Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Dragnet: The Big Trial (EP1562)
Transcript
- 0:28Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
- 0:35is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a common email it to
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- 1:34sure and check out Great Detectives dot net my review of the Labors of Hercules,
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- 1:52and you can try that service out free for two weeks. All right,
- 1:56Well, now it's time for today's episode of Dragnet. Original air date April
- 2:00the twentieth of nineteen fifty and the title is The Big Trial. The story
- 2:14you were about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to
- 2:19protect the innocent. Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to accident
- 2:34investigation felony detail. In the early hours of the morning, a woman pedestrian
- 2:39is struck down by hit and run driver. Your job find him. Dragnet
- 2:55the documented drama of an actual crime, while the next thirty minute, in
- 3:00cooperation with the Los Angeles traveled step by step on the side of the law
- 3:02through an actual case, from official police biots, from beginning to end,
- 3:07from crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
- 3:15It was Monday, September fourth, was hot in Los Angeles. We
- 3:19were working a night watch out of Traffic Division. My partner's Ben Romero.
- 3:22The boss is Captain Sullivan, Commander Aid. My name is Friday. Was
- 3:27twelve forty five am when I got to the second floor at one twenty three
- 3:30South Figure Au Street Accident Investigation the Record Bureau. I wanta hi dragon American
- 3:38backward. Yeah, I got a phone message. Course, so he's over
- 3:40Georgia's street. It'll be back a couple of minutes. You got time to
- 3:43take a fifteen seven. Sure, I got some additional information and I hit
- 3:46them run fella all right, pretty warm up here there, Copye of the
- 3:53just want it, no no think al right, Officers Memo Subject Investigation of
- 4:02hit run Felony Dr Number four six seven nine two three three Location seventh in
- 4:14Corondelet Streets, c R O N D E L E T. September third,
- 4:19eleven, fifteen pm. Vision Reporting AI D. Vision of occurrence Central
- 4:31Central eight in time occurred September third, eleven, fifteen pm. Location of
- 4:38occurrence Seventh and Corondle left. Just gonna run long, Sergeant, oh page
- 4:42page and a half, go faster and shorthand I'm transparent later, all right,
- 4:50excuse me. This is for Captain H. W. Sullivan, Commanding
- 4:56aid Sir. On the above day eight, at eleven, the undersigned officers
- 5:02went to the corner of Seventh and Carondelette Streets in response to an ambulance follow
- 5:09up traffic on our arrival there, you got any matches? One? Yeah?
- 5:16Okay? Thanks. On our arrival there, we were met by eleven
- 5:21t We witnessed ambulance attendants placing an unconscious woman in an ambulance. She appeared
- 5:30to be critically injured. The victim was removed to George Street Receiving Hospital.
- 5:34All right. We then interviewed a man who identified himself as Chester J.
- 5:41Crawford, five four Old Greenoak Drive. He stated that he was acquainted with
- 5:45the injured woman and that her name was Sheila Gordon gordn. Seven eight three
- 5:50to two and a half Seventh Street. Crawford told us that he was taking
- 5:58her home from a dance. They arrived at the intersection of seventh in Corondolet
- 6:01Streets at approximately eleven to fifteen pm fifteen. Crawford further stated that while he
- 6:12and Shila Gordon attempted to cross the intersection, an automobile headed west on seventh
- 6:17Street went through the red traffic light. I did you read that last part?
- 6:25Bank At tended to cross the intersection, an automobile headed west on seven
- 6:30Street went through the red traffic okay. Crawford told us that he jumped out
- 6:33of the path of the car and tried to pull h miss Gordon with him.
- 6:35He said that the car struck her down without slowing down, continued out
- 6:39seven street and disappeared. I'm sorry. Crawford stated the hit and run car
- 6:46was either a Dodge or a Plumouth, that it could have been either last
- 6:50year's model or this year's. He described the car just too fast away.
- 6:56Sorry. He described the cars either light blue in color or blueish green.
