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Dragnet - "The Big Sophomore" (Old Time Radio, 1951) · The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows | Old Time Radio

0:00
Speaker 1: At the lunch hour rush near a Los Angeles high school,
0:03
Speaker 1: neighborhood grocers are reporting a series of small food thefts.
0:08
Speaker 1: The complaints bring Sergeant Joe Friday and Sergeant Ben Romero
0:12
Speaker 1: of the LAPD Juvenile Bureau onto the case, following leads
0:16
Speaker 1: that point toward a red-haired boy named Harry Dunbar. Their
0:20
Speaker 1: investigation moves from one merchant's report to the next, and
0:24
Speaker 1: what begins as a shoplifting inquiry takes on added complications.
0:30
Speaker 1: From NBC with Jack Webb as Friday and Barton Yarborough
0:34
Speaker 1: as Romero, this is Dragnet, episode 110, The Big Sophomore,
0:40
Speaker 1: first heard July 19th, 1951. The case files are open,
0:45
Speaker 1: the beat is Los Angeles, and the detectives are on
0:48
Speaker 1: the trail. And now, we return to the original broadcast.
1:02
Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true. Only
1:05
Speaker 2: the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
1:08
Speaker 1: Fatima Cigarettes. Best of all long cigarettes. Brings you Dragnet.
1:22
Speaker 1: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to juvenile bureau.
1:25
Speaker 2: Dozens of petty theft cases are reported in one of
1:28
Speaker 2: the residential areas in your city.
1:30
Speaker 1: The victims, neighborhood businessmen. The suspects, teenage high school students.
1:36
Speaker 1: Your job, stop them. More and more smokers, coast to coast,
1:44
Speaker 1: are saying this about king-size Fatima every day.
1:47
Speaker 3: They're different, better.
1:50
Speaker 4: They are different, so pleasing.
1:52
Speaker 2: Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. You see, Fatima
1:57
Speaker 2: contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos, superbly blended. And
2:02
Speaker 2: Fatima is extra mild, with a much different, much better
2:06
Speaker 2: flavor and aroma.
2:07
Speaker 1: Compare Fatima with any other king-size cigarette.
2:11
Speaker 2: You'll find Fatima gives you all the advantages of extra length,
2:15
Speaker 2: plus Fatima quality, which no other king-size cigarette has.
2:19
Speaker 1: Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Next time, buy Fatima.
2:26
Speaker 1: Best of all, long cigarettes. Dragnet, the documented drama of
2:37
Speaker 1: an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation
2:40
Speaker 1: with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step
2:43
Speaker 1: by step on the side of the law through an
2:45
Speaker 1: actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end,
2:50
Speaker 1: from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your
2:53
Speaker 1: police force in action.
2:58
Speaker 3: It was Tuesday, February 4th. It was cloudy in Los Angeles.
3:01
Speaker 5: We were working a night watch out a juvenile bureau
3:03
Speaker 5: assigned to University Division. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss
3:07
Speaker 5: is Inspector Bowling. My name's Friday. We were on the
3:09
Speaker 5: way out from the office, and it was 7.13 p.m.
3:12
Speaker 5: when we got to the corner of South Waverly and
3:14
Speaker 5: Chester Avenue.
3:16
Speaker 3: The grocery store. I guess that's him back there at
3:20
Speaker 3: the meat counter. Yeah. Come on. Looks like he's getting
3:23
Speaker 3: ready to close up. Yeah, I guess we just about
3:25
Speaker 3: made it in time, huh? Excuse me, sir. Yes, sir.
3:28
Speaker 3: Help you, gentlemen? We're looking for Henry Loomis. Yes, sir.
3:31
Speaker 3: That's my name. Police officers. Mr. Loomis, my name's Friday.
3:33
Speaker 3: I believe I talked to you on the phone.
3:35
Speaker 6: Oh, yeah, yeah.
3:35
Speaker 3: This is my partner, Sergeant Romero. Hello, Mr. Loomis.
3:37
Speaker 1: I wonder if you'd mind waiting a half a minute, officers.
3:40
Speaker 1: Just getting a little book work straightened out here.
3:42
Speaker 3: Today's receipt.
3:43
Speaker 7: Yes.
3:43
Speaker 3: I'll go right in.
3:43
Speaker 1: It won't take but a minute.
3:45
Speaker 3: Let's see here.
3:47
Speaker 7: Uh-huh.
3:47
Speaker 6: 37... 45... 37... Ain't that lousy book work gonna get
4:00
Speaker 6: a girl to come in and do it one of
4:01
Speaker 6: these days?
4:02
Speaker 3: Let's go up front here and talk. All right, sir. Fine.
4:05
Speaker 3: Pull up a couple of stools there. Might as well
4:07
Speaker 3: be comfortable. Yes, thank you. Thank you, sir.
4:09
Speaker 1: You talk to any of the other merchants in the
4:11
Speaker 1: neighborhood yet?
4:11
Speaker 3: No, sir, not yet. We'd like to find out what
4:13
Speaker 3: you have to tell us first.
4:14
Speaker 1: Well, it's one of those high school kids, I can
4:16
Speaker 1: tell you that.
4:16
Speaker 3: I'm sure of it.
4:17
Speaker 1: I don't want to sound like an old grouch, but
4:19
Speaker 1: this stealing's got to stop. You get quite a bit
4:21
Speaker 1: of business from the high school trade, do you? At
4:23
Speaker 1: the noon hour and then just after school, that's all.
4:26
Speaker 1: Usually have quite a bunch of them in here around
4:27
Speaker 1: those times. Do you especially cater to the high school crowd?
4:30
Speaker 1: I mean, do you serve lunch here or anything like that?
