Theater of the Mind
Dragnet
313 episodes · 1949–1957 · NBC, Armed Forces Radio Service · Detective

Dragnet began on NBC on June 3, 1949, and ran until 1957. Jack Webb created it and played Joe Friday, working from real Los Angeles Police Department cases with a police technical advisor on hand, and "the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Barton Yarborough played his first partner, Ben Romero. Walter Schumann wrote the music. Dragnet set the pattern for the police shows that followed.
Sources: Dragnet (franchise), Wikipedia
Episodes
Tap a year to see its episodes, then a title to play it on Radio Days.
194924 episodes
- The Nickel-Plated Gun
A nickel-plated .44 Smith and Wesson is used to shoot two policemen and more. The police use IBM machines and a tape recorder. The familiar Dragnet theme isn't used yet. - The Werewolf
Friday and Romero hunt a big, brutal man the press calls the Werewolf, who has beaten and robbed eighteen women and stays one step ahead of the police. Raymond Burr is in the cast. This is the first show to use the famous Dragnet theme. - Quick-Trigger Gunmen
A policeman on a stakeout is killed by a shotgun blast from three trigger-happy gunmen in a bar, and the killers are trapped in an apartment house. - The Helen Corday Murder
A well-liked waitress, Helen Corday, has been killed with a steel pipe. The suspect's name is Larson. - The Red Light Bandit
A robber posing as a police officer strikes at red lights. His own father turns him in. - City Hall Bombing
A man threatens to blow up City Hall unless his brother is out of jail by nine o'clock. - Big Missing
The Archive copy has no date; Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists this title on July 28, 1949, the date used here. - Benny Trounsel
Benny Trounsel, a small-time drug user, is beaten to death soon after tipping police to a new narcotics ring. - Mad Killer at Large
On a cold, rainy night in Los Angeles, a maniac has killed several young women. - Sixteen Jewel Thieves
Sixteen jewel burglaries in sixteen days, and the trail leads to Walter Tracy. - Police Academy
A gang of "blitz bandits" is pulling three and four burglaries a night, while a young policeman starts his career. - Myra the Redhead
The mysterious Myra has teams of youngsters breaking into parked cars. - The Kelby Case
Agnes Kelby has disappeared from her house, and Mr. Kelby is acting suspiciously. - The Sullivan Kidnapping
A kidnapper who calls himself the Wolf takes a girl and demands $30,000 ransom. - Cop Killing
A cop killer is shot dead trying to escape, and the search begins for the other man in the car. - The Brick-Bat Slayer
A maniac with a brick-bat is loose, and a wide dragnet slowly corners him. - Truck Hijackers
Thomas Laval admits to a truck hijacking, then jumps from a window while in custody, and Friday and Romero are accused of pushing him. - Second Hand Killer
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - Mother-in-Law Murder
Mr. Reynard's mother has been murdered, and his wife is suspected. - The Spring Street Gang
A gang of teenagers hangs out on Spring Street. One member is wounded; another is shot by a night watchman during a robbery. - George Kwan: The Jade Thumb Rings
A Chinese man has been badly beaten and his valuable jade stolen. A sharp-eyed six-year-old boy supplies the clue. - The Garbage Chute Murder - Laura Barkley
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - .22 Rifle for Christmas
A young boy, Stanley Johnstone, is missing, and so is the .22 rifle he was supposed to get for Christmas. Dragnet used this script for Christmas four more times. - The Flowerland Roof Murder
A gang that usually holds up drugstores robs and kills the manager of a dance hall. A stakeout in a garage turns up twelve guns, and after the trial, two of the gang break jail.
