Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of Dragonet, but
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You can support the show on a one time basis
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thirteen Boise altahol eight three seven one five, and you
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his little last two dollars per month by going to
Patreon doc Great Detectives dot net. Now from November thirtieth,
nineteen fifty, here is the Big Car.
Speaker 2: The story you're about to hear is true, only the
names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a
detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail. In four months,
fifteen food markets in your city have been held up
and rubbed. The bandit is well dressed, well armed. Your
job stopping.
Speaker 3: Drag net the documented drama of an actual crime Pau
the next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles
Police Department, you will travel step by step on the
side of the law through an actual case transcribed from
official police polence, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment.
Dragnet is the story of your police force and action.
Speaker 4: It was Monday, February twelfth. It was cold in Los Angeles.
We were working the night Watch out of robbery detail.
My partner's Ben Romero, the boss's Dad Brown, Chief of Detectives,
My name is Friday.
Speaker 5: Was nine forty eight pm.
Speaker 4: When we get the room twenty five, a interrogation room.
Speaker 5: Have a chair, mister Barrn.
Speaker 4: Thanks Now, what is it that you want to tell us?
Speaker 5: Sir? Well, you have a cigarette? Please?
Speaker 6: Yeah, there you are, Thank you. I'm a little nervous.
It's never happened to me before.
Speaker 5: What's that?
Speaker 6: Well, after I thought it over, I knew it wouldn't
be any use to keep it up. I knew you'd
find me, but I don't think I quite follow you.
I want to confess. That's why I came here. Real
I knew what I was doing wrong. I just couldn't
help myself.
Speaker 5: What have you done?
Speaker 6: I'm not trying to defend myself or needed money, that's all.
Wasn't anything else I could do.
Speaker 5: But we still don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 6: Pollard, been after me four months, so maybe you recognized
me from the description. Some of the people not have
seen me. Hum those food market holdups? You pulled those
robberies by yourself? Yeah, fifteen of them? Needed the money?
Speaker 5: Pollard? Is that your true name? That's right?
Speaker 6: Yeah, Frank Bowler? Have you ever been arrested before? Drunk charge?
That's all? I don't know why I went wrong? It
just did.
Speaker 5: Have you ever done any big time?
Speaker 7: No?
Speaker 5: Why do you want to confess? I want to get
it off my mind.
Speaker 6: I want to tell somebody, everybody what cat call in
newspapers and I'll give them a whole story.
Speaker 5: I'll tell 'em everything. Uh. How many of those markets
did you hold up? Probably fifteen? And you said you
needed the money? Is that right? Why? Personal reasons? And
look you got a light again? Smokes out?
Speaker 6: Yeah, uh huh yeah.
Speaker 5: Did you use pretty much the same routine on all
of the hold ups? Is that right?
Speaker 8: Yeah?
Speaker 6: I only pulled one job a week. Figured that was
the safest way. Dressed pretty well like a salesman. Always
had a briefcase with me, said, what are you carrying
the gun?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Always worked too.
Speaker 6: I'd show up at closing time, get the manager in
the back room, and then pull the highest What kind
of a gun did you use? Service pistol? I had
it from when I was in the army. How do
you usually work it?
Speaker 8: Oh?
Speaker 6: When I got the manager alone in the back office,
I'd just pull a gun. I'd say the money, all
of it. They knew I wasn't pooling niggim in the dog.
Speaker 5: You don't seem to fit the hold up man's description
too closely. Did you wear a mask on those jobs?
Did it? Sometimes? It did? Sometimes it didn't. How about
the man who worked with you? Where's he wasn't anybody else?
Just me?
Speaker 6: Worked him alone. That's where you cops are wrong. You
thought there were two of us, didn't you?
Speaker 5: We thought so?
Speaker 6: Yeah, pulled every job by myself. That's where I crossed
you up and kneway I was doing I didn't need
any help.
