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"Ladies and gentlemen…the story you're about to hear is true…"

Dragnet, a term which actually refers to the systematic and coordinated way searching for a wanted person, was also used to pertain to a police drama series that aired from September 1949 to February 1957 in NBC Radio. For 30 minutes per episode, the show featured real police stories in a simple, investigatory style.

The show was said to be inspired by a film called "He Walked by Night," which was released in 1948. In that film, Jack Webb, who portrayed Dragnet's main character Sergeant Joe Friday, was given a small role. Through the help of the Los Angeles Police Department, Webb was able to present true cases, which became the trademark of Dragnet. It narrates every facet of police work—from paperworks and patrols, to crime scene investigations, laboratory works, and interrogation of suspects and witnesses.

As the most popular and influential police series in the history of American media, Dragnet was able to provide its audience the impression of what a real police life could be like. It was well-liked by most radio listeners, as well as police officers. Due to its success, the series also had its television adaptation.

"From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action."

Click here to read more about Dragnet

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Please enjoy these 332 old time radio episodes:

Air Date	Title	Synopsis
06.21.1951	the big run	+ Dragnet. June 21, 1951. Program #106. "The Big Run". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. Two old wom...
06.28.1951	the big cliff	+ Dragnet. June 28, 1951. Program #107. "The Big Cliff". Sponsored by: Fatima. An old woman named G...
07.05.1951	the big love	+ Dragnet. July 5, 1951. Program #108. "The Big Love". Sponsored by: Fatima. The program begins wit...
07.12.1951	the big set up	+ Dragnet. July 12, 1951. Program #109. "The Big Set-Up". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. The cops...
07.19.1951	big sophomore	+ Dragnet. July 19, 1951. Program #110. "The Big Sophomore". Sponsored by: Fatima. A young boy name...
07.26.1951	the big late script	+ Dragnet. July 26, 1951. Program #111. "The Big Late Script". Sponsored by: Fatima. A successful b...
08.02.1951	the big cop	+ Detective Sergeant Joe Friday is assigned to burglary detail. A gang of clever thieves are at work...
08.09.1951	the big screen	+ Dragnet. August 9, 1951. Program #113. "The Big Screen". Sponsored by: Fatima. With the help of t...
08.16.1951	big winchester	+ Dragnet. August 16, 1951. Program #114. "The Big Winchester". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. An...
08.23.1951	big in laws	+ Dragnet. August 23, 1951. Program #115. "The Big In-Laws". Sponsored by: Fatima. A gang of truck ...
08.30.1951	big crazy	+ Dragnet. August 30, 1951. Program #116. "The Big Crazy". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. Friday ...
09.06.1951	the big seventeen	+ Dragnet. September 6, 1951. Program #117. "The Big Seventeen". Sponsored by: Fatima. A teen-age r...
09.13.1951	the big waiter	+ Program #118. "The Big Waiter". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. An elderly shopkeeper is brutall...
09.20.1951	big sour	+ Program #119. "The Big Sour". Sponsored by: Fatima. Seventy-one-year-old Wendell McClung has been...
09.27.1951	big september man	+ Program #120. "The Big September Man". Sponsored by: Fatima. A secretary named Adele Pryor has be...
10.04.1951	big want ad	+ Detective Sergeant Friday is assigned to Autotheft Detail. A gang of criminals masquerading as leg...
10.11.1951	the big shoplift	+ Program #122. "The Big Shoplift". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. A series of shopliftings are p...
10.18.1951	big story man	+ The story you are about to hear is true only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. ...
10.25.1951	big market	+ The story you are about to hear is true only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. ...
11.01.1951	the big lease	+ Dragnet. November 1, 1951. Program #125. "The Big Lease". Sponsored by: Fatima. Chester Dillon ha...
11.08.1951	big hit and run killer	+ Dragnet. November 8, 1951. Program #126. "The Big Hit and Run Killer". Sponsored by: Fatima. A ba...
11.15.1951	the big bungalow	+ Dragnet. November 15, 1951. Program #127. "The Big Bungalow". Sponsored by: Fatima. A stool pigeo...
11.22.1951	the big hands	+ Dragnet. November 22, 1951. Program #128. "The Big Hands". Sponsored by: Fatima Cigarettes. A wel...
11.29.1951	the big affair	+ Dragnet. November 29, 1951. Program #129. "The Big Affair". Sponsored by: Fatima. A French woman ...
12.06.1951	the big canaries	+ "The Big Canary". Sponsored by: Fatima. The mother of sixteen-year-old Roberta Dixon has been mur...

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So enjoyed Dragnet on radio and of course watched every episode on TV. More than one HD channel here plays all of them.

Jeanette

Harry Bartell = always awesome.

John

Virginia Gregg was on everything! I love catching her in tv shows like "Dragnet."

Larisa

I wasn't expecting myself to enjoy Dragnet this much

Tyler

I love radio Dragnet!

Kristi

I like the radio version of "Dragnet" much more than the TV version.

Debra

The radio version is much edgier than the TV version.

Richard

they want you to make sure you get everything and make it much more exciting (say that fast)

Tyler

Harry Bartell, played many characters on Dragnet, both radio and TV as well as many other radio shows.

Walt

"This is the city. Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge. My name's Friday."

Rick

Excellent I love dragnet

John

My favorite show I love that and never tired to listen that again and again.

Andrew

I love that show

Michael

So enjoyed Dragnet on radio and of course watched every episode on TV. More than one HD channel here plays all of them.

Jeanette

"The story you about to hear is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent"

Daniel

The Dragnets from the 1950's are very entertaining to me!

Mike

The Dragnet episodes "A .22 Rifle for Christmas" and "The Big Little Jesus" l recommend to here these episode in Christmas. my favorite.

John

I loved this old show, During the noon hour in our LA high school they would often play the Dragnet theme on a loud speaker. It was very popular!

Diana

Dragnet is really good. Good stories, acting and great sound effects.

Dan

Lately I have been listening to and enjoying the Dragnet radio shows. Dragnet had an almost seamless conversion to TV. I still enjoy both. At least some of the Dragnet episodes were the same script on both radio and television (with some narration added to radio to explain the action). The "Baby Jesus" story is one example that's easy to find in audio and video.

Ted

Recycling of scripts was more common among series in that era than it is now. Gunsmoke had many reused scripts both on the radio and also on TV. I prefer that to what latter came to be known on TV as the Montage Episodes .

Tom

Featuring all 309 existing programs as broadcast on NBC from 1949 to 1955 (excluding repeats). You will find this set has the best sound, as well the most complete set of programs available anywhere. Another feature in this set, is many of the programs are in high code to take advantage of the great sound. Dragnet is respected as the best crime drama on radio, later in movies and on TV. (Check out our OTV DVD Catalog for the black & white TV programs, as well the color 1967 to 1970 series).

DRAGNET