The Big 17

The Big September Man

Originally Aired: September 27, 1951 Dragnet #120, "The Big September Man," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero investigate the brutal murder of Adele Pryor, a 28-year-old secretary found beaten to death in a downtown Los Angeles office building. The crime scene yields almost nothing—just the murder weapon, a piece of steel pipe wrapped in manila paper, and no usable fingerprints. With no witnesses and no apparent motive, the detectives find themselves at a dead end until a patrol car picks up Robert French, a 34-year-old unemployed electrical engineer, beating his head against a brick wall just two blocks from the murder scene. French is heavily intoxicated and mumbling incoherently about being a murderer who doesn't deserve to live. As Friday and Romero interrogate him in the station, French admits he knew the victim and visited her office the afternoon of the murder to borrow money. But is his drunken confession genuine, or is there more to his story? Friday suspects French isn't as intoxicated as he appears, and the detectives must determine whether they have their killer or just another dead-end lead.

The Big Sour

Originally Aired: September 20, 1951 Dragnet #119, "The Big Sour," Sergeant Joe Friday and Detective Ben Romero investigate a brutal home invasion robbery targeting an elderly couple in the Westlake Park area. When Friday arrives at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, he learns that seventy-one-year-old Wendell McClung has been savagely tortured by two armed bandits who invaded his modest home. The thieves burned the soles of his feet and stabbed his hands repeatedly with what appears to be a hat pin, forcing him to reveal where he and his wife Catherine kept their valuable jewelry collection, including a four-carat diamond signet ring. Friday and Romero visit the crime scene and interview Mrs. McClung, who provides limited information since one of the bandits knocked off her glasses during the assault, leaving her nearly blind throughout the ordeal. She recalls that one suspect was called Sam and the other spoke with a distinct Midwestern or Texas accent. The detectives suspect an inside job, as the thieves seemed to know exactly what jewelry the unassuming couple possessed. As the investigation unfolds, a potential lead emerges involving a young magazine salesman who may have witnessed something crucial on the night of the robbery.

The Big Waiter

Originally Aired: September 13, 1951 Dragnet #118, "The Big Waiter," opens with Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero arriving at the Apex Men's Shop on a foggy Los Angeles night. Inside the store's back room, they discover the brutal murder of 64-year-old shopkeeper Joseph Wilford, beaten to death with his arms tied behind his back and a woman's slip knotted around his neck. The victim's wife, Agnes, claims she found the body after returning from a friend's house and reports that several hundred dollars and her husband's engraved wristwatch are missing. However, Friday and Romero's investigation takes a curious turn when they discover a gift-wrapped black lace nightgown with a card signed by the victim himself. As Friday and Romero question Mrs. Wilford, a troubling picture emerges of the couple's unusual marriage. Agnes reluctantly reveals that for ten years, her husband had maintained relationships with numerous young women, sometimes bringing them to the shop while she discreetly left the premises. Despite this arrangement, she insists they never argued about his infidelities. With evidence pointing to both robbery and a crime of passion, Friday and Romero must untangle the victim's complicated personal life to find his killer.

The Big 17

Originally Aired: September 6, 1951 Dragnet #117, "The Big 17," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero are called to a neighborhood movie theater on West Fremont where a gang of fifteen to twenty teenagers has gone on a rampage. Theater manager Clyde Barton describes how what started as noisy teenagers quickly escalated into violence when he tried to restore order. The kids attacked him, one pulling a knife, then proceeded to tear apart the lobby, smashing mirrors, lamps, and display cases. In the chaos, a 14-year-old boy was shoved through a plate glass showcase and suffered severe eye injuries that may leave him permanently blind. An usher was also beaten in the melee. This incident is just the latest in a month-long crime wave that has Friday and Romero baffled. Previously well-behaved kids in this average residential neighborhood have suddenly turned wild, with auto thefts up 20 percent and charges for burglary, misconduct, and drunkenness mounting weekly. The detectives have a theory about what's driving the violence, but they haven't been able to prove it yet. As Barton provides a list of names and hints at his own suspicions, Friday and Romero begin their investigation to stop the teenage crime spree.

The Big Crazy

Originally Aired: August 30, 1951 Dragnet #116, "The Big Crazy," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero investigate the puzzling disappearance of a 30-year-old woman who has been missing for three months. Ruth Daly comes to homicide detail to report that her twin sister, Bernice Butler, vanished in early March. Ruth explains that she delayed reporting the disappearance because Bernice had done this once before, going to Arizona for a month without telling anyone. However, Ruth's recent visit to Bernice's husband Jimmy has left her deeply unsettled. As she was leaving, he looked at her with a horrible expression and said, "You'd be surprised if I killed her, wouldn't you?" Friday and Romero track down James Butler at the print shop where he works. The thin, blonde husband proves sullen and uncooperative, showing complete indifference to his wife's three-month absence. Butler's hostile demeanor and strange behavior raise immediate red flags. He admits to frequent arguments with Bernice, casually mentioning that he would "beat it out of her" when she got "too fresh." As the detectives press him for answers about his missing wife, Butler's bizarre responses suggest something far more sinister than a simple domestic dispute.