195049 episodes
- Max Tyler
The hunt for Max Tyler, a friend of Friday's who pulled an armed robbery, escaped from jail and shot Ben Romero. - The Big Man, Part 1
Friday calls his mother to say he won't be home for a month: he's going undercover to get evidence on the Flats gang of narcotics pushers. Part 2 is not in the app. - Claude Jimmerson: Child Killer
Two little girls, seven and eleven, are missing, and their collie is found beaten to death. - The Big Girl
Police hunt a big blonde who shoots victims in cold blood. Could it be a man in women's clothes? - The Big Grifter
"Gentleman Wallace," a born con man, takes two used-car dealers and many others. - The Big Kill
Jack Carver, just out of Folsom, is suspected of killing a policeman for revenge. Friday poses as a prisoner to find the missing gun. - The Big Thank You
Annie Johnson, on parole from a murder conviction, is suspected of harming Laura Muller, who has disappeared. - The Big Boys
Four robbers and their puppy come down from San Francisco to pull a job. A long stakeout with a drinking desk clerk. - The Big Gangster, Part 1
Someone has taken a shot at Gus Valentine. He's on the wrong side of the law, but the police must protect him, and fail. - The Big Gangster, Part 2
The search for Gus Valentine's killers goes on. - The Big Book
Obscene comic books are being sold in high schools, and the trail leads to a downtown cigar stand and Barney. - The Big Watch (1950)
Hitchhike bandits are robbing and killing soldiers. - The Big Trial
After three months of police work on Sheila Gordon's hit-and-run, she doesn't show up for the driver's trial. - The Big Job
An off-duty policeman about to go on vacation is shot dead trying to arrest Alfred Garvey. - The Big Badge
The Badge Bandit has struck fifteen times, and now he's trapped in Laurel Canyon. - The Big Knife
Twenty-one high school girls have been knifed. Who's doing it? - The Big Pug
Two robbers hold up a cafe owner in a bank parking lot and beat her. - The Big Key (1950)
Maria Comacho is found dead in a churchyard. The clues: a key, a pen and a smear of shoe polish. - The Big Fake
A drunk accuses a rookie policeman of beating him, robbing him and breaking his arm. - The Big Smart Guy
Elizabeth Benham has been shot dead by a robber. The suspect is Jack Morrison, also called Tommy Kane. - The Big Purse
Two young purse snatchers who beat their victims are working a Los Angeles neighborhood. The show opens with thanks on the program's first anniversary. - The Big Mink
Furrier Albert Criver has been shot dead, and one mink coat taken. - The Big Grab (1950)
Professor Kessell's wife has been kidnapped. The show includes a moving Seder scene. - The Big Frame
Eddie Stokes was the victim of a hit-and-run driver. Or was he? - The Big Bomb
Vernon Carney threatens to blow up Los Angeles City Hall unless his brother is let out of jail. - The Big Gent, Part 1
Friday tracks a well-to-do man who robs and kills, even after eighteen years in prison: Frank Chaney, the Gentleman Bandit. - The Big Gent, Part 2
The hunt for the Gentleman Bandit leads to a freighter loading dynamite in the harbor. - The Big Dare
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Actor
$10,000 worth of narcotics has been stolen from St. Christopher's Hospital. - The Big Youngster
A young boy confesses to a murder, but no body is found. - The Big Chance
A highway patrolman has disappeared from his car out in the country. - The Big Check (1950)
Friday and Romero track Harry Johanson, who passes dozens of small bad checks. The show opens with Friday visiting his mother, who calls him Joseph. - The Big Poison
An elderly couple, the Appersons, have disappeared, and a bottle of cyanide points to a grim answer. - The Big Make
Friday tracks the robber who held up Stendahl's Bakery and shot the owners. - The Big Pair
A couple sell off all the furniture in houses whose families are out of town. - The Big Death (1950)
A man decides to kill his wife, and hires Joe Friday to do it. - The Big 38
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Quack
Marla Hutchins kills herself after being robbed by a phony psychotherapist, Dr. Schulte. The Los Angeles police chief reads a certificate of thanks to the program. - The Big Grandma
A woman who looks like everybody's grandmother has been passing bad checks for nine years, but only in certain months. - The Big Meet
Friday poses as a buyer to trap a careful narcotics wholesaler. - The Big Church
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Mother
A three-day-old baby is stolen from the nursery at Mercy Hospital. - The Big Parrot
A rooming house fire covers a double murder, and a graphic confession. - The Big Betty
A bunco gang works the obituary columns, selling worthless goods to grieving families. - The Big Car
A man confesses to robbing fifteen food markets, but he isn't the thief, and a bright red Pontiac is the clue. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby turn up in the Chesterfield commercials. - The Big Picture
Friday breaks a Los Angeles pornography ring. - The Big Break
After a shootout, George Hoffman is arrested and escapes from his arraignment by climbing down the side of the building. - Rifle for Christmas (1950)