- 7:00Said that he failed to get the entire license number, but that the last
- 7:03three numbers on the rear plate were either eight oh four or three H four
- 7:10four. That's sorry. Crawford said he made an attempt to follow the hit
- 7:15run car, but that he was unable to obtain transportation. He stated he
- 7:19then ran to a phone at the Corsef Bar and the grip what of course,
- 7:25c r c v uh that's at seventh in Carondelet, and called the
- 7:30police. We undersigned officers and obtained Crawford's full name, address, phone number,
- 7:33and proceeded to question residence. The neighborhood. Weren't able to look at
- 7:36any other witnesses besides Crawford. All right, how'd you do? So it's
- 7:42about Aller says, we won't be able to talk to her for at least
- 7:44a couple of days, maybe not at all. That's your chances fifty to
- 7:46fifty if she's haady on love. Three broken ribs, brain concussion, internal
- 7:50lender. Would Lee Jones have the same? Is that all the reports?
- 7:54Sergeant? Oh yeah, wander We'll have the rest for you a little later.
- 7:57I'll type as I can, Thanks for sure. Uh? What leave
- 8:01Jones have to say? Nothing? He didn't think he went over the area
- 8:03for an hour. No broken glass from head latger to p I, no
- 8:05car imprisons worth anything, no physical evidence. Where does it leave it?
- 8:09With a half dead girl and no suspects? What do you think? You
- 8:13know? I don't know. It's a sour one. And he kicked back
- 8:16on the color type. Yeah, no, that guy she was with,
- 8:18Crawford. It's not too much help. Looked a little nearsighted to me.
- 8:22He saw well enough to get out of the way of that car. You
- 8:24got the notes? Uh? How much to give it? Let me see?
- 8:28I got it in the book. Uh. Car was either a Dodge
- 8:31or a Plymouth late model, color either light blue or blue green. The
- 8:37last three numbers on the license plate were eight O four or three to zero
- 8:39four? The big field to pick from. That's the only lead we own.
- 8:43You can call it that. Yeah, Well, I guess we better
- 8:46talk to DMV get the dope on all cars fitting that description that Crawford gave
- 8:50us. So it's gonna be a hard trip. At least three thousand cars
- 8:52a track now, probably closer to four. What do we do for help?
- 8:56We can ask the captain in the morning. I'll get it. Racket
- 9:01bureau rom now yetni, Yeah, we'll bring right up. Yeah, play
- 9:07Jones again. Yeah, he says he wants to close. Sheila Gordon was
- 9:11wearing at the time of the accident. He figures when she got hit,
- 9:13her clothes must have left fabric marks on the front of the car. It
- 9:16might work. There's only one trouble. What's that you can paint off fabric
- 9:20marks. Well, it's a long list. Let's take it from the top.
- 9:24Yeah, find the car. Tuesday, September the fifth, we called
- 9:33Mark Benson at DMV and asked for full information on all vehicles fitting the general
- 9:37description of the hit run car. We went back and talked to the only
- 9:39witness to the hit and run the victim's boyfriend, Chester Crawford. He could
- 9:43add nothing to what he had already told us. There was no response to
- 9:46the local teletype and the all points that were sent out the night before.
- 9:50Garaga's auto repair and paint shops throughout the city were also alert. Meantime,
- 9:54at General Hospital, the victim, Sheila Gordon, was still close to death.
- 10:00The search for the hit run car went on two days past Thursday,
- 10:03September seventh. The information requested from DMV was being checked out and compiled.
- 10:07Ben and I met with Captain Sullivan. That's the last ables. Give her
- 10:13all the cars in this area that fit the general description of the one where
- 10:15they you just get it. Yeah, how many cars do the list?
