Old Time Radio Detective — Dragnet: "The Big Compulsion" (1953) | Full Episode

In Dragnet's razor-sharp procedural style, Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith work Robbery Detail to track down a man whose compulsion is making phony emergency calls — not for money, not for malice, but for the cheap thrill of yanking the LAPD by the leash. Jack Webb's landmark NBC crime drama brought the real files of the Los Angeles Police Department to radio listeners with documentary precision, and "The Big Compulsion" is a masterclass in what the show did better than anyone: making the ordinary criminal genuinely unsettling. 🎧 Hundreds more classic radio shows free at https://www.vintageradioshows.com 📱 Listen anywhere with the Vintage Radio app for iPhone and iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vintage-radio/id455577974