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Family
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
195150 episodes
- The Big Holdup
The Rattlesnake Bandit enjoys beating his victims before he shoots them. - The Big Jump
Walter Harrison is on a thirteenth-floor ledge, threatening to jump. - The Big Dance
The Kid Bandits are robbing and beating their victims, and a book of matches leads Friday to Fred Guenther. - The Big Tomato
High school student Kenneth Morrow is killed in a car accident, and he'd been using marijuana. Friday goes after "the Big Tomato." - The Big Children
Mrs. Kessler is missing, her children are begging for food, and one of them dies. - The Big Cast
More than a dozen men have vanished without a trace, Paul Davis among them. - The Big Crime
Four-year-old twins have disappeared. - The Big Couple
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Herbert are confidence artists who prey on churches and clergymen. - The Big Partner
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big New Year's
A policeman is shot dead on New Year's Eve (though the show aired in March). - The Big Ben
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Lover
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Friend
Mr. Gray reports his wife Hazel has been murdered, but he can't tell it the same way twice. - The Big Threat
Louis Butler has been beaten and robbed, but won't talk because of threats against his family. - The Big Speech
A youngster pistol-whips a doctor and steals a large amount of narcotics. Friday's mother listens to him give a speech against teenage drug use. - The Big Saint
A 1949 Cadillac ties Herman Lester's salvage business to a stolen-car racket. - The Big Casing
Marie Robertson is shot dead with a .45. Her husband says suicide; it looks like murder. A good example of police lab work. - The Big Drills
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Blast
Josephine Stevens is killed with a shotgun, and her seven-year-old is a witness. - The Big Mailman
The hunt for Harvey Fletcher, a mail thief. - The Big Bindle
Posing as a man from Phoenix, Friday goes undercover against a narcotics ring working out of one of the best hotels in Los Angeles. - The Big Imposter
Ten-year-old Jimmy Sherman vanishes, and his blue jeans turn up by the reservoir. Later a boy is found safe near Dayton, Ohio, but is it the same boy? - The Big Building
Dentist Robert Marston reports that his wife Louise, a wealthy society woman, is missing. - The Big Run
Two old women are killed by a young hit-and-run driver. - The Big Cliff
Gertrude Turner is found dead of suffocation, and her husband, sixty-seven, is the main suspect. - The Big Love
"This program is for you, not your children." Mrs. Gorman has disappeared with her two-year-old daughter, and Mr. Gorman suspects her boyfriend, Ralph Kane. - The Big Set-Up (1951)
Police break up a burglary ring that uses a hatcheck girl as a spotter. - The Big Sophomore
A boy, Harry Dunbar, admits to a string of petty thefts but won't say why. - The Big Late Script
Businessman Tony Richmond has been kidnapped and held for $20,000 ransom. - The Big Screen
With the help of the Los Angeles News, police go after crooked television repairmen. Afterward, Jack Webb and George Fenneman explain some police terms. - The Big Winchester
An elderly man is found, apparently a suicide, but it might be murder. - The Big In-Laws
Truck hijackers take a load of liquor, and then toothbrushes. - The Big Crazy
Friday meets a man who brags he murdered his wife. Is he out of his mind? - The Big Seventeen
A teenage riot in a movie theater uncovers a marijuana and pill ring, and the seventeen-year-old pusher is about to move on to stronger drugs. - The Big Waiter
An elderly shopkeeper with an eye for the ladies is beaten to death. - The Big Sour
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big September Man
Secretary Adele Pryor is found beaten to death with a steel pipe, and two blocks away a drunk is beating his head against a wall. - The Big Want Ad
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Shoplift
A string of shopliftings in a shopping district, and the clues point to a kleptomaniac. - The Big Story Man
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Market
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Lease
Chester Dillon has disappeared, and a picture of foul play slowly comes clear. - The Big Hit and Run Killer
A bakery truck runs down and kills an old woman and her grandson. - The Big Bungalow
A stool pigeon tells Friday that Jeff Allen is behind a string of second-story burglaries. - The Big Hands
A well-dressed woman is found strangled in a cheap hotel room. - The Big Affair
A Frenchwoman is the only witness to a jewelry store robbery in which the clerk was badly beaten. - The Big Canary
The mother of sixteen-year-old Roberta Dixon has been murdered. - The Big Overtime
A banker's daughter, Judith Sullivan, twenty-two, is kidnapped and held for $30,000 ransom. Barton Yarborough's next-to-last show as Ben Romero. - Rifle for Christmas (1951)
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Sorrow
A dragnet for two escaped convicts who won't be taken alive, and the death of Ben Romero.