- 10:18Four? Six and twenty? You more than you expected? Eh? Yeah,
- 10:22no chance at all of narrowing it down. And we can see no
- 10:26order. Well, we tried to figure it from every angle. Now we
- 10:28can do it two ways. Yeah, we keep the alert on for the
- 10:31hit run car around the divisions, all the garages in town, the auto
- 10:35repair shops. In other words, we can wait it out. Maybe we'll
- 10:37get the guy, maybe not. Yeah, Or we can check out every
- 10:39one of the cars on this list. And the registered owners. Well,
- 10:41the first way isn't going to do the job. We know that twenty six
- 10:45hundred cars? How much hopeing to in about thirty forty? Man? How
- 10:48a couple of weeks? Maybe more? All right, and I think I
- 10:52can get up a metro division. What do you want to start? The
- 10:54first thing? Tomorrow? Okay, I'll set it up, all right,
- 10:56ski her? Thanks? Excuse me, Joe as the lady ought to see
- 11:00her? Okay, thanks, we'll check you in the morning. Start right,
- 11:05that's her over there. Thanks. My name's Friday. Man, this
- 11:11is Sergeant Romero. How do you do? I'm Dora'll I tell sergeant I'm
- 11:13Sheila Gordon's landlady, the girl in the accident. Yes, ma'am. Mister
- 11:16Crawford, he was the Sheila That night he told me about you and he
- 11:20said he thought you might be able to help. Well, it's a long
- 11:22story. See. When Sheila Gordon first came to live at my rooming house,
- 11:26she was a good girl like the rest. Lately, well, i'm
- 11:28being sick now and all I don't like to say it. Yeah, Well,
- 11:31frankly, last few months before the accident, Chila just went bad,
- 11:35went bad. Completely. I don't think I follow you, man, Oh
- 11:37you know, carousing all kinds of men. Visitors, had a different man
- 11:41in her apartment every night. Well, we're investigating a hit run case,
- 11:43ma'am. SHELI gets out of the hospital. Need to talk about her when
- 11:46she's sick like this, But when she's all right, I don't want her
- 11:48back in my rooming house. I'm afraid that's none of our business either,
- 11:52man. But if you could talk to Sheila persuaded a move from my house.
- 11:54I don't want any wrangle with the Randell board again. Couldn't you talk
- 11:58to her? I'm sorry, there's anhing we can do. Ma'am. You
- 12:00better talk to her yourself and just be another row like the last time,
- 12:03shameless woman. I don't want Sheila Gordon back in my house. I would
- 12:07go to that hospital myself and tell up, this is a pretty sick girl.
- 12:09It's not my fault. Go right over to that hospital and tell her
- 12:11what I think of it. It's hurt pretty bad. Oh my, she's
- 12:13hurted me. What's the difference. You haven't been run over by a car.
- 12:22Next morning, Sergeant's reed and McLennan, Ben and myself joined the forty
- 12:24men for Metropolitan Division who had started checking out the first of the forty six
- 12:28hundred and twenty suspected cars. The detail was broken down into teams, and
- 12:31each team was handed the list containing the names of one hundred registered car owners.
- 12:35It was a long job in a dull one. Dozens of people weren't
- 12:39at home when we called. We had to rig up a system of checkbacks
- 12:41for each one of these. Some cars had changed hands two and three times.
- 12:46That meant more checking. By the end of the second week, we've
- 12:48gone through more than half of the forty six hundred names on the list.
- 12:52By the end of the fourth week, we had less than a thousand to
- 12:54go. At the General hospital, the victim, Sheila Gordon, was pronounced
- 12:58out of danger and recovering. We questioned her, but all she could tell
- 13:01us was that she thought the hit and running car was a dark color.
- 13:05The search went on Monday, October sixth, Ben and I spent a ten
- 13:07hour day checking a list of car on her south of town. It was
- 13:11six thirty five pm when we got back to the office. Hi, Hi,
- 13:20read, I'd just do today. Fair looks like we got one.
- 13:22What do you mean? Guy's name is Ralph ASLLL. Let's see eighty six
- 13:28ninety back of the Road. Checked him out early this morning. First call,
- 13:31what'd you get? One's a late model Plymouth light blue license number there
- 13:35it is one seven Arthur two eight o four. Wasn't home? Talked to
- 13:39his wife? Yeah, she said, the car has been sitting home in
- 13:41the garage for the past month. Dost we won't drive it? What's his
- 13:43story? Told her there was something wrong, whether he was going to trade
- 13:46it in Glenn? And I tried it? Cars and brisk, last shape.
- 13:50What about the front end of the car, pretty clean? One of
- 13:52the bars and the radiator girl slightly bent so Cresa on the had another one
- 13:56in the right fender. Did you bring the car in? Yeah, Crown
- 13:58has been working on it since lunch. On the garage. Anything else?
