First Time Joe Friday Had To Kill A Man: "Dragnet: The Big Thief" (1953) (video)

The original "Dragnet" series often had a much more melancholy tone.

Detective Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and his partner Frank Smith (Ben Alexander)…

...are hunting a couple who rob doctors of narcotics during house calls.

The trail leads to a hotel room. 

The male suspect opens fire. Friday has to shoot back.  

Unlike many fictional cops, Friday is deeply affected by the killing.

Friday's second killing would occur 14 years later in the color episode "The Shooting Board." 


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!