we talked to him further. The victims of
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: the holdup were asked to a special show up, but
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: although they said Langley looked quite a bit like the
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: stick-up man, they couldn't give us a positive identification. He
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: was released from custody. On Thursday, February 19th, we got
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: a call from him asking us to come.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: Out to his home.
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: Frank and I left the office and drove to the
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: Gilbert Street address.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: We met Langley and his wife.
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: You met my wife Pearl, didn't you?
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir, we did.
• 18:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah. We met yesterday.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: Now, what do you want to see us about, Langley?
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: Sit down.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee, something? No,
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: thank you, Mac.
• 18:22
  Speaker 10: I hate to bring you guys out here, but I
• 18:24
  Speaker 10: want to get this thing cleared up.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir, we do, too.
• 18:27
  Speaker 10: You got that watch with you?
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 18:29
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: Here you are. Oh, thanks.
• 18:33
  Speaker 10: I got to thinking about it last night, about why
• 18:36
  Speaker 10: you think it was mine.
• 18:37
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 18:37
  Speaker 10: I guess it didn't make much of an impression on
• 18:39
  Speaker 10: me at the time, but I remembered it.
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: Yeah? I figured out how you got my name on it.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 18:44
  Speaker 10: I did take the watch in to be fixed. It
• 18:46
  Speaker 10: isn't mine, but I did have it fixed.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Well, who does it belong to?
• 18:49
  Speaker 9: My cousin, Herbert Langley. He got in some trouble when
• 18:52
  Speaker 9: he was at Quentin. He sent the watch out to
• 18:53
  Speaker 9: me to have it fixed. I guess I must have
• 18:55
  Speaker 9: forgotten all about it.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: You know where he is now? He was staying here
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: with us. How long ago, ma'am? He got here the
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: day after we moved into the house.
• 19:01
  Speaker 10: That'd be Sunday.
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: I remember because Mike.
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: And me were trying to get the place straightened out,
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: and Herb didn't do anything but sit around and guzzle beer.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: Didn't look a hand to help. Is he here now?
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: You mean staying here?
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: No, he moved out about a week ago. Did he
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: tell you where he was going?
• 19:15
  Speaker 5: No.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: He said he was tired of being a fifth wheel
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: and left.
• 19:18
  Speaker 5: Him and Pearl didn't get along too good.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: We sure didn't. One thing I don't go is a
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: man that doesn't work.
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: Went around the house all day or else down at
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: some bar drinking all day.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: Do you know what he was in jail for?
• 19:30
  Speaker 5: Herb kept telling us it was a bad beef. They
• 19:32
  Speaker 5: didn't have anything to do with it.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: What was the charge? Robbery. Where was that?
• 19:35
  Speaker 5: Up north. It was the San Rafael, wasn't it, honey?
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: A real bum.
• 19:40
  Speaker 5: Wish you wouldn't have said that, Pearl.
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: Why not?
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: It's true. You just didn't understand him.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: No, and I didn't want to.
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: I don't like him.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Never did. All the time, laying around, giving orders. Wanted
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: to be waited on, hand and foot. Always asking for something.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Him and that lousy coffee. That was the end when
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: he started asking for that Irish coffee. What do you mean?
• 19:59
  Speaker 5: Coffee, Irish whiskey, and whipped cream.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Something he heard about someplace. Do you know where he
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: is now?
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: No.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: How about you, sir?
• 20:06
  Speaker 10: Well, I haven't got the address, but he did say
• 20:08
  Speaker 10: something about going back to see Mother.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Where would that be?
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: Texas. He wasn't sure.
• 20:12
  Speaker 10: He just said he was thinking about it, though.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: Did he say when he was coming back?
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: No. Him and Pearl had a beef before he left.
• 20:18
  Speaker 10: Packed a bag, said he'd never be back.
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: We got a complete description of Herbert Langley and a
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: snapshot of him. Frank and I went back to the
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: office and put in a call to Fred Galloway in
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: the adult authority office. He contacted Sacramento and got Langley's
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: prison number. We checked the coming out mug books and
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: got a good picture of the suspect. This was shown
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: to the victims and they identified.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: Him positively as the holdup man.
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: A local and an APB were gotten out on him
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: and a radiogram was sent to the authorities in Galveston,
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: Texas asking them to check on the suspect. We got
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: a list of his known friends and other relatives. These
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: were interviewed but they were unable to give us any
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: further leads on Langley's whereabouts.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: A week went by.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: On Friday, February 27th, Frank and I got back into
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: the office from the main jail.
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: You think he's telling the truth?
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, if he is, it's the first time. He
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: hasn't had an honest job in the last six years.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: Better check the book, huh?
• 21:15
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: Robbery, Stewart. Yeah, just a minute. Joe, take one. Thanks, Stu.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: One? One. This Friday? Yes, ma'am.
