INTRO: Ray Charles - "I Can't Stop Loving You" (1962)
Dragnet - "The Big Small" (Aired January 11, 1953)
The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the program’s format and eventually became comfortable with their characters (Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor). Gradually, Friday’s deadpan, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop, tough but not hard, conservative but caring." (Dunning, 210) Friday’s first partner was Sgt. Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a longtime radio actor. When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radio’s top-rated shows. While most radio shows used one or two sound effects experts, Dragnet needed five; a script clocking in at just under 30 minutes could require up to 300 separate effects. Accuracy was underlined: The exact number of footsteps from one room to another at Los Angeles police headquarters were imitated, and when a telephone rang at Friday’s desk, the listener heard the same ring as the telephones in Los Angeles police headquarters.
THIS EPISODE:
January 11, 1953. Program #186. NBC network. "The Big Small". Sponsored by: Chesterfield. A little old lady check forger is plaguing the city, but there's more to the old lady than meets the eye. This is a network, sponsored version of cat. #16303. The closing credits and system cue have been deleted, the story is unaffected. Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, George Fenneman (announcer), Hal Gibney (announcer), June Whitley, Jack Kruschen, John Robinson (writer), Walter Schumann (music), Jean Tatum. 29:26. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.
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