Call the Police (radio program)

*Call the Police*
	George Petrie starred in Call the Police in 1948-1949.
Genre	Crime drama
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Syndicates	NBC ; CBS
Starring	Joseph Julian; George Petrie
Announcer	Hugh James; Jay Sims
Written by	Peter Barry; Frank Lane; Lou Vittes
Directed by	John Cole
Produced by	John Cole
Original release	June 3, 1947 – October 25, 1949
Sponsored by	Lever Brothers (Rinso and Lifebuoy); S. C. Johnson & Son (Johnson Wax)

Last updated September 21, 2019

Call the Police is an old-time radio crime drama in the United States. It was broadcast on NBC June 3, 1947 - September 28, 1948, and on CBS June 5, 1949 - September 25, 1949.^[1]

The police procedural, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on either a private detective, amateur investigator or characters who are the targets of investigations. Unlike traditional mysteries, which conceal the criminal's identity until the police solve the crime in the narrative climax, police procedurals often reveal the perpetrator's identity to the audience early in the narrative, making it an inverted detective story or "howcatchem". Police procedurals attempt to accurately depict such police-related topics as forensic science, autopsies, gathering evidence, search warrants, interrogation and adherence to legal restrictions and procedure.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The network is one of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting. It became the network's official emblem in 1979.

Premise

Bill Grant, the main character of Call the Police was a Marine who had served in World War II and whose father had been a policeman who was killed in the line of duty. The younger Grant went to the FBI Academy and then returned to his hometown to find that criminals had taken control. He took on the challenge of cleaning up crime in the city.^[1]

Vincent Terrace, in Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows, summarized the program's format as follows, "The stories are hard-hitting re-creations of gruesome crimes, the step-by-step actions of the criminals and the police efforts to apprehend the culprits."^[2]

Reviews

Media critic John Crosby described Call the Police as "[o]ne bad penny which turns up every summer."^[3] He added, "The plots move just short of the speed of sound and are wildly complicated, though, I'm forced to admit, fairly ingenious."^[3]

John Crosby (media critic) 20th-century American media critic

John Crosby was an American newspaper columnist, radio-television critic, novelist and TV host. After winning a Personal Peabody Award for his radio criticism in 1946, he became a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, serving from 1947 to 1962. During the 1950s, he was generally regarded as the leading critic of television.

A review in the June 12, 1948, issue of the trade publication Billboard said that summer's first episode "was written with punch and verve and brought [to] life by excellent characterizations ..."^[4]

Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style, and is also known for its music charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular songs and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.

Personnel

Grant was portrayed by Joseph Julian (1947) and George Petrie (1948-1949). Libby Tyler, a criminal psychologist and Grant's girlfriend, was played by Joan Tompkins (1947) and Amzie Strickland (1948-1949). Sergeant Maggio, Grant's assistant, was played by Robert Dryden.^[5] Actors frequently heard in supporting roles included Ed Jerome, Mandel Kramer, George Matthews, Bill Smith, and Alice Reinheart. The announcers were Jay Sims (1947) and Hugh James (1948-1949).^[1]

George O. Petrie was an American radio and television actor.

Joan Tompkins, Mrs. Joan Swenson was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage, who co-founded with her husband, Karl Swenson, an acting company in Beverly Hills, California.

Amzie Ellen Strickland was an American character actress who began in radio, made some 650 television appearances, had roles in two dozen films, appeared in numerous television movies and also worked in TV commercials. In a seven-decade career, from the 1930s to 2001, she amassed well over 100 credits.

John Cole produced and directed the program.^[1] Writers were Peter Barry, Frank Lane, and Lou Vittes. Ben Ludlow provided the music.^[6]

Schedule and sponsors

Call the Police was a summer replacement program for the three years it was broadcast, filling the time slot of Amos 'n' Andy each year.^[5] The 1947 and 1949 broadcasts were sponsored by Lever Brothers, advertising Rinso laundry soap and Lifebuoy soap. The 1948 broadcasts were sponsored by S. C. Johnson & Son, advertising Johnson Wax.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. Mcfarland. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7864-4324-6.
↑ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 58.
1 2 Crosby, John (June 17, 1948). "New Crime Program on Network". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. p. 28. Retrieved February 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Chase, Sam (June 12, 1948). "Call the Police" (PDF). Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-09-20.
↑ "The Call the Police Radio Program". The Digital Deli Too. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

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[rcf-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. Mcfarland. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7864-4324-6.

[rp-2] Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 58.

[ot-3] 1 2 Crosby, John (June 17, 1948). "New Crime Program on Network". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. p. 28. Retrieved February 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.

[4] Chase, Sam (June 12, 1948). "Call the Police" (PDF). Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

[dunningota-5] 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-09-20.

[dd2-6] "The Call the Police Radio Program". The Digital Deli Too. Retrieved 2 February 2017.