Dragnet 1967 (TV Series) S.I.U.: The Ring (1969) User Reviews

Not bad...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 27 November 2009]

Friday and Gannon have a snitch who sometimes sells them information. He's a reliable source, but this time they don't know what to make of him--he does it for free! His lead is about a stolen ring and he tells the detectives that he's seen a guy wearing it.

The detectives visit the rich lady who lost this and other jewelry to see if her description of the ring matches the snitch's. It did, so they decide to do a stakeout--and they need a nice looking woman to go along with them as they frequent the bar where the thief works as a bartender. By the way, I have noticed that bartenders OFTEN are the crooks on "Dragnet".

Eventually, they make contact and the bartender offers them the stolen ring. He's arrested BUT they don't know where the rest of the loot is hidden. If he's caught with only the ring he can claim that he was sold the jade ring and no idea it was stolen. Where it's hidden, how they find out and the real story all make this an interesting tale. Not among the best, but still much better than most episodes from season 3--an off year for the series.

Dragnet - S.I.U. The Ring

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 28 July 2019]

"In my job, I meet a lot of losers. I carry a badge." Not exactly one of my personal favorite Dragnet 1969 episodes, but there is still a lot of attention to detail, especially when it concerns the history of the races in California. The episode focuses on Friday and Gannon assisting the Special Investigative Unit, receiving information from informant, "Black Ten" (Lawrence Levin), a sketchy undercover type who gives police details with financial exchange upon delivery. A jade ring, diamonds, and a fancy dog collar were stolen from a wealthy widow's home, and it seems that the victim's dog kennel had someone inside using her address (and knowing she was going out of town to San Francisco), with knowledge of where folks hide their expensive jewelry, to burglarize her. Black Ten gives Friday and Gannon information on Al Baylor (Anthony Eisley), even drawing them a sketch of the jade ring, describing it, not asking for anything in return, cluing in the detectives that he has a special interest in this crook being arrested. A swinger's club, a hostess in cahoots with Baylor (a bartender there), and a pretty, fresh-out-of-the-academy undercover recruit looking to get experience in the field (Stephanie Shayne) all factor in to the results of the investigation. Gannon uncomfortable with Friday asking him if Shayne's cop fits the bill of the three things he needs for the role of "date" to the club-pretty, young, and looking nice out of uniform-is amusing. A piranha fish tank even finds its way into the uncovering of taken jewelry...Al boasts that if Friday and Gannon had searched it by hand, the fish would have torn it apart to the bone. Louise Lorimer, as the victim, gets a lesson in how thieves operate, feeling like no matter what she tried to do to hide her precious items, it almost impossible to keep them safe unless she takes precautions such as a safe and a safeguard on her glass door.

More interesting than most episodes

[johnk-314 · 14 January 2017]

For me, giving a rating to a particular Dragnet 1967 episode is based in part on how soon I see the screen pop up with the "The story you have just seen is true" at the end of the episode, because the faster I see that screen, the more I know I enjoyed the story because it went by so fast. This was one of those less common episodes where things flew by at lightning speed!

In some of the episodes, Joe Friday gives a soliloquy on a topic being covered by the episode, such as drugs, police brutality, teenage rebellion, being a hippie, and other pariahs of the 1960s. Those episodes can really drag on because of the monologue and preachy nature of the monologue or limited dialogue.

This episode was a refreshing change of pace because it seemed to center around a burglary of a residence where $25,000 in jewelry was taken. Of special interest was a particular jade ring worth about $2000. The episode followed the detectives in their pursuit of finding not only that ring, but all of the other stolen jewelry as well, or as Gannon stated at one point, the other $23,000 worth of jewelry.

Because this episode seemed to go by so fast, I rated it higher than the episodes that seem to take forever to get that final screen. The plot of this episode is fairly straightforward and follows the detectives as they attempt to recover the stolen merchandise and arrest those responsible.

Two things about the episode seemed a little different: For one thing, they did not pursue the dog kennel angle which seemed would be a logical thing to do since many wealthy people might board their pets when they go on short trips or excursions. The second thing that seemed to be a possible error in the script is how did the bartender not have the ring on his hand one moment, and then virtually a few moments later the ring is clearly visible. There is no explanation of how it just magically showed up on his hand with the detectives and undercover police woman watching at the bar.

One question that did not seem to be answered was how the burglar knew that the homeowner was not going to be home, which brings us back to the possible dog kennel connection and a possible insider at the kennel who knows which wealthy patrons will be away from home and for how long.

The only preachy part of the episode was when Joe Friday briefly lectures the homeowner on how she may have inadvertently contributed to the loss of her jewelry by not doing everything possible to reduce chances for thieves to make entry when she is gone. Turns out his advice is still good for homeowners four decades later.

The summary of the episode mentioned that the jewelry was hidden in a very highly unlikely spot. That, of course, is intriguing because where in a home would be a highly unlikely spot? On this point, the episode does not disappoint, and was almost a case of where the jewelry was hiding in plain sight. Who would've ever thought to look there? A surprising and delightfully different ending compared to most episodes.