195251 episodes
- The Big Red, Part 1
Friday poses as a narcotics buyer from up north to trap "Cadillac Red," a heroin wholesaler. - The Big Red, Part 2
Friday stays undercover to trap the head of the heroin ring. - The Big Juvenile Division
Robert Lawson, a teenage "young Hitler," is stirring up gang warfare, and Friday tries to warn the parents. - Court
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Almost No-Show
A woman reports her brother missing, and Friday finds evidence his best friend beat him to death. - The Big Honeymoon
Dorothy Wagner has killed herself after Charles R. Reynolds disappeared with her $10,000. - The Big Phone Call
The police know George Garvey held up jewel salesman Tom Ashley. - The Big Producer
A trail of pornography leads to a run-down Hollywood studio and a has-been from the movies. - The Big Plant
A woman disappears and her husband is suspected. Then his stepson disappears. - The Big Evans
Narcotics dealer George Evans has been beaten up, and he accuses Officer Harry Blanchard. - The Big Fire
Edward Daniels signs a lease for an apartment, then threatens a couple when they try to move in. - The Big Border
Andy Powell and Bertram Selby break out of San Quentin and start a string of armed holdups. The trail leads to Mexico. - The Big Rose
Rose Baker has disappeared, leaving her boyfriend and four children. - The Big Streetcar
Wally Radford has been shot by his wife, and a streetcar helps track her down. - The Big Show
A seven-week-old baby has been abandoned at the Los Angeles bus station. Or has it? Radio-TV Mirror names Dragnet best program of its kind and Jack Webb best radio actor. - The Big Bunco
Friday gets a new partner, Bill Lockwood (Martin Milner). They track con man Russell Preston, who sells businesses he doesn't own. - The Big Elevator
A dead woman is found in a hospital elevator. - The Big Safe
After two false leads, Ralph McKinley is suspected of a string of safe burglaries, and a drawing left at a fix-it shop is the clue. - The Big Gamble
Floating gambling games lead to a policeman's death in a raid. The Mystery Writers of America present Dragnet with an Edgar Allan Poe Award. - The Big Mail
A mail truck is robbed of twenty-eight sacks of registered mail, and a $20 bill breaks the case. - The Big Shakedown
On the trail of Ray Williams, who poses as a policeman to shake down gamblers. - The Big Fourth
An eight-month-old baby has been stolen, and a prominent clubwoman is the suspect. - The Big Whiff
An unknown woman is found chloroformed to death, and the evidence points to a man named Leo. - The Big Donation
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Jules
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Roll
Ken Gorman is snatched outside a downtown bar and driven off in a gray car, which turns up bloodstained. Vic Perrin plays Friday's partner. - The Big Trio
Death and destruction on Los Angeles streets over the Fourth of July weekend, including "Hit-and-Run Logan." - The Big Hate
Music teacher Elizabeth Hoffman, fifty-two, is found dead in a boxcar, and Gordon Miller is found holding the body. - The Big Signet
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Impression
Elderly diamond salesman Sam Rumin is robbed of $150,000 in unset diamonds. - The Big Drive
John Iverson has been killed with a piece of concrete. - The Big Paper
Blank checks stolen from Marty's Mart are being passed by Roger Theodore. But Roger Theodore died six months ago. - The Big Test
Bruce Hamilton reports his friend Kevin was killed by bandits in Mexico, and tells a wild story. - The Big Ray
Alfred Prater has died of a heart attack, and his mother-in-law says good riddance. His young son tips police to poisoned milk. - The Big Tear
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Bull
Gang killer Leroy Bentley threatens Frank Smith's family if he doesn't lay off. - The Big Shot
Mr. Kelby, manager of the Pink Rat Cafe, is shot dead by the Evans brothers in a robbery. Ben Alexander takes over as Frank Smith for the rest of the run. - The Big Brain