4:32
Speaker 3: No, I don't.
4:33
Speaker 1: I usually get the kids to take their lunch. They
4:35
Speaker 1: come in and buy soda water or milk to drink
4:38
Speaker 1: with their sandwiches. They seem like such a nice class
4:41
Speaker 1: of kids. I didn't think they were thieves.
4:43
Speaker 3: Well, how long has this stealing been going on, Mr.
4:44
Speaker 7: Williams?
4:45
Speaker 1: I'd say about ten days, two weeks. It's not very
4:47
Speaker 1: hard for them to get away with it. Fifteen or
4:49
Speaker 1: twenty kids crowd in here during noon hour. I'm usually
4:52
Speaker 1: busy up at the counter. It's no great trick for
4:54
Speaker 1: any one of them to make off with a couple
4:56
Speaker 1: of dollars worth of merchandise.
4:58
Speaker 3: You say this happens just about every day? Every day.
5:00
Speaker 3: The kid's in here, yeah.
5:01
Speaker 1: I tried playing detective myself for a while, trying to
5:04
Speaker 1: catch the giggly ones.
5:05
Speaker 3: Didn't do much good.
5:06
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
5:06
Speaker 3: As long as this stealing's been going on, Mr. Loomis,
5:08
Speaker 3: has it ever amounted to more than just a few
5:10
Speaker 3: dollars' worth of food every day?
5:11
Speaker 1: No, that's the funny part of it, Sergeant. When I
5:13
Speaker 1: check back on my inventories, it's always just about the
5:16
Speaker 1: same amount. A few cans of meat, vegetables, butter, a
5:19
Speaker 1: few loaves of bread... It's not so much the value
5:21
Speaker 1: of this stuff. I just don't like the idea of
5:23
Speaker 1: some kid making a fool out of me day after day.
5:26
Speaker 3: Has your cash register ever been tampered with, you know?
5:28
Speaker 3: I mean, any money stolen?
5:29
Speaker 1: No, sir, that's another thing I can't understand. If a
5:32
Speaker 1: kid's going to turn thief, you'd think he'd go after
5:35
Speaker 1: the cash. Whoever's doing it, they're... Never tried anything like
5:38
Speaker 1: that here. Well, how about some of the other merchants
5:40
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood, sir? You mentioned on the phone there
5:42
Speaker 1: were a couple of others having the same trouble that
5:43
Speaker 1: you are.
5:44
Speaker 6: Yes, sir.
5:44
Speaker 1: There's George Brophy. He's the newspaper distributor. And there's Collins.
5:48
Speaker 1: He's got the grocery place up the street. You can
5:50
Speaker 1: talk to them. I gave you their addresses on the phone,
5:52
Speaker 1: didn't I?
5:53
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, you did. Just one more thing, Mr. Loomis.
5:55
Speaker 1: About this crowd of high school boys that hang around here...
5:58
Speaker 1: Any of them in particular, you might suspect?
6:00
Speaker 3: As a matter of fact, there is.
6:01
Speaker 1: I certainly can't prove anything, but I just have a
6:03
Speaker 1: feeling about it.
6:05
Speaker 3: I don't like the boy. Just one boy, sir?
6:07
Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
6:07
Speaker 1: There may be more than one that's guilty, but this
6:10
Speaker 1: young fellow I'm.
6:10
Speaker 3: Pretty sure of. What's his name?
6:12
Speaker 1: I hear the kids call him Harry. Red-haired boy. Curly
6:15
Speaker 1: red hair.
6:16
Speaker 3: Tall. A few freckles.
6:17
Speaker 1: Won't be hard to get his last name if we
6:19
Speaker 1: need it.
6:19
Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
6:19
Speaker 1: Is there anything else you can think of that we
6:22
Speaker 1: ought to know? You go up the street and talk
6:24
Speaker 1: to the other two men, Sergeant. George Brophy and Collins.
6:27
Speaker 1: They might have something more for you. I think I've
6:29
Speaker 1: told you about everything.
6:30
Speaker 3: All right, Mr. Loomis. I've got your home phone here.
6:33
Speaker 5: If we want to contact you later tonight, I'll call
6:35
Speaker 5: you there.
6:35
Speaker 3: Is that all right? Perfectly all right. Here's our card. See,
6:38
Speaker 3: you can call us at that number there anytime. All right,
6:40
Speaker 3: thank you.
6:42
Speaker 1: What do you think's behind the whole thing, Sergeant, this
6:44
Speaker 1: cheap stealing nickel and dime stuff?
6:46
Speaker 3: I don't know, sir. We'll try and find out for you.
6:48
Speaker 1: It just doesn't make sense stealing like that day after day.
6:51
Speaker 1: You'd think even a kid would know that you can't
6:54
Speaker 1: go on stealing forever.
6:55
Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
6:56
Speaker 3: A lot of them give it a try.
6:59
Speaker 5: From the very start, the whole pattern of the case
7:02
Speaker 5: and the thief's method of operation made little or no
7:04
Speaker 5: sense at all. The thefts had been going on for
7:07
Speaker 5: more than two weeks, and they'd all taken place in
7:09
Speaker 5: a 12-square-block area. In each of the two dozen cases
7:14
Speaker 5: reported to us, not one of the thefts had been
7:16
Speaker 5: for more than $ 5, either in cash or merchandise. The
7:20
Speaker 5: thief's scene of operation included two grocery stores, a drugstore,
7:24
Speaker 5: coin boxes attached to the newsstands in the neighborhood, and
7:27
Speaker 5: a 5 and 10 cent variety store. With one exception,
7:31
Speaker 5: all of the cases involved theft of merchandise only. The
7:34
Speaker 5: breaking open of coin boxes attached to newsstands was the
7:37
Speaker 5: single instance in which money was taken. The total sum
7:41
Speaker 5: was less than $ 3. 50. 7.40 p.m. Ben and I left
7:46
Speaker 5: the grocery store and went up the street to the
7:48
Speaker 5: home of George Brophy. He was the neighborhood newspaper distributor
7:51
Speaker 5: who operated the Coinbox newsstands, which had been broken into.
