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← All Dragnet episodes

The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes. Best of all, long cigarettes brings you dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to juvenile bureau. Dozens of petty theft cases are reported in one of the residential areas in your city. The victims, neighborhood businessmen. The suspects, teenage high school students. Your job, stop them. More and more smokers, coast to coast, are saying this a…

Transcript

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Synopsis

In The Big Sophomore, detectives Joe Friday and Ben Romero are called to investigate a series of petty thefts plaguing a local grocery store in a residential neighborhood. The store owner, Henry Loomis, reports that a group of high school boys has been stealing small items over the past couple of weeks. Loomis expresses his frustration, noting that while the value of the stolen goods is not significant, the principle of the matter weighs heavily on him. The detectives learn that the thefts occur during the busy lunch hour when the store is crowded with students.

Cast›

Barton Yarborough

Jack Webb

Network›

NBC

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Credits

  • Audio from Internet Archive (OTRR_Dragnet_Singles). Curated by OTRR. Goldie does not claim ownership of this broadcast.
  • Cast and sponsor data from RadioGold Index (J. David Goldin / UMKC Libraries).
  • Historical context from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Dragnet_51-07-19_110_The_Big_Sophomore.mp3

Dragnet, Episode 110

The Big Sophomore

Thursday, July 19, 1951 · 29:19

Dragnet, Episode 110

The Big Sophomore

Thursday, July 19, 1951 · 29:19

Summary

A series of petty thefts in a neighborhood leads detectives to investigate a group of teenage boys, particularly focusing on one named Harry Dunbar, who is reluctant to reveal his motives.

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That night in history

Headlines

  • 1951 — King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
  • 1951 — Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 disappears while flying from Vancouver to Tokyo. The aircraft and its 37 occupants are never found.
  • 1951 — J. D. Salinger publishes his popular yet controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
  • 1951 — King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin of Belgium.

On the air that night›

  1. Dimension XDwellers in SilenceEpisode 40
  2. DragnetThe Big SophomoreCurrently listeningEpisode 110