Two men pull armed robberies by stealing cars and locking the owners in the trunk. - The Big Jolt
A drunken teenager and a riot in chemistry class lead Friday and Smith to a bar where kids hang out. - The Big Lie
Jeff Curtis has been shot dead, and his mother doesn't seem upset. - The Big Pill
Two Marines are poisoned in a cheap hotel by the half-mad Stubby. - The Big Number
A bank robber with a sawed-off shotgun is traced through the first three digits of his license plate. - The Big Light
Movie director Henry Wilson is killed at the studio when a 250-pound lamp falls on him. - The Big Dive
A woman is found murdered in a closet, and the trail leads to a freighter in San Francisco. - The Big Walk
Friday poses as a heroin buyer from San Francisco to break a narcotics gang. - The Big Guilt
Florist Arthur McKinley is found strangled in an alley. - The Big Shirt
Pawnshop co-owner Mark Williams is found murdered in the back room, and a laundry mark on a shirt is the clue. - The Big Mole
A dry goods store burglary is the latest in a series, and the burglar has a most unusual secret room. - The Big Eavesdrop
Waiting to make a narcotics buy, Friday and Smith overhear Sam Allison tearfully admit to a murder. - .22 Rifle for Christmas (1952)
The fourth broadcast of the Christmas story of a nine-year-old boy and his new gun. - The Big Mask, Part 1
A robber in a black mask hits a string of supermarkets, shops for groceries and locks the employees in the freezer.
195344 episodes
- The Big Mask, Part 2
The masked bandit stays a step ahead of the police, as if he knew what they'd do next. - The Big Small
A little old lady check forger is plaguing the city, and there's more to her than meets the eye. - The Big String
Mrs. Wagner, a professor's wife, has been kidnapped, and the professor isn't sure he should have called the police. - The Big Layout
Gary Field, a model student and a policeman's son, has become a drug addict. - The Big Strip
A gang of car strippers is running wild, and a sixteen-year-old is killed in a crash resisting arrest. - The Big Press
Two check forgers are at work in Los Angeles, and Friday goes undercover. - The Big Tooth
Nasty old Mr. Schroeder is suspected of foul play. - The Big Smoke
Old Mr. Stone, who kept his savings in his mattress, has been killed, and his invalid wife beaten with a club. - The Big Want
The search for a George Richmond leads to a cop killer who always takes cabs. - The Big Laugh
A rotten louse cheats lonely women by promising to marry them. - The Big Impossible
Bernie Hanson is named as head of a team robbing markets, but he has a good alibi: he's in the hospital and can't leave his bed. - The Big Informant
Three safe burglars are at work, and police are watching one. But where's Shorty? - The Big Dream
A poorly dressed old man robs a liquor store and is very apologetic about it. - The Big Chet
A stuttering robber and his partner are tracked down with help from a stool pigeon trying to go straight. - The Big Compulsion
A madman has been making false police calls and has caused a serious accident. - The Big Rip
A gang of safe burglars is trapped through a stool pigeon and an unpaid-for trench coat. - The Big Scrapbook
Three robbers take $135,000 in jewels from a San Diego store. A Detroit policeman presents the show with an award on the air. - The Big Carney
Friday goes after Red and his wife, who end a string of jewelry store robberies by taking an $8,000 necklace. - The Big Joke
A bartender is paid $500 to kill a nice old man with no enemies. Who wants him dead? - The Big False Make
Thomas Stanford confesses to robbing a store, but Friday proves he was at work at the time. - The Big Gun, Part 1
Friday trails stolen cars and trucks used by a narcotics ring in Mexico. - The Big Gun, Part 2
On the trail of a mob boss his own men have never seen. - The Big Will
Charles Stall has been shot, and tire tracks lead to a motel, a drunken Texan and his car. - The Big Lilly
Mrs. Rockman has been beaten to death. No, shot. No, she killed herself. - The Big Revolt
