DRAGNET: THE BIG LITTLE MOTHER and THE BIG PLEA

This week on 1001 Radio Crime Solvers, Jack Webb stars as Sergeant Joe Friday in two cases drawn from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Friday and his partner, Officer Frank Smith, confront a surprisingly sympathetic check forger and then search for a dangerous parole violator connected to a string of armed robberies.

THE BIG LITTLE MOTHER

Original broadcast date: October 6, 1953. [youtube.com], [The Big Li...dam Graham], [goldie.fm]

Summary

Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are assigned to the forgery detail, where they encounter a case that has frustrated investigators and department stores for six years.

The suspect is a woman known to police as"The Little Mother." Her method is remarkably simple. She visits department stores, presents forged checks and uses the money to purchase small quantities of children's clothing. Because the individual amounts are relatively modest, her crimes have repeatedly slipped through the cracks.

But the accumulated losses and the continuing pattern make the case impossible to ignore. Friday and Smith begin retracing the woman's activities, searching for the small piece of evidence that may finally reveal her identity.

As the detectives close in, they discover that the woman behind the forged checks may not fit the usual image of a hardened criminal. The resulting case presents Friday with one of the most difficult situations a police officer can face, enforcing the law while recognizing the troubled human story behind the crime. [The Big Li...dam Graham], [goldie.fm]

Cast

• Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
• Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith
• Joyce McCluskey
• Victor Rodman
• Jack Donahoe
• George Fenneman, announcer
• William H. Parker [goldie.fm]

THE BIG PLEA

Episode number: 217
Original broadcast date: October 13, 1953. [goldie.fm], [youtube.com], [youtube.com]

Summary

Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are assigned to robbery detail after two armed holdup men begin operating in Los Angeles. The police have descriptions of the suspects and their automobile, but identifying them is only the beginning of the job.

The investigation points toward James Bolan, a parole violator suspected of being involved in the continuing robberies. Friday and Smith begin searching for Bolan and questioning the people who might know where he is hiding.

As the detectives reconstruct his movements and connections, they must work quickly to find him before another robbery turns deadly. Witness statements, communications with authorities in Sacramento, and the consequences of the earlier crimes gradually bring the investigation into focus.

The case becomes more than a routine search for a fugitive. Friday and Smith must separate desperate pleas from hard evidence, knowing that sympathy cannot be allowed to obscure the danger posed by a wanted criminal. [goldie.fm]

Cast

• Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
• Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith
• Herb Vigran
• Michael Ann Barrett
• Sam Edwards
• Vic Perrin
• George Fenneman, announcer [goldie.fm]

About Dragnet

Created and produced by Jack Webb, Dragnet helped establish the realistic police procedural as a major form of radio and television storytelling. Its restrained performances, documentary-style narration, investigative detail, and unforgettable opening helped make Sergeant Joe Friday one of broadcasting's best-known detectives.

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