''Call the Police'' is an

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

June 3, 1947 - September 28, 1948, and on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

June 5, 1949 - September 25, 1949.

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. 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."Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58.

Reviews

Media critic John Crosby described ''Call the Police'' as " e bad penny which turns up every summer." He added, "The plots move just short of the speed of sound and are wildly complicated, though, I'm forced to admit, fairly ingenious." A review in the June 12, 1948, issue of the trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that summer's first episode "was written with punch and verve and brought olife by excellent characterizations ..."

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 Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005), previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage. Career Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains ...

(1947) and

Amzie Strickland Amzie Ellen Strickland (January 10, 1919 – July 5, 2006) 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 T ...

(1948-1949). Sergeant Maggio, Grant's assistant, was played by

Robert Dryden Robert Dryden (February 8, 1917 – December 16, 2003) was an American actor and voice-over performer "whose acting career spanned over four decades of radio, television, theater, and film appearances." Radio Dryden played Sergeant Maggio in ...

. Actors frequently heard in supporting roles included Ed Jerome,

Mandel Kramer Mandel Kramer (March 12, 1916 – January 29, 1989) was an American actor. As a voice actor, he is best known as the last Johnny Dollar from ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' radio show. Early years Kramer grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his f ...

, George Matthews, Bill Smith, and Alice Reinheart. The announcers were Jay Sims (1947) and Hugh James (1948-1949). John Cole produced and directed the program. Writers were Peter Barry, Frank Lane, and Lou Vittes. Ben Ludlow provided the music.

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 ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'' each year. The 1947 and 1949 broadcasts were sponsored by

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

, advertising

Rinso Rinso is a brand name of laundry soap and detergent marketed by Unilever. The brand was created by Robert Spear Hudson and originally branded Hudson's Soap, which was sold to Lever Brothers of Port Sunlight, England, in 1908. It was introduced ...

laundry soap and

Lifebuoy A lifebuoy is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water, to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activated lights, to aid rescue at night. Other names Other nam ...

soap. The 1948 broadcasts were sponsored by S. C. Johnson & Son, advertising Johnson Wax.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Logs

Log of episodes of ''Call the Police'' (and more) from The Digital Deli Too

* ttp://www.otrr.org/FILES/Logs_txt/Call%20the%20Police.txt Log of episodes of ''Call the Police'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Log of episodes of ''Call the Police'' from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

Episodes of ''Call the Police'' from Internet Archive

Episodes of ''Call the Police'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
1947 radio programme debuts 1949 radio programme endings CBS Radio programs NBC radio programs American radio dramas 1940s American radio programs