Henry Borg has disappeared, for an unusual reason. - The Big Ham
An unknown girl, Jane Doe No. 17, has shot herself with a .22 rifle. Or has she? The last radio show of the season. - The Big Bob
A robber holds up a check-cashing service for $1,500, and after more robberies, one of his victims is killed. - The Big Lift (1953)
A burglar has struck seventeen times for $8,000. Boyd Hall is caught at last, though his home address turns out to be a vacant lot. - The Big Cab
A grocer is beaten with a shotgun during a robbery, and the robber seems to have arrived by taxi. - The Big Slip
Used-car dealer Jesse McGowan bought a new Mercury from Lewis Carter. The car was stolen, and so was the pink slip. - The Big Tribe (1953)
Jan Patachek, a refugee from Eastern Europe, threatens to kill himself rather than go to jail for forgery. - The Big Little Mother
"The Little Mother" has been forging department store charge slips for six years. - The Big Plea
James Bolan, wanted for parole violation, is suspected of several robberies, and a former friend turns him in. - The Big Paint
An ex-convict tips police to Manny Phillips of a car-stripping gang, and ultraviolet paint helps. - The Big Fraud
Friday goes undercover to trap a gang posing as narcotics officers to con out-of-towners. - The Big Rain
Cecil Johnson is suspected of beating Grace Dillon, but her husband was heard threatening her life. - The Big Kid
A teenage gang war is about to break out: the Orchids against the Pink Rats. - The Big Flight
A new gang starts a wave of supermarket robberies, but the main suspect has an airtight alibi in Phoenix. - The Big Present
The Milk-Bottle Bandit has pulled nineteen jobs in a row. Is it a kid? - The Big Odd
A furniture truck has been hijacked and the driver kidnapped. - The Big Pick
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Brink
Police track down and capture a heavily armed gang that robbed an armored truck. - The Big Little Jesus (1953)
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Steal
A wave of burglaries against women, all with brand-new fur coats.
195452 episodes
- The Big Listen
A drunk in a Turkish bath gives police the clue to round up a gang of counterfeiters. - The Big Switch (January 1954)
Mona Fenton is found in a hotel room with the gas on. Attempted suicide? And who was the man who registered with her? - The Big Bill
Bertha Gillespie, a tearoom owner and Scrabble champion, has mysteriously disappeared. - The Big Bid
A clothing store is burglarized, and the assistant manager, an ex-convict, is suspected. - The Big Filth
Four children are found alone in a filthy house, and their mother, who drinks, is nowhere to be found. - The Big Broad
Friday trails two dangerous liquor store robbers, one of them a beautiful redhead. - The Big Sucker
A con man shows his victims real diamonds, then sells them cut glass. The first victim is Harold Filson. - The Big Pipe
Mrs. Ada Fitzgerald has been beaten to death with a lead pipe. - The Big TV
After threats against her life, Harriet Shipley has disappeared with her baby. - The Big Cup
Ethel Lawrence has been beaten to death in her house, and the evidence points hard at her husband. - The Big Rod
A hot-rodder runs down a pregnant woman in a crosswalk and never slows down. - The Big Moustache
A man in a false mustache is suspected of robbing a supermarket. - The Big Confession
Paul Marcus confesses to Friday that he murdered Lorraine Farrell, and says the reason is "something personal." - The Big Saw
A bank customer identifies two bank robbers, and the trail leads to a car rental agency. - The Big Note
A young woman reports that her friend Katherine Pilgrim is addicted to heroin. - The Big Net
Fourteen women have been robbed and beaten, and each describes the purse snatcher differently. - The Big Lift (1954)
A shoplifting gang led by the mysterious Arthur steals suits from Los Angeles department stores. - The Big Stop
A traffic officer is shot in cold blood at an intersection, for no apparent reason. - The Big Look