- 14:01I found a gasher sheet in the glove compartment, dated September, third night
- 14:05of the action. Where's Angelo now? Santa Barbara business trip home to night
- 14:09about ten the Glenn Now pick him up? Then see what you got to
- 14:11say? And it sounds good? How many possibilities that make Joe? Let
- 14:15me see at a thirty seven hundred. We've checked about four goodness, I'll
- 14:18get that action investigation Friday. Hi Joe, this is Lee Jones. Kelly.
- 14:24Just finish checking the Plymouth reading mcclenn brought in. You find anything fabric
- 14:28prints on front bumper, on the hut, indentation of soft object on hood
- 14:31and right front fender. Something else on that defender. What's that set of
- 14:35lip impressions? What's it mean? We found the car, only one job
- 14:37left, find a driver. You are listening to Dragnet the case history of
- 14:52a police investigation presented in the public interest. Monday, October sixth ten pm,
- 15:05Suspect Ralph Angelo was picked up at his home by investigating officers and brought
- 15:07downtown to the interrogation room. Sergeants Reed and McLennan, Ben and myself questioned
- 15:13him for three hours. At one thirty am, we took Angelo to the
- 15:16county jail, where he was booked on suspicion of five oh one vehicle code
- 15:20hit and run felony. The next morning, we obtained a warrant from the
- 15:24District Attorney's office, and later that day Ralph Angelo was arigned in Municipal Court
- 15:28Division seven. The date was set for his preliminary hearing in municipal court.
- 15:31Sheila Gordon recovered from her injuries and was released from the General Hospital. On
- 15:35October tenth, the preliminary hearing was held. Shila Gordon was on the stand
- 15:41most of the morning. After the noon recess, I was called to testify.
- 15:48Raise your right hands. Did you tell me a story? The testimony
- 15:52is about to get penny in the States to the truth. Nothing office that
- 15:54I knew? Stay can Jil Friday? Is that your name? Plead Joe
- 16:04Friday? Their address forty six fifty six Collis Avenue, Occupation. I'm a
- 16:11police officer in the Flora City of Los Angeles. Are you one of the
- 16:15investigating officers assigned to this case? I am? Did you have a conversation
- 16:19with the defendant regarding stse I did in the Traffic Division at one twenty three
- 16:26South Vigure Rostet which president the defendant Sergeant McLennan reed Romeo myself. Were the
- 16:34statements made by the defendant free and voluntario? They were? Was there any
- 16:38promise of community or reward or the use of force of violence producing make statement?
- 16:42No, there was nothing to tell the court the extent of the conversation
- 16:48at that time. Well, First of all, I asked him if he
- 16:52was the registered owner of a nineteen forty eight Plymouth automobile California license number once
- 17:00have An Arthur two eight oh four. He admitted that he was, And
- 17:04then I asked him if he was driving a car on the night of September
- 17:07three. He said he was, but that he did not drive anywhere near
- 17:11the location of the hit and run fellony that night at the seventh in Carondelet
- 17:15Street. Did the defendant tell you where he drove his car? Didn't I?
- 17:21You asked the defendant where he drove his car that night of September there,
- 17:23Yes, I did. And what did he answer? Well, he
- 17:26said it's none of your business. Did you persist in this line of question?
- 17:30Yes, I did, defendant continue to refuse to give you the information,
- 17:33that's right. Did the defendant state where he was on the night of
- 17:38September third night? He refused to tell us. He advised the defendant at
- 17:44that time it is car had been impounded for investigation, that's right. Did
- 17:48you advise him to several points of incriminating evidence I had been in bound in
- 17:52the car? Yes, we did. And what did he say in answer?
- 17:56Well, he said you can't prove a thing. I wasn't near the
- 17:59place you can't prove a thing? Was that The extent of the conversation with
- 18:04being youans defend it was thank you. That's all confer different, no questions.