7:54
Speaker 1: Well, I think you can just about count on it, Sergeant.
7:56
Speaker 1: It's one of the kids in the neighborhood doing all this.
7:58
Speaker 3: Either that or a couple of them are working together.
8:00
Speaker 3: What makes you so sure about it, Mr. Brophy?
8:02
Speaker 1: Well, for one thing, we got more than our share
8:04
Speaker 1: of kids out this way.
8:05
Speaker 3: A lot of them are from poor families, underprivileged, you
8:07
Speaker 3: might say. Mm-hmm.
8:09
Speaker 1: I guess they figure it's one way of picking up
8:10
Speaker 1: extra spending, right?
8:11
Speaker 7: Yeah.
8:12
Speaker 1: I got nothing against the kids myself. A few nickels
8:14
Speaker 1: they get out of those boxes, I wouldn't prosecute them
8:17
Speaker 1: for that.
8:17
Speaker 3: Well, sir, that's not exactly it. The point is they're stealing.
8:20
Speaker 5: If they get away with this small-time stuff, they might
8:22
Speaker 5: figure they're ripe for something bigger.
8:24
Speaker 3: Probably be the best thing in the world for them
8:25
Speaker 3: if we can stop them now and set them on
8:27
Speaker 3: the right track, I'm saying. Put in with you there, Sergeant.
8:29
Speaker 3: I don't know how much I can help you, though.
8:31
Speaker 1: Do you have any idea at all who it might
8:33
Speaker 1: be that's breaking into the coin boxes? Well, like I say,
8:36
Speaker 1: I have nothing against any kid myself, but there is
8:38
Speaker 1: one of them around the neighborhood I've been a little
8:39
Speaker 1: suspicious about. A red-headed kid. What's he look like, you know?
8:43
Speaker 1: Red hair, freckled face, kind of tall and gangly. Typical
8:46
Speaker 1: high school kid. Old Loomis down at the grocery store,
8:48
Speaker 1: he's been a little leery about the same kid, too.
8:50
Speaker 3: Well, why do you single out this red-haired boy, Mr. Brophy?
8:53
Speaker 6: Well, he.
8:54
Speaker 3: Oh, excuse me, I'd better grab it. Yes. Hello. Oh, yeah, Maggie, hi.
9:02
Speaker 3: Four of them. When are they born? Is that right?
9:09
Speaker 3: All right. Born this morning. Four of them, huh? Yeah, yeah.
9:13
Speaker 3: Just a minute. I'll call them. Uh, Grace?
9:16
Speaker 7: Yeah, honey?
9:16
Speaker 3: It's for you. Maggie Harris. Oh, okay. Thanks. Excuse me, officer.
9:21
Speaker 3: Friend of my wife's. Her cat just had four kittens. Oh,
9:23
Speaker 3: I see. Oh, where were we? Oh, yeah, about the kid. Yes, sir.
9:26
Speaker 3: Why do you suspect... Well, there's a couple reasons, Sergeant.
9:30
Speaker 1: Late one night when I was making my collections, I
9:32
Speaker 1: spotted the boy hanging around one of the newsstands. Didn't
9:34
Speaker 1: look like he had any business there at that time
9:36
Speaker 1: of night. He looked up and saw me coming. He
9:38
Speaker 1: turned and ducked down a side street.
9:39
Speaker 3: Well, do you have any idea where this boy lives, Mr. Brophy? No,
9:42
Speaker 3: can't say I do. He goes to that high school
9:44
Speaker 3: a few blocks up on South Waverly. I know that.
9:46
Speaker 1: It's the same boy that the grocer man had his
9:48
Speaker 1: eye on. You said there were a couple of reasons
9:50
Speaker 1: why you were suspicious of this boy, Mr.
9:51
Speaker 3: Brophy?
9:52
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, this other thing doesn't mean too much. There
9:54
Speaker 1: wasn't anything really wrong with it. He just seemed a
9:56
Speaker 1: little queer, that's all.
9:57
Speaker 3: What was that?
9:58
Speaker 1: Well, I dropped in at the safety lick store down
10:00
Speaker 1: the street last week. I wanted to pick up a
10:02
Speaker 1: little something. I saw the same kid in there. He
10:04
Speaker 1: was asking Benny, the guy who runs the place, if
10:06
Speaker 1: he'd sell him a fifth of bourbon. I heard the
10:08
Speaker 1: kid saying it was supposed to be for his father.
10:10
Speaker 1: His father was sick and couldn't come in. Of course,
10:13
Speaker 1: Benny turned him down. He wouldn't sell it to the kid.
10:15
Speaker 3: And that was the extent of it, huh? Yeah, that's all.
10:18
Speaker 1: Wasn't anything wrong with it. Kid didn't insist. I thought
10:20
Speaker 1: it was just a little out of line sending a
10:22
Speaker 1: kid after liquor. Well, that's about the size of it.
10:25
Speaker 1: How about some of the other merchants in the neighborhood
10:26
Speaker 1: who have been bothered by these petty thefts? Do you
10:28
Speaker 1: know if any of them are suspicious of this boy?
10:31
Speaker 3: No, I wouldn't know that.
10:32
Speaker 5: Hmm.