Mrs. Kieran is found badly beaten, and the evidence points to Mr. Kieran. Then a second woman is found beaten. - The Big Help
Stolen payroll checks are being passed all over town, and a former check forger, Beatrice Dowling, gives the clues to Cecil. - The Big Watch (1954)
Herbert Langley robs a market of $7,000, and the clue is a cheap broken watch. - The Big Cowboy
Dudley Gray is holed up with a lot of guns, holding his wife and child, convinced he's a cowboy defending a fort. - The Big Student
Louis Rote is caught after a string of bank robberies, and breaks out of jail a few months later. - The Big Cat
A man reports that a black panther has been stolen from his carnival and is loose in the city. - The Big Customer
A special officer is shot and a liquor store owner knifed to death in a robbery. One robber has filthy fingernails. - The Big Check (1954)
Walter Gilmer's body is found in the lake in MacArthur Park, and Friday goes undercover to find who sold the heroin that killed him. - The Big Search
Thirteen-year-old Bunny Moran has disappeared, and her cocker spaniel has been beaten to death. - The Big Rescue
Two robbers, one with a .45 and one with a machine gun, hold up the 814 Club and many more places. After they're caught, another gunman breaks them out. - The Big Heel
A pair of unusual tennis shoes shows a string of house burglaries was done by a rich young boy. - The Big Match
Auction house owner Charles Cain has been robbed and beaten, and a half-burned book of matches is the clue. - The Big Stand
Matthew Denton is shot on the street in front of a newsstand. - The Big Wish
John Colter, a teenager hooked on heroin, walks into the police station and asks for help. - The Big Cad
A large amount of morphine has been stolen. A pusher out for revenge and a stakeout at a bar solve it. - The Big Shock
A tunnel burglar is digging through a sewer line into a bank vault. - The Big Office
Friday and Smith spend a night on the business office desk, and see the many kinds of cases the police handle. - The Big Trunk
Two robbers have been locking their victims in car trunks. - The Big Cut
A jewelry store is robbed of $5,000 in watches, and the burglar was barefoot and cut himself. - The Big Tribe (1954)
Young Emil Salter comes into headquarters to confess he stole a truck and killed a man on the highway. - The Big Bible
Carl Hamlin has killed himself. Or has he? There's something wrong about the gun in his hand. - The Big Handsome Bandit
A tavern is robbed and a couple shot. One of the robbers is wounded and informs on the other two. - The Big Tar Baby
Ethel Cabot has been kidnapped, and her husband, a bartender, has ideas about who did it. - The Big Mannequin
Jason Helmer's wife reports him missing, and his drinking companion, Frederick Madison, knows but won't talk. - The Big Key (1954)
A robber has hit thirteen drugstores, taking money and narcotics. - The Big Locker
James Fedder tries to pawn an expensive emerald ring, and is tied to a jewelry robbery when the gems turn up in a bus station locker. - The Big Coin
A burglar sets fire to the houses he robs. Police have no clues until some old coins are taken. - The Big Dog
An old man threatens to kill the man who poisoned his dog, and anyone who gets in his way. A moving speech in praise of man's best friend. - The Big Switch (November 1954)
George Pilsen is found beaten to death in bed. A talkative neighbor helps, and suspicion falls on a lawnmower sharpener. - The Big Gone
A flower shop is robbed and the holdup men shot, but the bodies disappear. Somewhere in Los Angeles is a man with four bullet holes in his chest. - The Big Dig
A woman reports her sister, Margaret Shayne, has disappeared and says her brother-in-law killed her. There are bloodstains in the garage. - The Big Lens
Two men force their way into Mrs. Alston's car, rob and beat her, and leave contact lenses behind. - The Big Little Jesus (1954)
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Underground
Paul Dereaux is the main suspect in a string of burglaries and car thefts.
