Radio Legends:
Dragnet, Volume 2
Liner notes written by Elizabeth McLeod

^{Item #RL36 - Ten CD Set $19.95}

A precedent-shattering radio landmark that became a national institution -- its influence is with us yet. And now Radio Archives is proud to take you back to the very beginning, with a second volume of exciting broadcasts from the very first season of Jack Webb's police procedural classic "Dragnet."

Police procedurals go back long before "Dragnet's" 1949 premiere -- with an especially strong heritage in Los Angeles. Private Investigator Nick Harris presented dramatizations drawn from his own true-life case files as far back as the 1920s, and the Los Angeles Police Department itself collaborated closely with Don Lee Network producer William N. Robson for the long-running 1930's series "Calling All Cars." But these formats fell from favor by the 1940s, with the advent of the "hard boiled dick" genre of crime programs. An ordinary policeman just doing his job had little chance against the legions of smart-mouthed gumshoes parading across the ether during the postwar years.

But inevitably, that genre collapsed under the weight of its own clichés -- and when "Dragnet" premiered in 1949 it was a breath of fresh air. No wisecracks, no impossibly exaggerated characterizations, no too-purple-for-belief dialogue, just a dedicated law enforcement officer, determined to do his job as completely and as thoroughly as possible. Joe Friday is one of radio's great Everyman figures -- just another workaday guy in a cheap suit, trudging thru his daily routine -- but in Webb's hands, the characterization takes on a fascinating edge of realism. The deliberately-low-key direction and the stylized flat-voiced delivery of the supporting cast adds to this downbeat, it's-really-happening style, giving "Dragnet" a feeling and a mood unlike that of any other radio program of its era.

Programs included in this second Radio Legends collection are from the first season of the program's run, beginning where our earlier collection left off, and date from December of 1949 thru May of 1950. It's interesting to note that the essential feel of the series was there from the very beginning of the run: the quiet byplay between Friday and his partner Ben Romero (expertly played by radio veteran Barton Yarborough), the meticulous documentation of the unfolding case, and the careful pacing of each episode as it builds slowly but steadily to a climax. The supporting players are drawn from the ranks of top radio talent, including such performers as Frank Lovejoy, Parley Baer, Hans Conried, and Raymond Burr, and the production values -- layering sound upon sound -- are of astonishing proficiency. It's a collection that shows you just how powerful, just how creative, and just how fascinating American radio drama could be when it found itself in the hands and mind of a master.

Here's the complete content of this second Radio Legends collection, offering ten audio compact discs containing twenty original NBC network episodes, complete and just as originally broadcast in 1949 and 1950:

The Garbage Chute Murder (#29)
Thursday, December 15, 1949 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

.22 Rifle for Christmas (#30)
Thursday, December 22, 1949 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Flowerland Roof Murder (#31)
Thursday, December 29, 1949 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Escape (#32)
Thursday, January 5, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Man, Part One (#33)
Thursday, January 12, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Man, Part Two (#34)
Thursday, January 19, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

Claude Jimmerson: Child Killer (#35)
Thursday, February 2, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Girl (#36)
Thursday, February 9, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Grifter (#37)
Thursday, February 23, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Kill (#38)
Thursday, March 2, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Thank You (#39)
Thursday, March 9, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Boys (#40)
Thursday, March 16, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Gangster, Part One (#41)
Thursday, March 23, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Gangster, Part Two (#42)
Thursday, March 30, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Book (#43)
Thursday, April 6, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Watch (#44)
Thursday, April 13, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Trial (#45)
Thursday, April 20, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Job (#46)
Thursday, April 27, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Badge (#47)
Thursday, May 4, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes

The Big Knife (#48)
Thursday, May 11, 1950 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes
 

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