- 18:10You're on Leland Jones. I don't stand that's your right name. Somebody
- 18:23swear the testimony about the defending his caisse be the truth about truth, nothing
- 18:26about truth. Off again, I do your name, Lee Jones, your
- 18:34optivisions. I'm a police officer in and FA the city of Los Ange particular
- 18:38detail. Are you scientist? I'm a lieutenant in charge of the police Crime
- 18:42Laboratory, well content defense stipulate the witnesses a qualified forensic chemist. So stipulated
- 18:48to Jones, you are the commander in charge of the Police Department Scientific Investigation
- 18:53Division. Is that correct? Yes? Yes, Jones. I will show
- 18:57you a photograph. Yeah. Automobile California Light December one, seven, eight
- 19:06to eight oh four to be marked People's exhibit C. Have you ever seen
- 19:11this car? Forth? Have where and when did you see it? Free?
- 19:15I sat at the Traffic Division Garage one twenty three South figure Over Street,
- 19:18Monday, October sixth. This year. Did you make examination of this
- 19:21car at that time? I did? What did the examination consist of and
- 19:26what were you finding? I made a systematic examination of the car using a
- 19:30bleak lighting from a five hundred photo flood lamph and a bell type reflector.
- 19:36I found the folly evidence of excuse me. On the front bumper of the
- 19:41car. I found fabric marks consisting of fifty one threats to the edge.
- 19:45I then took a perpendicular photograph of those marks with a copy camera. Here
- 19:51is a photograph of that portion of the bumper containing those marks. I wish
- 19:56this photographic mark People's exhibit d namplication. You proceed, please, mister Joe,
- 20:03what else did you find in your examination of the Tendan's car. I
- 20:06found fabric marks on the cowling of the car standing back on the hood.
- 20:10These marks were made by fabric having a weave of thirty eight ribs to the
- 20:15inch. There a photograph of noise marks. Yeah, I want to ask
- 20:21this photograph of mark people exhibits what else did you find in your examination of
- 20:26cars? Joan? I also noted an indentation in the right portion of the
- 20:30car's hood and have the appearance of having been made by a soft object and
- 20:34clothed in fabric. Striking the car or a human body struck by a car
- 20:38makes such an indentation, Yes, it would. Here's a photograph I took
- 20:42of that indentation on the defense car. I'm go. I asked this photographic
- 20:49Marcus People's exhibits, and some marked all right, continue this joan. On
- 20:56the top of the right hand fender of the car. I found a lip
- 20:59in print in red lipstick. I lifted that print with a piece of celifaing
- 21:03tape, then placed the tape on a plain white card, which I have
- 21:07a light here with me. That's this guy the market exhibit G. It's
- 21:12a market Oh, mister Jones. These pieces of evidence which you found on
- 21:19the defendant's corse, did you compare them with other rockets? I did?
- 21:26Well? You please state what comparisons you made in your fighter. Well,
- 21:30in the first place, I find that the fabric marks in People's Exhibit C,
- 21:34taken from the bumper of the car, has the same comperench as the
- 21:40stockings won by the victim, Sheela Gordon. Secondly, I found the fabric
- 21:45marks thrown in the People's Exhibit D from the calling hood of the car to
- 21:48be the same cont parench as the coat won by the defendant. I further
- 21:53made a comparison between the imprint found on the right fenders shown in People's Exhibit
- 21:59G, and various exemples of the victim's lips. She made the exemplars by
- 22:04placing her lips against heavy, stiff white pick. I have those exemplars with
- 22:11as they remarked People's Exhibit eight so marked. Now may I ask how did
- 22:17the lip imprint taken from the defendant's car compare with these sample imprints made by
- 22:22the victims slips. I found that there were seventeen points of similarity between the
- 22:29two. These points of similarity consists of various small lines or wrinkles which match
- 22:34identically as may be seen in the pogas. Jones, do you have an
- 22:41opinion as into the origin of the lip imprint on the dependence car has shown
- 22:47in People's Exhibit G. I do, what is that my opinion that the
- 22:52lip imprint on the defendant's car has shown an Exhibit G, was made by
- 22:56the lips of the victim. She look order will oh, mister Jones,
- 23:06We recognize, of course that you're a qualified forensic chemist. But are you
- 23:11going to set yourself up as an expert on women's lips too? Well,
- 23:17I've done some research in that part. To mister Jones, isn't it possible
- 23:23that any number of lip imprints made by different people would look exactly alike?