195539 episodes
- The Big Mug
A strong-arm bandit goes so far as to break a woman's arm. Friday uses a new gadget, the speakerphone. - The Big Complex
A junior high school has been vandalized three times, and the cafeteria hit hardest each time. - The Big Token
A robber kills a man in a liquor store holdup, and one of the witnesses sings on television. - The Big Bounce
A check forger who looks like a movie actor takes advantage of an old woman who runs a rooming house. - The Big Bird
A burglar hits new housing developments and kills pet birds whenever he can. - The Big Gap
Garfield Hunt is swindled out of $1,500 with a phony emerald ring. - The Big Hat
A robber calmly takes $80,000 in uncut diamonds, and meanwhile a woman is killed by her jealous husband. - The Big Slug
A man in a plaid sport coat is shot while robbing a liquor store and killing the owner. - The Big Set-Up (1955)
A tip says three kilos of heroin are about to arrive in Los Angeles, and Friday goes undercover to make a buy. - The Big Father
A daylight burglar posing as a man from the electric company slugs an old woman. - The Big Set
Watch salesman Russell Liggens reports his sample case stolen. - The Big Talk
A drunken woman gives the clue to robberies, beatings and a murder outside different bars. The main suspect's alibi is Friday himself. - The Big Death (1955)
Arthur McNeil is shot six times in his flophouse room, and his lawyer reveals he was working on a new explosive. - The Big No Teeth
A robber with a sawed-off shotgun holds up a hotel, then more hotels and a diner. - The Big Tie
A tie factory is robbed and the owner says he knows who did it. More tie burglaries follow. - The Big Deal
Two car thieves have a clever way of reselling what they steal. - The Big Child
A two-year-old has been poisoned and her mother is missing. When she turns up, she's drunk. - The Big Mama
The owner of Multiple Uranium Investments has left town with the whole company. - The Big Revision
A burglar is caught, but not his $200,000 in furs and loot, and the trail leads to a Palm Springs bar and Jarvis Dean. - The Big Squealer
A high school boy is found knifed in an alley and won't say who did it. - The Big Siege
A bank robber is trapped in a house, and the police work to get him out. - The Big Sisters
Miss Dunbetter, an old woman, has been robbed. Or has she? - The Big Limp
A jewelry store is burglarized and watches taken, and the clue is a man with a cut foot. - The Big Fallguy
A six-year-old girl is kidnapped, and a huge effort begins to get her back. - The Big Grab (1955)
Six-year-old Grace Marchand is kidnapped off the street, and a $50,000 ransom demand follows. - The Big Convertable
A man cashing bad payroll checks all over town is using a rented car. - The Big Rush
Tavern robberies by "the Whale" and his partner lead to the shooting of a policeman. - The Big Genius
A young boy has been living in a cave and stealing food. - The Big Bobo
A police sergeant is accused of taking $3,500 from a woman to get her husband out of jail. - The Big Housemaid
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Sheet
Leroy Finch is caught after robbing a drugstore, escapes, and shoots an old couple getting away. - The Big Missus
A woman tells police her ex-convict husband is planning a robbery. - The Big Beer
A night watchman finds a body in a store. The only clues are fourteen beer bottles and some bright red hairs. - The Big Blonde
A blonde and two partners have swindled a man out of $40,000, and Friday goes undercover as a mark. - The Big Fellow
The Merton brothers, drug users and robbers, arrive in town looking for action. - The Big Ruling
Sam Arthur Freed, a pusher who hooks kids, is caught with narcotics on him, but he was searched illegally. - The Big Daughter
Porter Denson and his family are arrested after heroin is found under their young daughter's pillow. - The Big Closing
A body in a motel room leads to a ladies' man in town on business. The last new script of the radio series; it ran until February 26, 1957, all in repeats. - Rifle for Christmas (1955)
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
19563 episodes
- The Big Lay-Out
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big False Move
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date. - The Big Bop
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
19571 episode
- The Big Mustache
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.