Dragnet: The Big Close 09/20/1955
episode
Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
25 min
5 speakers
6 chapters
transcribed 3 months ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the premise of the Dragnet episode 'The Big Close'?
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Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to homicide detail. You get a call telling you that the body of a man has been found in the motel room. There's no lead to his true identity. Your job? Check it out. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law to an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
It was Tuesday, July 19th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide details. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Warman. My name's Friday. I was on my way back from the main jail, and it was 5.27 p.m. when I got to room 42. Homicide. Hi, how'd it go? He's willing to make a statement. He copped the whole thing. Gonna save us some time? Yeah. Gonna save a lot more if he's going with us last week, though.
Yeah.
What do you got? Paperwork. Want to give me a hand? Yeah. Here. Okay. How's the family? Pretty good. Faye thinks she's got appendicitis.
Faye thinks she has appendicitis. Woke me up at 2.30 this morning, got a pain in her side. Sure it was appendicitis.
What details are revealed about the victim found in the motel?
I told her to call a doctor. No, she didn't think it was that bad. Not to call a doctor. Just enough to keep me awake worrying about it. This morning the whole thing's gone, though. No trouble. Says it was probably heartburn. Why don't you give her a couple of your Pepto-Pals? Oh, Joe, that's very funny. Mm-hmm.
Honey.
Homicide Friday. Yeah, that's right. Mm-hmm. What's that? What's that address? All right, we'll be right out. No, no, not at all. All right, goodbye. Work? Work. Made at a motel out on Sepulveda. Found a body in one of the cabins. Yeah. Think it's a suicide. Frank and I left the office and drove out to the address. It was a modern motel set back from the highway. There were 14 cabins surrounding a swimming pool on the lot. We met with the woman who had placed the call and the owner of the place. Right over there, number 18. Anything been touched in the room?
No, sir. As soon as I saw him, I knew what had happened. I locked the door and called you.
Right. What's his name? Registered as Tom Rustad in Phoenix. How long has he been here? About ten days. I'd have to check the cards to be sure. Is he alone?
Mm-hmm.
Here, I got the key.
Go ahead.
Thank you. All right.
Did you touch the body at all?
No, I can say nothing. I've worked around motels for a long time, and so nothing bothers me. Tell you though, this almost did like to scare me half to death.
Yes, ma'am. Better call a lab after we come out, huh? Yeah. Be all right if I use the phone in the office? Sure, you go right ahead. It's on the desk, back of the counter.
All right.
A thing like this, it isn't going to do the place any good. I hope it can be played down on the paper. Yes, sir. This is the first kind of trouble we've had. Suicide. Sure isn't going to help. I wish there was some way to change it. Well, there is, but that wouldn't help much either.
What do you mean?
He's dead, isn't he? Yeah, but he had help. 6.03 p.m. The crew from the crime lab arrived and started their investigation. Apparently, the victim had been killed with a small caliber gun. However, a search of the room failed to turn it up. The coroner's office was notified they came out to check the body and go through his effects. 6.18 p.m. Frank and I talked with the motel owner in his cabin. Here's the registration card. You can see there where he signed it. Were you driving a car, do you know? Oh, I never saw one. How'd he get here? You mean when he checked in? Yes. By cab. Did he tell you why he was in town? No, he never mentioned it. Did he work? I don't know.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the premise of the Dragnet episode 'The Big Close'?
0:00–2:07
2
What details are revealed about the victim found in the motel?
2:07–6:11
3
What leads do the detectives follow during the investigation?
6:11–10:06
4
How does the investigation unfold at the motel?
10:06–13:39
5
What evidence is discovered in the victim's belongings?
13:39–19:00
6
Who are the key witnesses interviewed in the case?
19:00–25:33
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
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This Is Your FBI: The Swampland Killer 12/13/1946