10:33
Speaker 3: Henry Loomis, not the store. He's about the only one
10:35
Speaker 3: I know of. Well, thanks very much, Mr. Brophy. If
10:37
Speaker 3: anything else comes up, you can get us at the
10:38
Speaker 3: number on this card here. Oh, okay, Simon. Fine. If, uh,
10:42
Speaker 3: I can help at all to clear this thing up,
10:44
Speaker 3: I'd be glad to do it. Well, we'll probably be
10:46
Speaker 3: checking back with you, and thanks again, sir. Sure is funny,
10:50
Speaker 3: the whole thing. I get a big laugh out of it. Sir? Hmm?
10:53
Speaker 1: Oh, I mean the friend of my wife she called up,
10:55
Speaker 1: Maggie Harris.
10:56
Speaker 3: Cat had four kittens, like I told you.
10:58
Speaker 7: Uh-huh.
10:59
Speaker 3: She'd get a big laugh out of that. I kept
11:00
Speaker 3: telling her she wouldn't believe me. What's that, sir? Well,
11:02
Speaker 3: she thought the cat was male.
11:09
Speaker 5: The next morning, Ben and I continued checking with various
11:11
Speaker 5: merchants and residents in the neighborhood where the series of
11:14
Speaker 5: petty thefts were taking place. We located and questioned one
11:17
Speaker 5: more shopkeeper who was suspicious of the tall, red-haired boy
11:21
Speaker 5: known as Harry. That afternoon, we went to the high
11:24
Speaker 5: school on South Waverly Avenue to check on him. From
11:27
Speaker 5: his first name and his description, he was identified by
11:29
Speaker 5: the boys' vice principal as Harry Thomas Dunbar. He was
11:33
Speaker 5: 18 years old and a sophomore with an average scholastic record.
11:37
Speaker 5: We were told that Dunbar had left the grounds about
11:39
Speaker 5: half an hour before with the high school's basketball team.
11:43
Speaker 5: The group was headed for one of the local sports
11:45
Speaker 5: pavilions where the team had one of its more important.
11:48
Speaker 3: Games scheduled for that afternoon.
11:50
Speaker 5: Harry Dunbar was in charge of selling the printed programs
11:53
Speaker 5: for the game. Ben and I drove out to the
11:55
Speaker 5: sports pavilion and checked with one of the boys collecting
11:57
Speaker 5: tickets at the door. He told us we'd find Harry
12:00
Speaker 5: Dunbar inside at the program stand.
12:05
Speaker 3: These high school kids sure take their basketball seriously, don't they? Yeah,
12:08
Speaker 3: big turnout, sounds like. We're gonna be lucky if we
12:11
Speaker 3: can find that boy in this crowd. Yeah. You see
12:14
Speaker 3: him anywhere? No. Which side is the program stand supposed
12:18
Speaker 3: to be on?
12:19
Speaker 5: Well, there's a lot of them along and through here
12:20
Speaker 5: on both sides. Guess we better start checking them out.
12:23
Speaker 3: Yeah. Joe. Yeah. That stand back there on the left,
12:32
Speaker 3: you see? Right-headed kid? Yeah. Let's check him, huh? Okay. Programs.
12:37
Speaker 7: Dime. Complete programs for the game. Ten cents.
12:40
Speaker 3: Excuse me, son.
12:41
Speaker 7: Program, mister?
12:42
Speaker 3: Your name Harry Dunbar?
12:43
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right. We're police officers, Harry. We'd like to
12:46
Speaker 5: talk to you for a few minutes if it's all right.
12:48
Speaker 7: Oh. Well, I can't talk to you now. I'm pretty
12:50
Speaker 7: busy selling these programs here.
12:51
Speaker 1: Then suppose we wait a few minutes, son. See you
12:53
Speaker 1: only have a few left there to sell.
12:55
Speaker 7: No, I wouldn't do any good waiting. When I sell these,
12:58
Speaker 7: I got something else to do.
12:59
Speaker 3: It's only going to take a few minutes of your
13:00
Speaker 3: time here. We won't keep you long. What is it, officer?
13:03
Speaker 7: What do you want to talk to me about?
13:05
Speaker 3: Just have a few questions for you, son. That's all.
13:07
Speaker 3: Can you step out in the lobby with us for
13:08
Speaker 3: just a minute? What's it all about?
13:11
Speaker 7: I'd like to know.
13:12
Speaker 3: We're just assuming I've talked about it out here.
13:13
Speaker 7: Oh, all right. We can go up this ramp here.
13:17
Speaker 3: All right.
13:20
Speaker 7: There's a hallway back here. Runs underneath the stands. Won't
13:23
Speaker 7: be so noisy.
13:24
Speaker 3: Fine, we won't keep you long. Just a few routine questions.
13:29
Speaker 7: This ought to do okay. What is it you want
13:32
Speaker 7: to know about?
13:33
Speaker 5: Do you know a Mr. Loomis Harry? Runs a grocery
13:35
Speaker 5: store near the high school.
13:37
Speaker 7: Yeah, old man Loomis. I go down to his store
13:39
Speaker 7: and eat lunch sometimes. Why?
13:40
Speaker 3: How about a Mr. Collins? He runs another store near
13:42
Speaker 3: the high school.
13:43
Speaker 7: Yeah, I know the place. Sometimes I go there too.
13:46
Speaker 7: Bunch of the kids hang around there during lunchtime.
13:48
Speaker 5: We've had quite a few complaints from Collins and Loomis,
13:51
Speaker 5: some of the other stores in the neighborhood, too.
13:53
Speaker 3: We're checking on some of them. Thought maybe you could
13:55
Speaker 3: help us out, Harry.
13:56
Speaker 7: No, I couldn't help you any.
13:57
Speaker 3: Mr.
13:58
Speaker 7: Collins and that old man Loomis, they don't like us.
