Dragnet the 50's radio show

Old Time Radio Programs. Detective series. 298 episodes of Dragnet.

This item is part of the collection: Old Time Radio

Keywords: Old Time Radio; Detective series; Dragnet; Jack Webb; Crime Drama

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: <HRM> - - April 21, 2008
Subject: More more more

I'm downloading the rest of them for my Sansa. I really enjoy breaking up a day with a couple episodes of Old Time Radio. They are easier to follow than a book when multitasking (though it takes more concentration than music) and I can lose myself for a short while. Anyone with a portable player should set up a folder with some Radio and try it out. Home listening would be fine of course, but what a great way to kill time when on the go.

Reviewer: 2muchtv - - March 9, 2008
Subject: Great radio show, scary commercials

In hindsight it's somewhat difficult to appreciate just how creative, risk-taking and innovative this remarkable radio show really was. The visionary recipe started by bringing together the institutional documentary style of programs like the Westinghouse "Adventures in Research" with the character dimensions and musical score of a radio soap opera. Webb then mixed in gritty elements considered inappropriate at the time, interviewing 'dance hall girls' and having characters say things like "Do you mind if I eat while we talk?"

Targeting the voracious crime-drama appetite of post war America and served with a heaping helping of Roosevelt-era social engineering, Webb used mass media to disseminate cautionary tales to encourage good behavior among the masses. Rendered a cliché by the longevity borne by its overwhelming success, Dragnet is a fascinating study of rapid character development; plot pacing and exploiting the time worn adage that truth really is stranger than fiction.

Oh goodness! Those Fatima (Pronounced fa-tee'-ma) cigarette commercials. Using lessons from WWII propaganda, interrogation techniques and the new science of the psychology of consumer behavior, Liggett & Myers (L&M) Tobacco Company tried to resuscitate an aging brand from the late 19th century using radio. According to Wikipedia, "Fatima was the sole sponsor of the early years of the Dragnet radio series. The creator and star of Dragnet, Jack Webb, voiced a number of on-air pitches for the brand and appeared in print advertising as well. There was also a short-lived mystery anthology series called Tales of Fatima, hosted by Basil Rathbone. The brand's old-fashioned image caused it to lose market share from the mid-1950s onward, and L&M eventually phased it out by around 1980."

Reviewer: Framan - - February 8, 2008
Subject: Double thumbs up

I agree with everybody else's comments... this collection is top shelf stuff.

Reviewer: jeffzkrazie - - November 16, 2007
Subject: Greatness

I am in OTR heaven when I am on this page no doubt, Dragnet is my favorite OTR show of all time!!!!! Thanks for whomever uploaded these!!!!!

Reviewer: foggymtbutt - - October 8, 2007
Subject: Yes!

What the previous reviewer said, I would like to echo.

Reviewer: Eklectic1 - - October 5, 2007
Subject: Old Time Radio

Very well done dramatic episodes, tight writing. I thought Jack Webb was a ham (based on watching Dragnet 1967, 1968, and so on; I was a 60s kid), and then I got curious about these episodes on the radio. They are great, and a real eye-opener! We've become so cynical, it's refreshing (and amazing) to think that just a few years before I was born, people had ideals of a much higher kind. People weren't better, mind you; they just had much higher expectations of how to behave. We were much more socially connected, and in the fragmented society of Los Angeles in the early 50s, you can see the fraying edges of what was to come. Listen, learn, and enjoy. A true cold lemonade to the thirsty, time-traveling mind.

Reviewer: SkipLVC - - August 11, 2007
Subject: Classic Stuff

This is classic old time radio. The attention to detail and the accuracy in presentation is wonderful. The show is full of great radio actors that transitioned well to TV. Effective commercials that make you want to start smoking.