Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:23 — 13.5MB)
Assigned to homicide detail, Joe Friday is on the trail of a cop killer. His partner, Ben Romero is already in the briefing room, and the chief shares the details. The killing is believed to be over revenge after a released convict blamed the cop who put him behind bars for his troubles.
What can be learned from known friends like Tiny Flores? Is there any lead on Carver? Tiny’s sister is Carver’s old girlfriend, but after being beaten up, she doesn’t have any trouble in telling what she knows to Joe Friday. The roadblocks are up, and the manhunt is on as the dragnet tightens.
Friday gives the details through voiceover, then gunshots break out. Carver is picked up, but the murder weapon used on the cop is still missing. Hard evidence on his other crimes in the spree is slim, and Carver could go free. Taking a chance, Friday goes under cover as a prisoner in the county lock up to get the dirt on Carver.
Note: This is an episode from Dragnet’s first season, and there’s that mixture of the well known just-the-facts style and dramatization. The producers wanted to dramatize real police stories, but creator, Jack Webb stood his ground to give the show a more realistic feel, even siding for the mundane and deadpan, instead of sensationalism. With the early success of this season, the show would settle down into the tone that characterized the show well into the TV years, movies, and even spoofs of it on comedy programs.