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Well, no, he won't hear it from us. Yeah. Well,
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: how long ago was that? Yeah. All right, no, we'll
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: check it out. Thanks for calling us. Right. Bye.
• 21:45
  Speaker 5: Nothing in the book.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: It was Pearl Langley on the phone. Yeah. She just
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: got a message from the suspect. Yeah. He's in town.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: Frank and I, along with Stuart, Creasy, Stromwell.
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: And Stoner, checked out of the office and went over
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: to the bar on Winona Street.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: Mrs.
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: Langley had told me on the phone that her brother-in-law
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: had sent a telegram to the house asking that her
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: husband meet him there after work. When we got to
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: the place, the suspect wasn't there. Stewart and Creasy covered
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: the front of the bar while Stromwall and Stoner staked
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: out on the alley at the back of the place.
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: Frank and I went inside and talked to the bartender,
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: Van Gordon.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Hi, Joe.
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: Frank.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: Van.
• 22:22
  Speaker 10: How's it going?
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: You seen the fella Nick that you told us about? No,
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: not since I talked to you. If you'd been in,
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: I'd have sure given you a call.
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: Why?
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: Well, we got word he's in town. Supposed to show
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: up here. How heavy is he? Oh, we don't know
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: for sure. You found out who he is yet? Yeah.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: We made him for a Herbert Langley. You got him
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: for the market job? Victims say he's the man, yeah.
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: Uh-huh.
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: Well, when did he say he was going to be here? Oh, well,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: we got it sometime this afternoon.
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Say you're going to take him here? Couldn't try. Well,
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: do me a favor, will you? Try to? What's that?
• 22:47
  Speaker 10: Well, if there's a beef, will you try and steer
• 22:48
  Speaker 10: him outside before it gets spat out?
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: I don't want the place broken down. I would do
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: what we can. We get you anything while you're waiting?
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: How about some coffee? Yeah, I think there's some left.
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: I don't know how good it is. Well, as long
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: as it's hot and black.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: Well, I'll get a couple of cups. You want to
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: drink it here at the bar? No, we'll take it
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: in one of the booths.
• 23:01
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: Hey, you'll remember, huh? What's that? I'll try to steer
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: him outside. Yeah, ma'am. Frank and I sat down in
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: the booth and we waited. 2.30 p.m. 3.00. No sign
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: of Langley.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: 3.30. Several people came in and sat down at the bar.
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: The bartender tried to get him out of the place
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: as soon as he could. In the event there was
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: any trouble, we didn't want anyone to get hurt.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: 4 o'clock. 4.15.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: Hi, Van.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: How's it going?
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: Pretty good, Nick.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Where you been? Oh, took a couple of weeks out
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: of town. Had some business to do.
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: How'd it be? Irish coffee, huh? Yeah. Put some whipped
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: cream on it this time.
• 23:43
  Speaker 11: Sure, sure.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: That's it. Let's go. Yeah. You ever been up through Washington, Van? No.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: You should try to make the trip sometime. Sure, beautiful.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Got something you want? Herb Langley.
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: Who's asking?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Police officers. You're under arrest. They're right. Stand up. What's
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: the charge? Robbery. Now stand still. I'll shake him, Chum.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: Get him outside, huh?
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: Steer him outside. Don't break up the lady.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: Want a cup?
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, look at this place.
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: Just look at it.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: It's going to take me a couple of weeks to
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: open it up again. Oh, sorry about it, Van. Oh,
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: this isn't going to do much good. Where the place
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: is smashed up. Who's going to pay for it? Who's
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: going to make it right? I wouldn't know. See, I
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: asked you to steer him outside.
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: I asked you to steer him outside.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Well, he didn't give us much choice. Huh? This is
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: the way he wanted it. Nice to say, but who's
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: going to pay for it? Well, it wouldn't do much
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: good if I told you.
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 24:43
  Speaker 11: He's got another bill to pay first. The story you've
• 24:53
  Speaker 11: just heard is true. The names were changed to protect
• 24:56
  Speaker 11: the innocent.
• 24:57
  Speaker 7: On July 13th, trial was held in Department 92, Superior
• 25:01
  Speaker 7: Court of the State of California in and for the
• 25:03
  Speaker 7: County of Los Angeles. Herbert Colby Langley was tried and
• 25:15
  Speaker 7: convicted of robbery in the first degree, one count. and
• 25:19
  Speaker 7: receive sentence as prescribed by law. Robbery in the first
• 25:23
  Speaker 7: degree is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for
• 25:26
  Speaker 7: a period of not less than five years.
• 25:30
  Speaker 6: You have just heard Dragnet, the authentic story of your
• 25:34
  Speaker 6: police force in action, and starring Jack Webb, a presentation
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. Thank you.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: That brings us to the end of Dragnet, Big Watch,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: from May 25th, 1954. Follow Dragnet for more classic broadcasts.