User Reviews

DRAGNET "The Big September Man" 1952

This is the 11th episode of the 283 episode run of the Police Detective series, DRAGNET. This series ran from 1951 to 59.

Sgt Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Detective Ed Jacobs (Barney Philips) are working the night watch out of Homicide Division. They are called out to a downtown office building where a dead female has been found. The woman had been beaten to death with a piece of steel pipe. The fingerprint boys are called in but are no help.

A drunk, Eddie Firestone, is grabbed up several blocks away mumbling about a murder. The man is given a severe bout of the old third degree. The man keeps saying it is his fault the woman is dead. Do the detectives have their man? Once Firestone sobers up, it turns out he is no murderer, but had seen a man who could be the killer.

Files are pulled and mug books are slapped down in front of Firestone. A man is soon picked out of the mug books. More files are searched and a name and address are soon found. It is not long before the suspect, Stacy Harris, has replaced Firestone in the interview chair.

A little bit of intense face to face time soon has Harris admitting to the brutal murder. And as a bonus, he also admits to one that took place the year before. Harris has found "The Lord" and is doing God's work disposing of sinners.

Not the best of the series, but still worth a look.

Review - The Big September Man - Aired 5-8-52 Good episode, well-acted with familiar guest cast members, solid story and showing true everyday police work checking case background with plenty of footwork hunting down leads, talking to all related members of the suspects. Unusual behavior and a familiarity with the victim brings the first suspect to booking, but continued pursuit of an unidentified suspect prompts an additional search, finally finding him at a haunt where they guessed right. After listening to blather from the suspect, a confession was gleaned and an additional admission to a prior murder. Subsequently, two counts of murder are brought and execution is rendered. Old-fashioned police work without today's technology proves just as reliable when Joe Friday and partner are on the case.

Early episode features some series regulars, most prominently Stacy Harris as the righteous hand of the Lord. Harris pops up regularly over the years as a villain, even getting a starring role in the Dragnet movie (1954). Here he plays a Bible-spouting psychopath, who, shall we say, has a problem practicing what he preaches. Then too, just the thought of this guy being modeled on a real life nut-case is chilling. It's also surprising he was found sane at the time of the crime, since here he appears truly-- if calmly-- deranged. Really low-key portrayals and sequencing. Clearly, in these early entries, Webb is doing his darndest to de-dramatize police work and shatter the old movie image. The challenge. of course, is to keep audience interest at the same time. Fortunately this re-creation, like most in the series, has enough inherent human interest to keep the audience glued to the screen. Slightly above average.

A young woman was discovered bludgeoned to death at her office. Nearby, a drunk who knew the dead woman was on a bender--and yelling about how he wanted to die. The police naturally assume he killed her, but he was just a harmless and self-destructive drunk. However, he did see someone shortly before she was killed. Perhaps this man is the murderer.

In the course of looking for this other man, something interesting turned up--a crime with the same m.o.--so maybe they are looking for a man who has killed at least twice. The trail leads to William Tanner (Stacy Harris)--a real religious nut. I do not mean that he was dedicated--he was nuts!

All in all, this is a decent but relatively unremarkable episode. The religious zealot gone nuts angle is interesting and it's interesting seeing Friday (Jack Webb) with a different partner than usual, as familiar character actor Barney Phillips played Sgt. Jacobs. Worth seeing but not a must-see.

A beautiful blond secretary has been murdered. She was beaten to death with a heavy metal pipe wrapped in paper. The police arrest a drunken unemployed engineer two blocks from the crime scene. He is beating his head against a brick wall and saying that he does not deserved to live. He also says that he is a murderer.

At first the police think that the crime has been solved. But slowly discrepancies create doubt in their minds. They then delve deeper into the crime and new leads and a new suspect comes to their attention.

He is tracked down to a skid-row church and Friday and his parter Ed Jacobs talk him down. This is Dragnet at its best.