"Dragnet" The Big Thief (1953)

Director:

Jack Webb

Writer:

Jack Webb (creator)

TV Series:

"Dragnet" (1951)

Original Air Date:

17 December 1953 (Season 3, Episode 16)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

A gang of robbers are calling Los Angeles physicians down to hotels and mugging and robbing them of drugs and valuables. Sargeants Friday and Smith are called in to put a stop to this. |

Plot Keywords:

Police | Cult Director | Cult TV | Los Angeles California | Criminal Investigation

Cast

Jack Webb	...	Sgt. Joe Friday
Ben Alexander	...	Officer Frank Smith
Dorothy Abbott	...	Ann Baker
Gloria Saunders	...	Alice Catherine Cavell
James Bush	...	Dr. Platt
Alan Dexter	...	Dr. Halbert
Gil Stratton	...	Kenneth Alden (as Gil Stratton Jr.)
Art Gilmore	...	Capt. Harry Didion
Loren Brown	...	Edgar Cavell
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Fenneman	...	Announcer (Opening) (uncredited)
Hal Gibney	...	Announcer (Closing) (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Webb

Writing credits
Jack Webb		(creator)

Produced by
Michael Meshekoff	....	producer
Stanley D. Meyer	....	executive producer (as Stanley Meyer)
Jack Webb	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Walter Schumann

Cinematography by
Edward Colman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lynn Harrison

Art Direction by
Feild M. Gray		(as Feild Gray)

Set Decoration by
Jack Mills

Production Management
Sam Ruman	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mark Evans	....	assistant director
Sam Ruman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Howard Fogetti	....	sound
George Jay Nicholson	....	sound editor (as George Nicholson)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Potevin	....	chief set electrician (as James S. Potevin)
Jack Whitman	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Robert M. Leeds	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Nathan Scott	....	orchestrator (as Nathan G. Scott)

Other crew
Raoul Murphy	....	assistant to producer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jack Webb		creator

Production Companies

• Mark VII Ltd.

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1953) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

30 min

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Mark VII Ltd.

Friday Meets Sartre

The case itself is an average one-- on the trail of narcotics robbers. However, the entry is really noteworthy as one of the few attempts to dramatically humanize Friday away from the cold police professional. He kills a man in the course of an attempted arrest. It's his first on-the-job fatality and he's suffering some anguish. Just happening to be at the station house is the series' early fling with a romantic interest, Ann Baker (Dorothy Abbott). She provides much needed solace, putting events in perspective and allowing Friday to recover. Her last line is a memorable one for a series not known for existential musings. Somehow I didn't like this effort, maybe because it doesn't fit with the established persona, or maybe because Webb the actor is not very good at soft emotions. Anyhow, I'm glad the series dropped both the romantic interest and the personal angst, even though their loss adds to Friday's "robocop" image that modern day hipsters love to poke fun at.

Note too, the presence of Gil Stratton Jr. as the young father. He can also be seen as one of Brando's improbably playful bikers in The Wild One from that same year. Later on he was a constant presence on Los Angeles area TV as a sports reporter. I guess he found a good way to support the baby.