Speaker 4: Well, how about that market out of the West seventh
that you held up last night? Did you pull that
one alone too?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 6: I'm sure I always work alone. Guess I had you
guys going, huh, your story doesn't come very close. The
man where after he doesn't use the service pistol. He
never wears a mask in it. What are you guys
getting that? I told you I pulled those robberies. I
dol'n't know how it happened. I used a service pistol.
Speaker 5: Did you use it in that robbery last night that
went out on West Seventh? Sure? I always used the
same gun. Last night was no different. You're wasting time, mister.
What do you I mean? I look, I just want
to confess. You know, sir, there wasn't any robbery last night.
Speaker 4: One further questioning beg Frank Pollard broke down and admitted.
Speaker 5: His confession was a lie.
Speaker 4: He explained that he wanted the publicity to impress a girlfriend.
We had him fingerprinted and delivered him to the Georgia
Street Hospital. Detail was filed on, and then we moved
to the psychopathic ward at the County Hospital for further
examination and treatment. Our four month old search for the
market bandit went on. In the two weeks that followed,
we tracked down more leaves. They led nowhere the real
market bandit was still at large. On the night of
February twenty fifth, they hit again, this time at a
supermarket out on Santa Monica Boulevard. We interviewed the manager
of mister Harry Talbot in his small office at the
rear of the store.
Speaker 9: I guess I should have known better. I got the
bullet and you sent out on the guy. His description everything,
I just wasn't thinking.
Speaker 5: I guess he came into the market just before closing time,
Is that right?
Speaker 9: Yeah, a couple of minutes after eight, look well dressed,
had a briefcase.
Speaker 5: Under his arm. I fell for it like the rest
of him. I thought he was a salesman. How about
the man's description, sir.
Speaker 9: About five foot eleven hundred and seventy pounds. I guess
gray suit, the same description you have Perrier up in
the paper.
Speaker 5: Was anyone else around when the man came in the door.
Speaker 9: One of my clerks, evert smiley, he saw him leave
and get in a car right after the robbery.
Speaker 5: Is this clerk still around? We'd like to talk to him.
Speaker 9: Oh, he went down the street im and hear me
right back, and maybe that's you.
Speaker 10: Yeah, mister Talbot you remember me, Missus Bolton.
Speaker 5: Oh yes, ma'am, like to ask.
Speaker 11: You a favor. Mister Talbot is an old customer.
Speaker 9: I'm tied up right now, ma'am. Could I see you
a little later on?
Speaker 11: I won't even come in, mister Talbot.
Speaker 10: You see, we're having our annual benefit whist party down
at the community church.
Speaker 11: They were going to have it next Thursday, but I made.
Speaker 10: Them put it off another week so we could get
some decent prizes.
Speaker 5: Oh yes, ma'am.
Speaker 10: Of course, lots of our people are good customers of
the store here, so I knew you'd be willing to give.
Speaker 11: Something to the prize list.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, Shall I put.
Speaker 11: You down from one of the door prizes?
Speaker 10: Maybe two or three market baskets full of can corn
pease things like that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, okay, Missus Bolton.
Speaker 9: I'll have ever fixed them up tomorrow.
Speaker 5: Of course.
Speaker 11: Well, thank you very much, mister Talbot. I'll have my
I Robert picked him up tomorrow. You'll have the best.
It's fixed up real nice, won't.
Speaker 12: You, yes, ma'am, I'll take care of it well, thank you, goodbye, goodbye, ma'am, goodbye, gentlemen.
Speaker 4: Mister Talbot. I wonder if you could tell us what
happened after you got back here in your office with
a hold up man, It.
Speaker 5: Happened pretty fast.
Speaker 9: He reached into the briefcase he was carrying like he
was going to get his order book, and he came
up with this gun.
Speaker 5: He told me to open that safe there, but I stole.
Speaker 9: I said, I didn't know how I see, And that's
when he started telling me what he'd do to my family,
my wife if I didn't open the safe. He knew
all about us, my address, my wife's name, my kids.
Speaker 12: He said he'd get them if I didn't do what
I was told. Same Amo never failed him.
Speaker 5: What'd you do? Then? Tell it? Well, money's not worth
that much to me. I opened the safe and gave him.