14:00
Speaker 7: They want to get us in trouble. I think they're lying.
14:04
Speaker 3: Lying about what?
14:05
Speaker 7: About us kids stealing things out of their stores. I
14:08
Speaker 7: bet they even told you I'm stealing things from them.
14:10
Speaker 1: Are you, Harry?
14:11
Speaker 3: Of course not.
14:12
Speaker 7: They can't say any of us stole things. They don't know.
14:15
Speaker 7: They can't prove anything.
14:16
Speaker 1: Do you know the man that distributes newspapers in your neighborhood,
14:19
Speaker 1: son of Mr.
14:19
Speaker 3: Brophy?
14:21
Speaker 7: Who?
14:21
Speaker 3: Mr. Brophy. Some of the coin boxes on his newsstands
14:24
Speaker 3: have been broken into. He thought maybe you could tell
14:26
Speaker 3: us something about that.
14:27
Speaker 7: Why me? I don't know any Mr.
14:29
Speaker 3: Brophy. Well, he knows you, Harry.
14:30
Speaker 5: He saw you hanging around one of the newsstands one
14:33
Speaker 5: night and there's something else.
14:34
Speaker 3: He saw you trying to buy a bottle of liquor
14:36
Speaker 3: in the neighborhood. Is that right? We've had three or
14:38
Speaker 3: four reports on you, son. What'd he say? He won't
14:40
Speaker 3: tell us about it?
14:42
Speaker 7: They're crazy. I haven't done anything.
14:43
Speaker 3: Well, then you got nothing to worry about, son.
14:45
Speaker 7: I won't tell you any.
14:46
Speaker 3: Look out, Ben. There's the rabbit.
14:47
Speaker 7: I got him. All right.
14:48
Speaker 3: Hold it up, son.
14:49
Speaker 7: Let me go. Let me go.
14:50
Speaker 3: Take it easy, young fellow.
14:52
Speaker 7: I haven't done anything. I haven't. Now let me go, please.
14:54
Speaker 7: I haven't done anything.
14:55
Speaker 3: Why'd you try to run away?
14:57
Speaker 7: I had to get home. I had to get home
14:58
Speaker 7: right away.
14:59
Speaker 3: All right, son. We'll take you there.
15:00
Speaker 7: No, you can't go with me. I have to go alone.
15:02
Speaker 3: Fred, we're going to have to hold on to you, Harry.
15:04
Speaker 3: Either we take you home or we take you downtown.
15:06
Speaker 3: Which is it?
15:07
Speaker 7: I tried to tell him I couldn't do everything. I tried,
15:11
Speaker 7: but it didn't work out. I can't do everything.
15:12
Speaker 3: What do you mean, son?
15:14
Speaker 7: Take me home. I'll let them tell you.
15:27
Speaker 2: You are in the forgery division of the Metropolitan Police Department.
15:30
Speaker 2: Handwriting analysis.
15:37
Speaker 7: All right.
15:38
Speaker 3: Now write the alphabet in lowercase, please.
15:43
Speaker 1: You are listening to a police officer taking a sample
15:46
Speaker 1: of a suspect's handwriting. This handwriting sample will be compared
15:49
Speaker 1: with a Ford signature. Side by side, two signatures may
15:53
Speaker 1: often look alike, but closer examination will prove a world
15:57
Speaker 1: of difference. You'll find the same is true when you
16:00
Speaker 1: compare Fatima with any other king-size cigarette.
16:03
Speaker 3: Side by side, Fatimas are the same in length and circumference.
16:07
Speaker 1: 85 millimeters long, one and one-sixty-fourths inches around. And Fatima
16:13
Speaker 1: filters the smoke exactly the same long distance as any
16:17
Speaker 1: other king-size cigarette.
16:19
Speaker 2: But in Fatima, the difference is quality. Fatima gives you
16:24
Speaker 2: extra mildness, a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Remember,
16:30
Speaker 2: Fatima has all the advantages of extra length plus Fatima quality.
16:35
Speaker 2: which no other king-size cigarette has. So insist on the best.
16:41
Speaker 2: Next time, buy king-size Fatima.
16:53
Speaker 3: Wednesday, February 5th, 4.15 p.m.
16:56
Speaker 5: We left the sports pavilion, got in the car, and
16:58
Speaker 5: started to drive our teenage suspect, Harry Dunbar, to his home.
17:02
Speaker 5: On the way, we questioned him about the series of
17:05
Speaker 5: petty thefts which had.
17:05
Speaker 3: Been going on in his neighborhood.
17:07
Speaker 5: We asked him about stealing merchandise from the grocery store
17:10
Speaker 5: run by Mr.
17:11
Speaker 3: Loomis. He admitted he was responsible.
17:14
Speaker 5: He said he'd been stealing things from the store for
17:16
Speaker 5: more than a month. We asked the boy about the
17:18
Speaker 5: petty thefts from the grocery store operated by Mr.
17:20
Speaker 3: Collins. Again, he told us he was responsible.
17:24
Speaker 5: He also admitted stealing from the neighborhood drug store and
17:27
Speaker 5: the variety store, in addition to breaking into the coin
17:29
Speaker 5: boxes on the self-service newsstands. In each instance, he described
17:34
Speaker 5: his method of operation. He estimated that over a period
17:37
Speaker 5: of some four and a half weeks, he'd stolen approximately
17:39
Speaker 5: $ 50 in merchandise and about $ 5 in cash.
17:43
Speaker 3: We asked him why. He refused to answer. You must
17:48
Speaker 3: have had a reason for doing all this, Harry. Why
17:50
Speaker 3: don't you tell us? We're going to find out sooner
17:52
Speaker 3: or later. Sorry, officer.
