Dragnet
(1951-59) "The story you are about to see is true..." "Just the facts, ma'am..." "We were working the day watch..." Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and his partners methodically investigate crimes in Los Angeles. The show emphasized careful police work and the interweaving of policemen's professional and personal lives.
Vol. 1:
The Big Shoplift
3/11/1954. Friday and Smith catch a wealthy house wife shoplifting, then discover she is a kleptomaniac.
The Big Producer
8/26/1954. A man claims to be a big Hollywood producer, but really leads a pornography ring.
The Big Hit-and-Run Killer
3/18/1954 A woman and her grandson are run down by a bakery truck, but the driver has an airtight alibi.
The Big Girl
4/1/1954. A tall, blonde, beautiful woman beats and robs her victims.
Vol. 2:
The Big Bar
10/14/1954. A murderer is on the loose who orders the same drink and plays the same song in every bar.
The Big Pair
9/16/1954. An old man and his granddaughter are burglarized, leaving them broke and starving.
The Big Crime
9/9/1954. Twin girls are missing!
The Big War
4/10/1958. Friday and Smith crack down on teenage gangs.
Vol. 3:
The Big Hands
5/21/1953. Friday and Smith find a woman with a broken neck in a hotel room and suspect a psycho killer.
The Big September Man
5/8/1952. When a secretary is beaten to death the search leads to a religious fanatic.
The Big Seventeen
11/6/1952. Friday and Smith investigate a group of teenagers who are using and selling drugs.
The Big Show
1/22/1953. A seven-week-old baby is found abandoned in a bus station.
Vol. 4:
The Big Boys
1/21/1954. The cops stake out a hotel lobby waiting for juvenile armed robbers.
The Big Trunk
1/7/1954. Burglaries in new housing projects.
The Big Oskar
10/14/1958. An old man named Oskar brings in stolen property he claims he found.
The Big Betty
9/24/1953. Friday and Smith track down a confidence ring that is selling defective watches.
Vol. 5:
The Big Break
3/19/1953. Friday and Smith track down an escaped convict who is armed and dangerous.
The Big Thief
12/17/1953. A doctor is slugged in a downtown hotel and narcotics are stolen from his bag.
The Big Little Jesus
12/24/1953. A statue of baby Jesus is stolen from a church, and Friday must find it before Christmas.
The Big Frame
4/22/1954. A man’s body is found in the gutter and the only clue is a pair of skid marks found nearby.
Vol. 6:
The Big Cast
2/14/1952. The police interrogate a suspect whom they believe to have murdered more than a dozen men.
The Big False Make
5/27/1954. A store manager identifies a robbery suspect, but Friday and Smith think that the suspect is the wrong man.
The Big Casing
6/5/1952. A man claims that his wife committed suicide right in front of him, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
The Big Phone Call
5/22/1952. Friday confronts a jeweler with tape recorded evidence that proves he hired someone to rob his own store.
Vol. 7:
A Gun for Christmas
12/18/1952. Two small boys are missing, there are blood stains on the ground and a gun meant as a Christmas present is gone. Aka “The Big 55 Rifle for Christmas.”
The Big Grandma
1/8/1953. An elderly woman is passing bad checks, but no one suspects her because she looks harmless.
The Big Hands
5/23/1953. Friday and Smith suspect a psycho killer when they find a woman with a broken neck in a hotel room.