Speaker 9: Everything, a little over four hundred dollars. I still don't
know how I got that information about my family.
Speaker 5: Do you have any suspicions at all? No, nobody I
can think of. How about the gun? He can you
describe it?
Speaker 9: But just like you haven't listed in that bulletin on
him thirty eight revolve.
Speaker 5: A blue steel long bow and mister Talbott, come on
in ev officers, this is my clerk.
Speaker 9: Everett Smiley I'm sorry, I forgot your name.
Speaker 5: Friday in Romero, Robert y tamp hi Yah. I love it. Hey,
mister Talbot says that you saw the hold up man
leaving the market. Is that right? Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 6: He walked right out of the store and down the street,
just like nothing happened. I didn't know anything was wrong
till later. Did you notice if the men got in
the car?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I did.
Speaker 6: Car was sparked about halfway down the block. Another guy
was driving, motor was running.
Speaker 12: You catch the license number? No, but it was a
bran new sedan, a Pontiac. I think you shouldn't have
much trouble.
Speaker 6: Finding it without a license number. Oh, it's a brand
new car. I remember the color. I couldn't forget that. Yeah,
bright red, just like a fire engine.
Speaker 4: Ninety percent of the time, color identification of a car
means nothing. For one thing, a getaway car can be
painted in a matter of a few hours, and for another,
the color of a vehicle is not listed on the
registration slip. Possible to check a car through DMV on
color alone, But in this case we figured that we
had half an exception to the rule. The car used
and the robbery was new was painted a very distinctive color.
We began an immediate canvas of automobile dealers throughout the city.
After a day and a half of calling and checking,
we found two dealers would sold two new cars within
recent weeks with fire engine red paint jobs. We got
the names and addresses of the purchases and check them out.
One of them was a mismoona tailor, an ad taker
for one of the daily morning paint roots.
Speaker 5: I'm sorry to brought you that your work, misteray, not
at all. Most of it's over for today. What is
it you want to know?
Speaker 4: We understand that you bought a new Pontiacciday in about
three weeks ago.
Speaker 5: Is that correct?
Speaker 13: Yes?
Speaker 5: I did.
Speaker 13: Oh if this is about that parking, take it like
I've already taken care of it.
Speaker 5: No, man, that's not it. We just like to know
if you still own that car. Well, I don't own
it yet, I'm still paying on it. Colors there, bright red?
Is that right? Yes? It is fire engine red. I
like bright colors. Well, does anyone else beside yourself drive
the car? Mastailing?
Speaker 1: Well?
Speaker 13: Yes, once in a while. I lend it to my
boyfriend Al al Daily. I have known him prolonged time.
Speaker 5: Excuse me.
Speaker 13: Last by das Miss Taylor, Yes, sir, two room apartment, unfurnished.
Speaker 5: All right, you've got a smoke you Beverly Hill eight.
Speaker 13: Okay, yes, sir, tomorrow Morning's edition.
Speaker 11: Yes, two dollars and cents for two days?
Speaker 13: Did I have your name addressing telephone number?
Speaker 5: Thanks you, sir. I am about this friend of yours,
Miss Taylor, and this el Daily. How long have you been.
Speaker 13: Lending him your car since he got his new salesman's job.
Guess to make night calls on customers out in the valley,
So I let him have a car, usually about once
a week.
Speaker 4: When's the last time that he borrowed the comments two
nights ago from Mona Taylor, we got the address of
her boyfriend al Daily relocated him in a rooming house
on South Boulevard. He admitted he borrowed the tailor girl's
car the night before, but he denied that he drove
it anywhere in the vicinity of the robbery.
Speaker 5: How about your friend Jimmy Bray, I.
Speaker 14: Don't know I owned the car. That's all. He gave
me thirty bucks. Well, that's an awful lot of rental money.
Why did he need a car? Savand I don't know.
Speaker 5: Let you ask Ken. Where's he staying? Warlotte Hotel Ethan
Flo You going over to see him, now, that's right? Why?
