DRAGNET {1967 REVIVAL}: THE BIG EXPLOSION (TV)
Summary
One in the second incarnation of this series of police dramas. As narrated by the laconic Sgt. Joe Friday, the cases are culled from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department.
In this episode, 400 pounds of explosives – enough to level two city blocks – are stolen from a warehouse, and Ray Murray explains that they could be set off by any radio frequency, giving the police an extremely limited time frame in which to track down the thief or thieves. The license plate of the car spotted at the robbery scene leads them to Samuel Halpern, but his wife explains that they recently sold the vehicle. The new owner, Albert Amory, explains that he bartends at the Jade Pagoda and "loaned" the car to a regular known only as "Siggy." Friday and Gannon stake out the Jade Pagoda. There, another barfly, Nelson P. Grove, reveals that "Siggy" is really Donald Chapman – who was previously charged with shooting a fellow motorist, not because of a fender bender but because of the driver's race.
Friday and Gannon hurry to Chapman's residence and find the car, the explosives, and an extensive collection of Nazi memorabilia. Phil Masturian arrives from the district attorney's office and reminds them a warrant is required to secure the evidence, lest it be thrown out in court. Their concern mounts when they find that half of the eight crates of dynamite are empty, meaning that the explosives have already been set at a target. Chapman is soon found nearby, but he refuses to divulge details of his plan, smugly telling them that they have "lots of time."
Night turns to dawn as Chapman rambles about his views on "racial purity" and repeatedly asks Friday for the time. At 9:05 a.m., he announces that the explosives have already detonated at a school on 48th Street that has been recently integrated. Friday, however, reveals that he fibbed about the time; the school is quickly evacuated and the explosives located without incident. His plan foiled, Chapman simply boasts that there are "others like him" who will carry out future acts of racist violence. He is eventually sent to San Quentin prison and names an accomplice, who is later incarcerated. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:45714
- GENRE: Drama, police/detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; Drama, mystery/suspense; Los Angeles; Racism - Drama; School integration
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1952-1959; 1967-1970
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jack Webb … Producer, Director
- R.A. Cinader … Associate Producer
- Robert C. Dennis … Writer
- Lyn Murray … Music by
- Walter Schumann … Theme Music by
- Jack Webb … Cast, Sergeant Joe Friday
- Harry Morgan … Cast, Officer Bill Gannon
- Don Dubbins … Cast, Donald Lewis "Siggy" Chapman
- Olan Soulé … Cast, Ray Murray
- Bobby Troup … Cast, Albert Amory
- Harlan Warde … Cast, Captain Henry Mack
- Ralph Manza … Cast, Gene Ellis
- Val Avery … Cast, Phil Masturian
- Kent McWhirter … Cast, Officer
- Ralph Moody … Cast, Matt Kemper
- John Nolan … Cast, Nelson P. Grove
- Bert Holland … Cast, Car Salesman