17:54
Speaker 7: This next turn to your left.
17:57
Speaker 3: Okay. What's the matter, son? You afraid of what your
18:00
Speaker 3: folks are going to say?
18:02
Speaker 7: No, that's not it. I never stole anything in my
18:05
Speaker 7: life till this time. When I started in, I didn't
18:08
Speaker 7: think of it as stealing. It's something I had to do.
18:10
Speaker 3: That's all. I couldn't help it. That doesn't make much sense, Harry.
18:12
Speaker 3: What do you mean you couldn't help it?
18:14
Speaker 7: It's the truth. You've got to believe me. There wasn't
18:16
Speaker 7: anything else I could do.
18:17
Speaker 3: Well, what was it then? Somebody forcing you to steal?
18:20
Speaker 4: No.
18:21
Speaker 7: Can't you just believe me? It's something I had to do. Sergeant,
18:26
Speaker 7: can't you let me off here? I'll walk home the
18:27
Speaker 7: rest of the way. I promise you I'll come in
18:28
Speaker 7: and see you tomorrow.
18:29
Speaker 3: You know we couldn't do that, son.
18:30
Speaker 5: You've already admitted stealing from a half a dozen stores
18:32
Speaker 5: in the neighborhood, breaking into those coin boxes.
18:34
Speaker 3: It's going to have to be straightened out one way
18:36
Speaker 3: or the other.
18:36
Speaker 7: But I can pay them back for what I took.
18:38
Speaker 7: I got a job. I pay back every one of them.
18:39
Speaker 3: I believe you, son. But there's still a lot of
18:41
Speaker 3: explaining that's going to have to be done. This is
18:44
Speaker 3: the 1500 block, Harry. Want to point out your house
18:47
Speaker 3: for us? Son?
18:50
Speaker 7: Can't we fix it up some other way? We don't
18:51
Speaker 7: have to go to my house, do we?
18:52
Speaker 3: The sooner you face it, the better. How about it?
18:56
Speaker 7: Keep on going. It's way down the end of the block.
19:02
Speaker 3: Well, now, which is it, son? There's no houses beyond this.
19:04
Speaker 5: It's just that shack down there.
19:07
Speaker 3: That's my house. Okay, Hank.
19:20
Speaker 7: Maybe I better go in first, see if everything's all right.
19:22
Speaker 3: It'll be all right. We'll come with you.
19:28
Speaker 5: Ben and I followed the boy up the stairs and
19:30
Speaker 5: into the house. From the outside, it looked run down
19:33
Speaker 5: and badly in need of painting. On the inside, it
19:36
Speaker 5: still looked in fair condition except for the housekeeping. The
19:40
Speaker 5: floor of the living room was littered with soil clothing, ashes, dirt,
19:44
Speaker 5: and dust. The few pieces of furniture didn't look much better.
19:49
Speaker 5: A car table set in one corner was crowded with
19:52
Speaker 5: dirty dishes and scraps of half-eaten food. Across the room
19:56
Speaker 5: was a baby in a crib. Couldn't have been more
19:59
Speaker 5: than a few months old. Apparently, the bedclothes in the
20:03
Speaker 5: crib hadn't been changed for days. Next to the crib,
20:06
Speaker 5: huddled in an army cot, underneath a few thin blankets
20:09
Speaker 5: was a dark-haired little girl, maybe two, two and a
20:11
Speaker 5: half years old.
20:12
Speaker 3: Her face was thin and pale. She was asleep.
20:15
Speaker 5: Through an open door, we could see into the next
20:17
Speaker 5: room where a woman was lying on a couch. There
20:20
Speaker 5: was an empty glass and a newly opened bottle of whiskey.
20:22
Speaker 3: On the nightstand.
20:23
Speaker 7: You should have let me come in first, officers. I
20:25
Speaker 7: would have had a chance to clean up a little.
20:28
Speaker 7: Kids mess up the house, you know.
20:29
Speaker 3: Harry, is that you, Harry?
20:31
Speaker 7: That's my mother. Resting a little, I guess. This is
20:35
Speaker 7: the baby in the crib. His name's Jerry. That's my
20:40
Speaker 7: little sister on the cot there.
20:41
Speaker 3: Her name's Annie. Get your mother out here, will you, son?
20:44
Speaker 3: We want to talk to her.
20:46
Speaker 7: Don't get mad at her, huh, will you? Ma's had
20:48
Speaker 7: a tough time lately. She tries to do her best.
20:50
Speaker 7: What's the matter with the kids here, son? Have they
20:52
Speaker 7: been sick? The baby had a cold, but I got
20:55
Speaker 7: that medicine from the drugstore. He seems to be okay.
20:59
Speaker 7: I'm not so sure about Annie, though. She had a
21:01
Speaker 7: bad cold. Doesn't seem to be getting over it.
21:03
Speaker 3: You want to take a look, man? Get your mother up, son.
21:08
Speaker 5: Yeah.
21:09
Speaker 7: All right. Ma. Ma, get up, will you?
21:18
Speaker 3: What is it?
21:18
Speaker 4: Who'd you bring home with you?
21:19
Speaker 7: A couple of policemen. They won't talk to me.
21:21
Speaker 4: What'd you bring them in for? Close the door there.
21:23
Speaker 4: I have to fix up a little.
21:27
Speaker 7: My mother will be right out, officer.
21:28
Speaker 3: All right, son.
21:30
Speaker 5: Joe.
21:30
Speaker 3: Yeah. We better get to her phone right away. It
21:33
Speaker 3: looks pretty bad. What is it? Baby needs a doctor.
21:36
Speaker 3: A little girl here. I hope she does, too. I'm
21:39
Speaker 3: not sure she's alive.