Speaker 14: Well, I thought if you were going over there, he
wouldn't mind taking this with you. He left it in
the car when he brought it back his briefcase. It'savanla,
it's a naa. It's all a fuss about a briefcase. Yeah,
what is it? Let's see, all right? You get an
answer for that? Daily Sure a funny place to keep
a gun. He took al Daily downtown where he was
held for questioning. He had a stakeout placed on his
room house. We had both Daily and Bray checked through
R and I.
Speaker 5: No criminal record.
Speaker 4: The briefcase and the thirty eight revolver were booked as
evidence with the property clerk. There was no record or
prints on the gun. The Taylor Girl's car was impounded
to be checked for fingerprints. Seven pm, we drove out
to the Bottle of hotel on Eighth and Flower. The
room clerk confirmed the fact that Jimmy Bray was a
registered guest at the hotel.
Speaker 5: You want to call the office. Jill, Yeah, all right,
I'll do it. We got change. Yeah, I think I
have yep.
Speaker 15: Okay City Hall two five to one on.
Speaker 5: Robbery Powers Joe Friday, John, We're out at Bray's hotel.
We're gonna stake it out. He's not in yet. That's
what I figured.
Speaker 9: What you mean, market out on twelve Street was held
up a minute ago.
Speaker 5: Bandit carried briefcase.
Speaker 3: You are listening to drag net authentic stories of your
police force in action.
Speaker 5: Eleven thirty pm.
Speaker 4: After checking Bray's room and finding nothing, Ben and I
remained on stake out.
Speaker 5: At the Bartlett Hotel. The suspect failed to show up.
At midnight, Young and Mackenzie came out and relieved us.
We drove back to.
Speaker 4: The office and got the particulars on the hold up
of the twelfth Street market. The m was almost exactly
the same as in the other sixteen robberies. The victim's
description of the hold up man matched perfectly with Bray's.
By noon the next day, the suspects still had not
returned to his hotel. An intensive canvas of the immediate
neighborhood around the Bartlett Hotel netted us nothing. Nobody remembered Bray.
We checked the bars and restaurants that he was known
to patronize. No one had any idea where he might be.
Details at the airport, railroad stations, and bus terminals were alerted.
We got out a supplementary description on our original APB.
The Sheriff's office was kept advised. Two days passed, still
no sign. We questioned and requestioned al daily. Either he
couldn't or he wouldn't add anything to what he'd already
told us about Bray. A series of stakeouts were placed
at food markets and areas where Bray had staged robberies previously.
A composite picture of the suspect was made up and
given wide distribution throughout the city.
Speaker 5: It all went for nothing.
Speaker 4: The following Tuesday, March fourth, Bray robbed a neighborhood market
in Highland.
Speaker 5: Park of one hundred and fifty dollars. I had to
give him the money.
Speaker 16: Sergeant he fed in my wife and kids said he'd
see something happen to them if I didn't open the safe.
Speaker 5: Did you say war gloves, sir? That's right.
Speaker 16: I thought it didn't, Juy, But first salesman wearing gloves
like that. Didn't think about it till it was too late.
Speaker 5: Did you notice if he was on foot or did
he get away in a car?
Speaker 16: He had a car all right part down the street
there saw up through the window.
Speaker 5: Another fellow was at the wheel.
Speaker 4: Did you notice anything else about the car? The license number?
Speaker 16: Maybe no, I couldn't see that. But it was a
coop I'm sure of that. Yeah, it was red, bright red.
There was one angle we couldn't figure.
Speaker 4: If Bray has been on a steady career of robbery,
why did he use an escape car painted the most
conspicuous color possible. We checked out Mona Taylor's car again,
there was no connection. The search went on two weeks,
three weeks, another month. Bray kept to his usual schedule,
one robbery a week. The lake work went on too.
On March twentieth, we got a call from one of
Ben's informants. He told us that he'd seen a man
answering Bray's description in the Venice Park amusement area down
to the beach, and we drove out of Venice to
check it out.
Speaker 5: Pretty good crowd for a cold nine. Yeah, where do
we find a friend of yours?
