Dragnet

Dragnet   

List of Episodes at the End of this Article

Dragnet was a precedent-shattering radio landmark that became a national institution -- and its influence is with us even today.  Police procedural programs go back long before Dragnet premiered in 1949.​

But earlier never showed plain, ordinary policemen simply doing their jobs.  Instead, we had hard-boiled cops and dozens of wise mouthed private detectives parading across our radio dials.

That genre largely collapsed under the weight of their own clichés  -- especially when Dragnet premiered in 1949. Dragnet was like a breath of fresh air.

Gone were the wisecracks and the impossibly exaggerated characterizations. Instead we were given true-to-life dedicated law enforcement officers, determined to do their jobs as completely and as thoroughly as possible.

Joe Friday was just another workaday guy in an inexpensive suit, trudging through his daily routine.  In Webb's hands, however, the characterization took on a fascinating edge of realism.  The deliberately-low-key direction and the stylized flat-voiced delivery of the supporting cast added to the downbeat, realistic style that gave Dragnet a feeling and a mood unlike that of any other radio program of its era. And that essential feel was there from the very first episode.

Less we mislead you, Dragnet was not all serious.  Included were quiet kibitzing between Friday and his partners (first Ben Romero - expertly played by Barton Yarborough, and then Frank Smith - wonderfully portrayed by Ben Alexander).  There was also meticulous documentation of an unfolding case -- with each episode carefully paced as it built to its climax.

The supporting players were drawn from the ranks of Hollywood's top radio talent.  Webb liked working with an ensemble cast, and he put together a good one.  The ensemble included Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Jack Kruschen, Harry Bartell, Peggy Webber, Georgia Ellis, Helen Kleeb, Virginia Christine, and others.  The production values -- the way they layered sound upon sound -- are wonderfully rich.

Dragnet is a national treasure.  It started on radio - and radio is where it remains at its very best!