- 23:27No, it's not possible. There are no two things in the world exactly
- 23:33alike. There are no two sets of lip imprints alike. Well, anyone
- 23:37who's been around at all would know that. That's all the Jones, thank
- 23:41you the people's case. We will not offer any defense at this time,
- 23:48Your honor. It appears to me that a felony has been committed, and
- 23:52reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed it. A dependent will be how
- 23:55to answer in Superior quite Tuesday, November fourth, suspect Ralph Angelo was arigned
- 24:03in Superior Court, Department eighty eight and the date of his trial was set
- 24:07for December first. During the weeks preceding the set of the trial, we
- 24:11worked with Lee Jones and the District Attorney's office preparing the case against Ralph Angelo.
- 24:15Two days before the trial opened, we had a visit from one of
- 24:18the men from the DA's office. Process Server all right, Bury AI,
- 24:22we got yeah. Sheila Gordon's disappeared. Wednesday, December first, Ralph Angelo's
- 24:33trial opened and Sheila Gordon was called at a stand She failed to appear.
- 24:37We checked her few known friends in the city. They couldn't help. She
- 24:41had disappeared from her new address and taken everything with her. A bench warrant
- 24:45was issued by Superior Court for Shila Gordon. The Deputy District Attorney succeeded in
- 24:49having the court granted delay in order to find the missing girl in this case,
- 24:52the complaining witness. Meantime, we got out a local broadcast in an
- 24:56APB, we got missing Persons detail to help out a the search. Still
- 25:00no sign. Ralph Angelo's lawyer asked the court for dismissal of the hit and
- 25:03run felony case because of Sheila Gordon's failure to appear. In December the eighth,
- 25:07the court ruled on the motion regarding the motion by the defense for dismissal
- 25:14of hit and run felony charges against Ralph ci Angelos because of the prosecution's failure
- 25:19to produce the complaining witness through which Sheila R. Gordon, the court feels
- 25:25it would not serve the interests of justice to continue the case, cas is
- 25:27midful. The search for Shila Gordon went on behind us. We had logged
- 25:34three solid months of police work, checking and running down more than four thousand
- 25:38cars, hours of labor in the crime lamb, more hours pounding the pavement,
- 25:42questioning people, checking, rechecking. Without a trial and a conviction,
- 25:48it didn't mean a thing. Three days before Christmas, we received information that
- 25:52the missing girl was living in a small town south of Los Angeles. Ben
- 25:56and I checked the address. What was your apartment? Number? Seven eight
- 26:03one? Oh? Yeah again, yeah, oh you too. Come in.
- 26:18Come in now and make yourself at home. I'm sorry to place such
- 26:22a mess little party earlier tonight. It's messed up. What about the trial?
- 26:26Why didn't you show considn see, I'll tell you what. I'll freshen
- 26:29up a little, put on some makeup. What about the trial? I
- 26:32didn't have anything against the guy. I didn't mean to run me down.
- 26:34You. You wouldn't happen to have a drink on you, would you?
- 26:38You know better than that. Why didn't you show up at the trial?
- 26:41I told you I didn't have anything against the guy. What was it a
- 26:44payoff. Look, why don't we go out and get something, then we
- 26:47can go back and have a party. Much did he give you fifty dollars?
- 26:51He was awful night. You agreed not to show in court. I
- 26:53didn't have anything against the guy. That's all better get your coat. Why
- 27:00that's what the court wants to know. You're taking me in. Why turning
- 27:07law against forgiving? Yeah, when you get paid for it. The story
- 27:18you have just heard was true, only the names were changed to protect the
- 27:23innocent. On February third, trial was held in Superior Court, Department eighty
- 27:29eighth City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment
- 27:32the results of that trial, Sheila Gordon was returned to Los Angeles and a
- 27:45new date was set for the trial of Ralph Angelo. Subsequently, he was
- 27:49tried and found guilty as charged. Angelo was also tried, along with Sheila
- 27:55Gordon, for compounding a felony. They were both convicted and received the see
- 28:00and says prescribed by law. They are now serving their terms in the state
- 28:03penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet a series of authentic cases from official files.
- 28:14Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of Police W.