Speaker 12: See where the money go around here is up ahead? Yeah,
just beyond that he runs one of the booze you
throw baseballs at pony milk three tash fret dime you know,
oh yea, he and his wife running. They were not
here for years. I don't know how they ever make
a living.
Speaker 5: Eh.
Speaker 12: They those hot dogs smell good, don't they.
Speaker 5: That's your friend's booth to foss away there? Yeah?
Speaker 13: Yeah, girls, how you can throw a baseball still the mount?
Speaker 11: Now let the girl kind of free throw step up
when it fly.
Speaker 12: Looks like Marg's running in place tonight, maud that's his wyea?
How you do side cold night?
Speaker 11: Huh?
Speaker 17: Alright, this is my partner, Joe Friday.
Speaker 5: Oh are you glad to know you?
Speaker 12: Joe?
Speaker 5: Guess you're looking for the scooter. Huh yes, he runs
down the way.
Speaker 2: Such, Hey, how am I say?
Speaker 5: Let me try you luck? One spin dime still milk
on the good crabs in night month? Oh yeah, I
cannot spend them husband.
Speaker 17: Good at all lately?
Speaker 5: Where'd you say your husband was? Ma'n? Just down the way?
Speaker 13: Oh man, Hudson's out to childs who it runs?
Speaker 12: America on for now? Thank you, mam. We'll drop back
to see him before we leave.
Speaker 5: Right, glad to meet you, Joe, Yeah, glad to meet you.
Bye the boy.
Speaker 11: What do you control?
Speaker 5: Scooter? Is that what you said? Is that the guy's name? Yeah,
that's right. He used to run the scooters roll.
Speaker 12: You know, the little electric car you drive around, bompers
all around.
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right.
Speaker 12: Now you Scooter, Hey, Scooter, Sarge, you've been waiting for you.
Speaker 5: You'll go ahead.
Speaker 7: Joe, Okay, sorry's good to see it, Scooter, my partner.
Speaker 5: Joe Friday. Oh yeah, yeah, I'm glad to know you.
Speaker 12: Joe.
Speaker 5: I guess we can talk here as well as I place. Huh, Jure,
what's the story, Scooter?
Speaker 8: Uh, it's like I told johnah phone, Uh, Murphy Donald
Penny Arcade. You know it's the guy first he pointed
him out to me. Sure it's close to the praise subscription.
Speaker 5: When did you first see him? Or two nights ago?
I wasn't so sure. It was Bray the first time,
and I saw him last night that since I didn't
hear that.
Speaker 8: I said I saw him last night, not that since?
Speaker 5: Oh but what did this Murphy was at his name?
What did he per see him?
Speaker 16: Now?
Speaker 8: About a week ago he's got an ego eye for
strangers who hang around.
Speaker 5: Murphy thinks the guy staying out of here some place?
Is there any idea where?
Speaker 9: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Just a minute.
Speaker 8: No jumping around like that's I'm not a fall haanging ahead.
Speaker 5: It's what'd you spot this man scooter? Same place Murphy
did it.
Speaker 8: He's hanging around the shooting gallery down the way. A
guy who runs the places, no where. We don't know
him well, love to ask him about it.
Speaker 5: I mean, this man looks like Bray just hangs around
the corner there. No, not exactly.
Speaker 8: You see his little office to one side of the
shooting gallery. And at times I seen the guy.
Speaker 5: He was either coming or going out there. When's the
last time the storm good? They went? The last time?
It's on earlier than I at watched six point thirty guy.
I think Murphy is right. The guys holding up in
the area.
Speaker 8: Hold on there, curly, No, don't try to get off
from Marry, go out.
Speaker 5: Let's stop, sad.
Speaker 17: H thank you Lort scooter.
Speaker 5: We'll chack back with you for we lee. Yeah, okay,
I I hope it helps you out. I I match right.
Still there, there's a shooting gallery down there. By the
bulls eye.
Speaker 12: Son.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the guy is bray It's funny that he hasn't
been spotted before.
Speaker 5: This area is pretty well patrolled here.
Speaker 6: Well, try your skilled fellas ten shots, Sony Parter.