21:44
Speaker 5: An ambulance was called immediately, and Harry Dunbar's two-year-old sister
21:48
Speaker 5: Annie and his baby brother were both rushed to the
21:50
Speaker 5: general hospital. The mother, identified as Mrs. Florence Dunbar, was
21:54
Speaker 5: taken downtown and booked at the main jail on a
21:56
Speaker 5: drunk charge. 6.45 p.m. We took the boy, Harry Dunbar,
22:01
Speaker 5: over to Ben's house. We put in a call to
22:03
Speaker 5: the general hospital to check on his little sister Annie
22:05
Speaker 5: and his infant brother. They told us both the children
22:08
Speaker 5: were suffering from malnutrition. The little girl, Annie, had double pneumonia. Miraculously,
22:13
Speaker 5: the baby seemed to have been spared. He was sick,
22:15
Speaker 5: but his condition wasn't considered serious. After Ben's wife fed
22:19
Speaker 5: him dinner, 18-year-old Harry Dunbar sat down and told us
22:22
Speaker 5: the story. Three months before, his father had deserted the family.
22:26
Speaker 5: His mother had made a pretense supporting Harry and the
22:29
Speaker 5: two babies and then gave it up in favor of drinking.
22:31
Speaker 5: The whole burden of keeping the family alive was piled
22:34
Speaker 5: on the youngster's shoulders. Besides school, he had three odd
22:38
Speaker 5: jobs that he worked at to earn enough money to
22:39
Speaker 5: pay the rent, the gas and light bill, food, and
22:42
Speaker 5: general necessities.
22:43
Speaker 3: It wasn't enough, so he had to take to stealing.
22:46
Speaker 5: His mother wouldn't work, but at the same time, she
22:48
Speaker 5: wouldn't let the boy apply for charity.
22:50
Speaker 3: He slept at.
22:51
Speaker 5: Ben's house that night, The next morning at juvenile bureau,
22:55
Speaker 5: he gave.
22:55
Speaker 3: Us the rest of the story.
22:56
Speaker 7: I guess it got too much for me.
22:58
Speaker 6: I don't know.
22:59
Speaker 7: I could sneak the food and medicine from the stores,
23:01
Speaker 7: all right, but couldn't seem to get enough money to
23:04
Speaker 7: gather the rent bill and all that. Kids needed clothes, too.
23:08
Speaker 1: Well, why wouldn't your mother let you apply for help, son?
23:10
Speaker 1: Some of the local charity.
23:11
Speaker 7: Well, Ma'd never go for that, officer. She'd get mad
23:13
Speaker 7: when I talked about it. Said she had too much
23:15
Speaker 7: pride to take charity.
23:17
Speaker 5: Did your mother know that you were stealing the food
23:19
Speaker 5: and medicine that you used to bring home?
23:22
Speaker 3: I don't know.
23:22
Speaker 7: Guess so. I wouldn't be so mad at her, but
23:24
Speaker 7: every time I got some money together to pay bills,
23:26
Speaker 7: she wanted me to buy whiskey for her. She begged
23:29
Speaker 7: so much, I couldn't say no.
23:31
Speaker 3: We're having your.
23:31
Speaker 5: Mother brought over from the main jail, Harry. We'd like
23:33
Speaker 5: to find out if we can't locate your father. We
23:36
Speaker 5: want to check outside, Ben, see if they brought Ms.
23:38
Speaker 5: Dunbar over yet.
23:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay. Thank you.
23:41
Speaker 7: How about the kids, Officer? Annie and the baby, how
23:46
Speaker 7: they doing?
23:46
Speaker 3: Well, I checked the hospital, Harry. The doctor's going to
23:48
Speaker 3: call as soon as he can.
23:50
Speaker 7: Ma should have known better. Poor little kids. I could
23:53
Speaker 7: take care of myself, but they had to depend on her.
23:56
Speaker 7: She'd only stop drinking.
23:58
Speaker 3: Go right in, Mrs. Dunbar.
24:01
Speaker 4: Harry, you all right, son? What have they been doing
24:04
Speaker 4: to you?
24:04
Speaker 7: I'm all right, Ma. Don't hang on me like that.
24:07
Speaker 4: I was worried about you, Harry, you and the kids.
24:10
Speaker 4: I'm sorry they got sick. I didn't know. It's just
24:12
Speaker 4: bad luck, Harry.
24:14
Speaker 3: We got to stick together.
24:15
Speaker 4: You and me.
24:16
Speaker 7: There's a chair here, Mom.
24:17
Speaker 3: Sit down, huh? Joe. Yeah. Hospital call. They took the
24:21
Speaker 3: message outside.
24:22
Speaker 7: Here you are.
24:23
Speaker 3: Thank you.
24:24
Speaker 7: The hospital officer? About Annie and the baby?
24:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right, son. About your little sister, Annie.
24:30
Speaker 7: What about her? What'd the doctor say?
24:32
Speaker 3: Well, it's not good, Harry. The doctor called and said
24:36
Speaker 3: Annie had pneumonia. Pneumonia.
24:38
Speaker 7: She'll be all right, though, huh? They'll take care of her?
24:41
Speaker 3: Well, it's not that way, son. I mean, the doctor said... Uh, look, um,
24:46
Speaker 3: you tell him, will you?
24:49
Speaker 7: What is it? What about Ann?
24:50
Speaker 4: We got a right to know. She's my little girl.
24:53
Speaker 7: Sergeant, you can tell me.
24:56
Speaker 3: You want to sit down, Harry? Yes, sir? Annie died
25:03
Speaker 3: ten minutes ago. The doctors tried. They couldn't help.
25:10
Speaker 7: Annie did? That's right, son.