- 28:18A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. The Halls of Ivy is especially
- 28:26pleasant listening tomorrow on NBC Welcome Back. Well, I don't know if this
- 28:45episode ages as well as some of the other ones. It may not,
- 28:51just because well, I think a lot of this was a novelty back in
- 28:56nineteen fifty first century. We've experienced trials on television, and so the feel
- 29:04of this is perhaps a bit more ordinary. I have to say that I
- 29:08was upset on behalf of Friday and Ramero when you found out that the victim
- 29:17had a skipped town over fifty dollars. All that work, all that effort,
- 29:23all that expertise and time essentially almost flushed down the drain because of one
- 29:33woman's corruptibility. In some ways, it does call to mind the earlier scene
- 29:38where the landlady was harassing the police. In the broadest, most realistic sense,
- 29:48Friday was right, they are concerned with hit and run accidents who done
- 29:55it. Yet in a broader sense, the character and integrity of citizens in
- 30:03everyday lives is so vital for what the police do to actually be effected,
- 30:11and that I think is a takeaway from this episode. I also wondered in
- 30:15that scene at the beginning where Friday was dictating his report to if Jack Webb
- 30:27was actually smoking when he did that to give it a more realistic effect.
- 30:33There's a radio actress from the UK, Sheridan Smith, actually just recently got
- 30:41the Order of the British Empire, and I've listened to several plays with her
- 30:45when she's doing these audio dramas in her both Actually in one program where she
- 30:55was drowning, she actually brought water in to the booth with her to give
- 31:02her performance a more realistic effect. Speaking of Dragnet and sound effects, that
- 31:07received an email from Kevin who says, Hi, Adam regarding sound effects on
- 31:11Dragnet, there's a library of standard sounds you hear absolutely everywhere on old time
- 31:17radio. Although though they do use some of those, these, I believe
- 31:22they originated a great deal of their own. For all the unusual and sometimes
- 31:26not so unusual situations they encounter. A lot of things you hear on these
- 31:30programs you won't hear anywhere else. Even when a general sound effect could have
- 31:36been used, you'll often hear something very original, even if it's still very
- 31:41much background. And yes, they go all out with things like PA systems,
- 31:47material for fight scenes or special acoustical environments they are working in. There
- 31:55really is a huge amount of attention to detail in this area of these programs,
- 32:00and it goes so much further beyond the norm for radio at the time,
- 32:05and it goes a very long way in setting these dramas apart from the
- 32:09rest in how well they put you in the situation. Thanks for sharing these
- 32:15again, I'm really enjoying them even more the second time around. Well,
- 32:19thanks Kevin. And it's worth noting that at this point this Dragnet, of
- 32:25course on NBC. On NBC, most shows weren't even using their own theme
- 32:31music. In the detective genre, you would have the same bumper music,
- 32:37the same things are getting dramatic music. When you're getting into the nineteen fifties,
- 32:44Dragnet really was different. There was a dedication to quality. Jack Web
- 32:49used five sound effects men to get the job done, so it's definitely unusual
- 32:54and a great sense of craftsmanship. Finally, we have a question from James,
- 33:00who rites a lot of the videos on Sherlock Holmes and other shows won't
- 33:05download. Is there any reason or am I doing something wrong? I enjoy
- 33:08listening to the audio downloads and your comments on my daily walks. Well,
- 33:13thanks so much for the question, James. A few months back, really
- 33:17suddenly our video hosting was pulled. It wasn't for copyright violations. It was
- 33:25basically they decided they only wanted shows where it was chalk full of original content,
- 33:36and so they went ahead and they pulled the video theater without actually sending
- 33:40us a notice. And so we've gotten some of those restored and back up
- 33:46from previously. We have the first twelve episodes, plus there was The Fat
- 33:53Man and I think a couple of others, and so if you're listening to
- 33:57an older video theater, that's me. That's why. And we're definitely going
- 34:01to try and work to get those readded and re uploaded in the next few
- 34:07months. Well, thanks so much for the question, James. That'll do
- 34:09it for today. We will be back on Monday with The Saint and join
- 34:15us again next Saturday for another episode of Dragnet. In the meantime, sendor
- 34:21comments box thirteen Great Detectives dot Net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives,
- 34:25and you can always call us to a weight nine nine one four seven
- 34:30eight three from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Grahamson and off.