DRAGNET – "The Big Girl" –1954 Detectives Jack Webb and Ben Alexander are working out of Robbery Division this time. There has been a string of 16 robberies with violence. The deal here is that the perpetrator is always reported as a tall woman. The description is that she sometimes has long blonde hair, and sometimes is a redhead.
Webb and Alexander interview the latest victim, Harry Bartell, in hospital. He had picked up a blonde hitchhiker. Once she got in the car, she had pulled a gun and robbed him. Then the blonde had shot him at close range before hotfooting it away.
The boys hit the files to look up any possible leads. This goes nowhere fast. Then the Detectives think they have caught a break. A blonde, Carolyn Jones, is brought in. She had been caught on the street carrying a Colt .38 just like the one they are looking for.
A round of 3rd degree soon shows that this is not their shooter. It is back to the files for another look. While all this is going on, there has been another robbery with the victim also being shot. The description is again a tall blonde.
A cabbie now calls in a report of a blonde with a gun. The detectives race over for a talk with said cabbie. He explains that he had dropped off a tall blonde at the "only women allowed" hotel across the street. As he had pulled away, he had heard a gunshot. He then circled the block and returned. He now shows the Detectives some blood on the sidewalk.
The Detectives thank the cabbie, pull their guns and follow the blood trail. It leads to a side door of the "women only" hotel. They follow the trail inside to a room. Boots are quickly applied to the door and the Detectives rush inside. Shots ring out from behind an inside door. This door is also booted and the suspect corralled. The "tall woman" suspect turns out to be a man. The man, Maurice Hill, had been using the dress like a woman gag to attract easy targets. He had dropped his gun when getting out of the cab and wounded himself in the leg.
Sometimes it is just plain luck that helps solves a case.
Directed by Jack Webb. (B/W)
Webb and Alexander interview the latest victim, Harry Bartell, in hospital. He had picked up a blonde hitchhiker. Once she got in the car, she had pulled a gun and robbed him. Then the blonde had shot him at close range before hotfooting it away.
The boys hit the files to look up any possible leads. This goes nowhere fast. Then the Detectives think they have caught a break. A blonde, Carolyn Jones, is brought in. She had been caught on the street carrying a Colt .38 just like the one they are looking for.
A round of 3rd degree soon shows that this is not their shooter. It is back to the files for another look. While all this is going on, there has been another robbery with the victim also being shot. The description is again a tall blonde.
A cabbie now calls in a report of a blonde with a gun. The detectives race over for a talk with said cabbie. He explains that he had dropped off a tall blonde at the "only women allowed" hotel across the street. As he had pulled away, he had heard a gunshot. He then circled the block and returned. He now shows the Detectives some blood on the sidewalk.
The Detectives thank the cabbie, pull their guns and follow the blood trail. It leads to a side door of the "women only" hotel. They follow the trail inside to a room. Boots are quickly applied to the door and the Detectives rush inside. Shots ring out from behind an inside door. This door is also booted and the suspect corralled. The "tall woman" suspect turns out to be a man. The man, Maurice Hill, had been using the dress like a woman gag to attract easy targets. He had dropped his gun when getting out of the cab and wounded himself in the leg.
Sometimes it is just plain luck that helps solves a case.
Directed by Jack Webb. (B/W)