Speaker 5: Or police officers like to ask a few questions. Oh
what about what's your name? Gridley? Max Gridley? You know
anybody who the name of James bray Ray? So I know?
Why how about this, mister Gridley? The onlybody who fits
that description? Ye know.
Speaker 8: Now that doesn't mean anything to me, which matter anyway?
Speaker 4: My man answering that description has been seen entering and
leaving this office right next door over here.
Speaker 5: It's part of your concession, isn't it. Yeah, that's right.
I'm the only one who used it. Somebody must have
got the wrong slant.
Speaker 12: Then you wouldn't mind if we looked it over routine
investigation and wrong.
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right, come around an open door for you, right.
Speaker 3: It's just a cubby hole, as you can see, trying
to use it to destroyage place.
Speaker 5: Sometimes have my lunch in head taking that once in
a while. Looks pretty well lived.
Speaker 12: Then all those clothes are yours, mister Gridley.
Speaker 5: That's right? Why way back?
Speaker 11: How about a lot of things.
Speaker 5: Customer, excuse me, man, be right back, Yeah, go ahead,
a right, Joe, Yeah, over here, have a lot this towel. Yeah,
look at the name of stenciled down at Bottlet Hotel.
Nine thirty pm.
Speaker 4: We advised the shooting gallery operator not to attempt any
phone calls. Then I called the office and Rickets and
Powers came out to help us with a stakeout on
the shooting gallery. In the adjoining office. Ben and I
covered from the penny arcade directly opposite the shooting gallery.
Rickets and Powers were staked out two doors away at
a stand that advertised handwriting.
Speaker 5: Analyzed twenty five cents. We waited.
Speaker 4: Ben munched on a bag of popcorn. Ten thirty pm,
no sign of the suspect. Eleven o'clock still no sign.
Speaker 5: Getting pretty cold. Everybody going home? Yeah? You got any
more of that popcorn? Here? Oh right, Harry, our field
pages left very good.
Speaker 4: Must have been not much in there now. Oh I'm sorry.
I can get another bag machine right over there?
Speaker 5: No turn it off?
Speaker 12: How about some peanut? No, no thanks, I'm sure there's
something in there, Joe once son, No sure, I would
like to see brace show. Hate to spend the night
stake down here. Wait a minute, huh the shooting gallery.
The guy in the blue suits.
Speaker 5: Talking to the manager. He's going around to the side door.
That money he's going inside.
Speaker 1: All right, hold it right there.
Speaker 5: Mister, don't watch it. Wick it, Kellny, come on the back.
I'll get the door. Want to hit it?
Speaker 12: Yea?
Speaker 11: What out the back?
Speaker 5: Come on, hold it, Johnny's gone it.
Speaker 17: Y'all good, Johnny okay, yeah, roughly, let's roll him over. Huh,
all right, how about it?
Speaker 5: Joe short, dark complexion, fat? What do you think?
Speaker 4: I don't know, but it's not Bray, Rickets, and Powers
remained on stakeout at the shooting gallery while Ben and
I took the suspect downtown along with the proprietor of
the shooting Gallery, Max Gridley. We had the man treated
for cuts and bruises at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, and
we took him to the office. He identified himself as
Blake Chatfield, an unemployed salesman. After two hours of questioning,
he broke down and admitted that he was Bray's accomplice
in each of the eighteen robberies.
Speaker 5: He drove the getaway car. He said for the past month.
Speaker 4: He and Bray had been living in the office adjoining
the shooting Gallery, who was booked at the New City
Jail on suspicion of two eleven PC. Max Gridley was
held for further questioning one.
Speaker 5: Th five am. We checked back in at the office. Yes,
I had too many hot dogs out there. You know
what's the matter? Oh, indigestion. Maybe it was the pop corn.
Speaker 4: Yeah, m A couple of messages in the book. My
wife wants you to call him before you go home.
Speaker 5: Uh huh Hello Amy? Yeah, long night?
Speaker 17: Yeah, what.
