Real Thriller

Most radio whodunits rely on tough-talking private eyes, glossy gun molls and satanic scientists. By avoiding such standard characters, Dragnet (Thurs. 10:30 p.m. E.D.T., NBC) lags in the Nielsen ratings, but it has won a devoted following among policemen from New Haven to San Diego, who welcome Dragnet's non-nonsense approach. Says 30-year-old Jack Webb, creator of the show: "We don't do it by underplaying--because underplaying is still acting. We try to make it as real as a guy pouring a cup of coffee."

Each episode of Dragnet is "the documented drama of an actual crime" taken from the files of the Los Angeles police. Webb, who also plays matter-of-fact Police Sergeant Joe Friday, says: "We use the oldfashioned, plain way of reporting, where you don't know any more than the cops do. It makes you a cop and you unwind the story."

Rhythm of the Relay. The realistic approach is often a sound-man's nightmare. Up to five men are needed to handle the 300-odd sound effects on each show. Webb's trickiest piece of realism came when the script called for a long-distance phone call from Los Angeles to Fountain Green, Utah. "We actually placed the call and recorded it. We got all the line clicks of the trunk lines, the rhythm of the operators as they moved the call from one relay point to another. You can't fake stuff like the authentic way an operator says 'One moment, please.' " Two telephone operators wrote in, praising the show. The telephone company wrote in, too, warning that their equipment could not be used for such stunts.

Even more important than sounds in the night is the jargon of the police. Instead of the familiar "Calling all cars," Dragnet uses the duller but truer "Attention all units," making sure that it is accompanied by a rush of air through the microphone (called a "squelch"), because most police radio dispatchers' are not educated in the genteel phases of commercial broadcasting.

Man at Large. Because its stories are based on actual cases, Dragnet breaks a few taboos. A program dealing with sex criminals "drew not one official or unofficial protest," and the city of Detroit borrowed the recording (minus the advertising plugs for Fatima cigarettes) as the climax broadcast of a campaign against sex crimes. The most mail was pulled by a Christmas show called "The Rifle." It dealt with a small boy who found the hiding place of his Christmas-present rifle in plenty of time to kill a playmate. The National Rifle Association protested strongly. Webb turned their letter over to the Los Angeles police, who promised the association ten more shows illustrating the folly of giving rifles to children.

Last week, as it rounded out its first year on radio, Dragnet's realism reached a new high: the criminal got away. "We don't try to punch a moral," says Webb. "If there's one in the show, the people get it. We don't even try to prove crime doesn't pay--because sometimes it does."

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