How the procedural got flat
Before Dragnet
Dragnet's clipped, procedural style didn't appear from nothing. Four earlier detective shows show the style it was reacting against, and the one it borrowed from.
1933 – 1949 · 5 stops · 2h 27m
- 1
An earlier attempt at police realism, built from actual dispatch calls.
- 2
True-crime radio at its most theatrical — sirens and gunfire as a signature sound.
Gang Busters · VintageGang Busters 1940-11-01 (210) The Case of Dwight Beard - Pt 2
1 Nov 1940 · 30 min
- 3
Bureau-sanctioned drama, closer in tone to what Dragnet would adopt.
- 4
The style stripped down to its essentials — paperwork as the whole plot.
- 5
The genre's last long run, told through the insurance man's own expense account.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar · Vintage481207 000 Milford Brooks III (Dick Powell Audition)
7 Dec 1948 · 29 min