Speaker 12: Both for Graham? Brad Well, I'll try Okay here Hey
him by, same old thing.
Speaker 18: Yeah, I get it.
Speaker 5: Robbery Friday, Johnny Parr's Joe, Yeah, John, how's it going?
Speaker 9: Gim me a brave Finally showed we got him any trouble, No,
drove up in a bright red coop.
Speaker 5: Couldn't miss him. You coming in now? Yeah? Just leave him,
see you right, John Man? Well, I picked up Bray,
bring him in now. Good. Should have been a long
haul almost five months. Yeah, it's a long time. Hey Joe.
Speaker 12: Yeah, where am I going to get a loaf of
Graham bread at this time in the morning?
Speaker 2: The story you had just heard was true, only the
names were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 5: James R.
Speaker 3: Bray and Blake A. Chatfield were tried and convicted on
several counts of armed robbery and received sentences as prescribed
by law. Max Gridley was filed on for failure to
register as an ex convict. Bray and Chatfield are now
serving their terms in the state penitentiary. Technical advice for
Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker,
Los Angeles Police.
Speaker 2: Department, coming up with the people, then screen director Playhouse
on NBC.
Speaker 1: Welcome Back. You expect confessing Sam's to show up for murders,
but grocery store robberies. Thankfully, they were able to dispense
with that guy really quickly. But one thing Dragon That's
always clear on is that those guys really do waste
time for the police. The way this episode ends violates
the listener's expectations, but I think enhances the feeling of
Dragnet's integrity. Even on a series like Tales of the
Texas Rangers, which tried to be authentic, Jace Pearson would
always be there for the big caller, but Dragon that
didn't always have that happen, because the reality for police
officers is that you're not the designated main character, and
sometimes another officer gets the caller and all you get
is indigestion for eating too much popcorn. Of course, this
leaves the episode's biggest question unanswered. Why did the criminal
choose red cars for his getaway cars? If I had
to guess based on him not having a prior record,
it seemed like he just didn't realize that this was
a problem. He just liked red cars asn't aside. I
do wonder if red is the absolute worst choice. It
seems like hot pink or a really bright orange would
also stand out, although I don't think they had cars
being manufactured in that color yet, although certainly I've seen
a lot of cars from later in the fifties that
certainly have the hot pink going for it. And then
we have a little line towards the end, which I'm
pretty sure I didn't even take note of the first
couple times that I played this episode, but which just
sent me down a rabbit trail, and that was Ben's
upcoming quest by Graham Bread. Now, given my last name,
you'd think I would have taken notice of that before,
but no, I'm pretty sure I didn't. Graham bread is
actually named for the Reverend Sylvester Graham, the father of
American vegetarianism and the inventor of the Graham cracker. He
was a nineteenth century minister who is often cited as
one of the first food fastest. He published his famous
book Treaties on Bread and Bread Making back in eighteen
thirty seven, which I'm sure everyone's read, which explained how
to make Graham bread, among other things, but it didn't
actually give precise portions as to how much of each
ingredient should go in, instead relying on the baker's good judgment.
This is why I'd never make gram bread using that recipe.
When it comes to guessing the appropriate amounts of ingredients
to go into a recipe, I have worse judgment than
our criminal did this week at picking cars. Now, in
terms of Ben's quest, I could not find gram bread
commercially available in our modern world at the usual places.
After doing a lot of searching, I found a bakery
in Illinois that offered their own take on gram bread
that you can buy. That'd be a bit of a
drive for me let alone. A twenty first century version
of ben Romero. But what about ten, nineteen fifty version
of ben Romero. I don't think there was widespread commercial availability.