25:13
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. years old. Harry. Harry, son.
25:22
Speaker 4: Poor little Annie. Why did it have to be her,
25:26
Speaker 4: my own little girl? My own little Annie. Be good
25:31
Speaker 4: to me, son. I don't know how I can stand it.
25:36
Speaker 4: My own little girl, Annie.
25:39
Speaker 7: Go outside, Ma. Go outside.
25:40
Speaker 4: No, Harry. I need you. I need you more than ever, son.
25:45
Speaker 4: Be good to me. I love one another.
25:50
Speaker 3: All right, Miss Dunbar.
25:52
Speaker 7: No.
25:53
Speaker 4: I need Harry.
25:54
Speaker 3: He's all I got.
25:55
Speaker 4: Aren't you, son? It's so hard sometimes. Everything's against us.
26:02
Speaker 4: Lord only knows I've tried. We've got to try to
26:06
Speaker 4: be happy, to stay together, love one another. Lord only knows.
26:11
Speaker 7: Will you shut up, Mom?
26:12
Speaker 4: Harry, don't blame me, son. We've got to try to
26:17
Speaker 4: be happy.
26:18
Speaker 7: I blame you. Anybody blame you.
26:20
Speaker 3: You killed her.
26:21
Speaker 7: Poor little kid. You killed Annie.
26:22
Speaker 4: Harry, don't say it.
26:24
Speaker 7: Don't say it.
26:25
Speaker 3: I will say it, Ma. You did it.
26:26
Speaker 7: The whole terrible thing.
26:27
Speaker 3: Annie's dead.
26:28
Speaker 7: You did it. Don't you know what I mean?
26:30
Speaker 1: Don't.
26:31
Speaker 3: Don't hurt me. All right, Harry. Now take it easy.
26:33
Speaker 7: You know it too, don't you?
26:35
Speaker 3: She did it.
26:35
Speaker 1: Her and her whiskey and her drinking and laying around,
26:38
Speaker 1: not even caring about the kids.
26:40
Speaker 7: I tried to tell you, Ma. At least you could
26:42
Speaker 7: have done take care of the kids. See, they're all right.
26:44
Speaker 3: You had to drink.
26:45
Speaker 7: It wouldn't work. You had to lay around. Don't you understand?
26:47
Speaker 7: I couldn't do it all. I tried. I couldn't do
26:49
Speaker 7: it all. You had to go on drinking and lay
26:52
Speaker 7: there and watch Annie die.
26:54
Speaker 4: Please, son, don't say that. We're going to love each other.
26:57
Speaker 4: I wouldn't hurt Annie. You know your mother would never
26:59
Speaker 4: do that.
27:00
Speaker 7: You're not my mother. You're not anybody's mother.
27:02
Speaker 4: You don't know what you're saying. Harry, I'm your mother.
27:04
Speaker 4: Lord knows I've tried to be a good mother. You
27:09
Speaker 4: don't mean what you're saying.
27:10
Speaker 3: Goodbye, Ma.
27:10
Speaker 7: I hope I never have to see you again.
27:12
Speaker 4: Harry, please, don't go.
27:15
Speaker 3: You better go get her.
27:23
Speaker 4: He wouldn't believe me, Sergeant. Lord knows I've tried. It's
27:29
Speaker 4: not easy, a husband deserting you the way Charlie did.
27:32
Speaker 4: Three kids on your hands.
27:34
Speaker 3: What could I do? Yes, ma'am.
27:36
Speaker 4: Harry ought to understand.
27:38
Speaker 3: I tried.
27:40
Speaker 4: Lord knows it's the best anybody can do. Just try
27:44
Speaker 4: and hope for the best.
27:46
Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. I've only got one question.
27:49
Speaker 7: Yes?
27:49
Speaker 3: How hard did you try?
27:51
Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true. Only the
28:01
Speaker 2: names were changed to protect the innocent.
28:04
Speaker 1: On April 23rd, trial was held in Municipal Court, City
28:07
Speaker 1: and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
28:10
Speaker 3: In a moment, the results of that trial. Now, here
28:13
Speaker 3: is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you.
28:16
Speaker 5: Friends, I have here a pack of Fatimas. Inside, of course,
28:20
Speaker 5: 20 king-size Fatima cigarettes. Now, Fatimas are the same length
28:24
Speaker 5: and circumference as other king-size cigarettes, and Fatima filters the
28:28
Speaker 5: smoke the same long distance. But only inside this golden
28:32
Speaker 5: yellow package.
28:33
Speaker 3: Do you get Fatima quality.
28:35
Speaker 7: That's right.
28:36
Speaker 5: Fatima gives you all the advantages of extra length plus
28:39
Speaker 5: Fatima quality, which no other king-size cigarette has.
28:43
Speaker 3: Next time, buy Fatima.
28:54
Speaker 1: 18-year-old Harold Dunbar was filed on in juvenile court. After
28:58
Speaker 1: the hearing, the court directed that the two Dunbar children
29:02
Speaker 1: be placed in a foster home.
29:04
Speaker 3: Mrs.
29:04
Speaker 1: Dunbar was permanently deprived of the custody of her children.
29:16
Speaker 1: You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases
29:19
Speaker 1: from official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of
29:23
Speaker 1: Chief of Police, W.H.
29:24
Speaker 3: Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
29:29
Speaker 2: Fatima Cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet,
29:34
Speaker 2: transcribed from Los Angeles.
29:58
Speaker 3: Stay tuned for Counterspy, next over NBC.
30:12
Speaker 1: The Los Angeles beat falls quiet as Dragnet's The Big
30:15
Speaker 1: Sophomore comes to a close. Follow the 50 greatest old-time
30:19
Speaker 1: radio shows for more classic broadcasts.