I actually did a newspaper search to see if I
could find any ads for any store that mentioned gram
bread available, and I drew a total blank and again
searching in the Los Angeles area. So even in nineteen fifty,
if you could buy it commercially, it would be most
likely considered some sort of health food. You can imagine
poor Ben would be hard pressed to find it. You know,
you'd go to the all nights supermarkets and whatever sort
of stores would be open that time of night, and
spend an hour or so going through, and then have
to get up early in the morning and drive to
a health food store. I found an interesting blog post
by Renee Ryan, a historical romance writer who used to
write for a blog called Petticoats and Pistols, which is
focused on historical romance, particularly around the Old West, and
she said that you can actually get graham flower from
health food stores, and the special way that graham flower
is made is more true to the Old West way
of making flour. So if you want to get a
taste of the Old West, making some gram bread could
be helpful. She also shared a recipe which thankfully does
not rely on the baker having good judgment, and I
want to add an I linked her article in the
show notes, although there are plenty of gram bread recipes,
if you want to give it a try, and if
there are any bakers who made it and would like
to share their experience, I'd certainly welcome that. And if
you have any information on the commercial availability of gram
bread in nineteen fifty in the greater Los Angeles area,
then you have a highly specialized set of knowledge. Listener
comments and feedback. Now and we turn to YouTube, where
we have a couple comments regarding the Big Mother. Amanda writes,
this one was tough to listen to. An unfulfilled desire
can break your mind and spirit. A good outcome, but
nothing could make things right for either family. A good point, Amanda.
One thing that Dragnet says is that it follows the
case from crime to punishment, but oftentimes you're left with
unanswered questions which fall out of that perimeter. Certainly for
the woman who kidnapped the baby, you wonder what happens
to her next, and also for the family of the baby,
and you wonder what they end up doing about it.
Do they even tell the boy that he was briefly kidnapped,
passed off of somebody else's child, and baptized, maybe into
an entirely different church than the parents belonged to. My hunch,
particularly since there wasn't a criminal process that would require
them to testify or relive the situation, that they would
probably tend to just try to move on as if
it didn't happen. But I don't think that means that
it doesn't impact them. They might find themselves being very
overly protective of the boy for reasons they can't even explain.
So there would definitely be effects from this, even if
the family wasn't consciously aware of it. So just a
sad situation overall. And then Sarah writes, Dragnett was always
a good guidance in my life. Great entertainment. Well, thank
you so much, appreciate the comment. Now it's time to
thank our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want
to go ahead and think Liz. Liz has been one
of our Patreon supporters since December twenty twenty three, currently
supporting the podcast at the rookie level of two dollars
or more per month. Thank you so much for your support, Liz,
and that will do it for today. If you are
enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software.
You're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to lock
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all those great things that help YouTube channels to grow.
We'll be back next Saturday with another episode of Dragnet,
and this week can be sure to watch Video Theater
this week featuring an episode of Mister and Missus North.
This episode will be available on our app and in
the usual places of YouTube and the Apple podcast stour,
but this will also be the first episode that we'll
be posting at the same time on Spotify. But join
us back here on Monday for the adventures of the
Falcon Wear Just.
Speaker 18: A minute, what four? I've heard the spiel twenty times.
I'm lovely sorry, Braddeck, but naturally we can't afford to
have an x con working for us.
Speaker 5: Isn't that how it goes? Don't blame me, I'm just
an innocent bystander.
Speaker 18: When did you get out?
Speaker 5: What difference does it make? Well? Just humanly in forty nine.
We have he've been doing since getting kicked all over
the place.
Speaker 3: You really been trying to go straight?
Speaker 5: Would you believe it?
Speaker 18: If I said, yes, Look, if you get your kicks
torturing people, that swell. But I don't think I have no, no, no, no,
I'm really interested. Well, I I was nineteen and I
pulled that job in Buffalo. It was the only crooked
thing I ever did. I threw him with a couple
of boys named Chuck Lewis and Willie Frank. How did
you know it's all down here?
Speaker 5: I see you married? Yeah, three years ago. There's your
wife known everything.
Speaker 18: I met her before I was sent up, and she waited, Yes,
that sounds like quite a girl. How is she going
to take this the way she's been taking it all along?
She won't complain, no pratic good. If I were to
forget about this for a while, what could I trust
you not to make me sorry? I'm wearing if you
give me this break, I swear you'll never regret it.
Speaker 5: I hope not. Okay, fell I'll get back to work.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime,
send your comments to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net,
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives From Boise, Adaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.