''Racket Squad'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated

anthology drama An anthology series is a radio programming, radio, television program, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (televis ...

, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different

confidence scheme A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

. Episodes were introduced and narrated by Reed Hadley as "Captain John Braddock", a fictional detective working for a police department in a large, unnamed American city. Braddock served as the series' host and narrator.

Synopsis

The show dramatized the methods and machinations of con men and bunko artists. At episode's end, Captain Braddock gave viewers advice on how to avoid becoming the victim of the confidence game illustrated in the episode. Plots were based on actual case files from United States police departments, business organizations and other agencies. In the original episodes, Braddock addressed the victim in the second person, addressing the victim directly. In later episodes he narrated in the more conventional third person. Shooting was rapid, with 44 pages of script shot in two days.

Production

The show originally was produced for the syndication market in 1950, was picked up by CBS in 1951, and ran on the network through 1953. The series was filmed at

Hal Roach Studios Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on Ju ...

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, California, and was sponsored by cigarette manufacturer

Philip Morris Phil(l)ip or Phil Morris may refer to: Companies *Altria, a conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the tobacconist **Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group **Philip Morris Inter ...

. The shows were produced at a cost of $25,000 per episode, which was cheap for the time. ''Racket Squad'' finished at #30 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the 1951-1952 season.http://www.classictvhits.com/tvratings/1951.htm Three episodes were combined and released as a feature film ''

Mobs, Inc. ''Mobs, Inc.'' is a 1956 film directed by William Asher. It stars Reed Hadley and Lisa Howard. It was composed of three episodes from the American television series ''Racket Squad''. Plot Captain John Braddock schools a group of police recruits ...

'' in 1956.

Guest stars

The show featured several guest stars who would achieve starring roles in future film and television roles: * Lola Albright (Edie Hart in '' Peter Gunn'') * Hugh Beaumont ( Ward Cleaver in '' Leave It to Beaver'') * Mary Castle (Frankie Adams in ''

Stories of the Century ''Stories of the Century'' is a 39-episode Western historical fiction television series starring Jim Davis that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between 1954 and 1955. Synopsis Jim Davis, who became famous decades later as the p ...

'') * Jan Clayton (Ellen Miller in ''

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'') *

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Charlie Chaplin's film classic ''The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the ...

(Uncle Fester in '' The Addams Family''), billed as "John L. Coogan" * Will Geer (Grandpa Walton in '' The Waltons'') * Dayton Lummis (

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Andy Morrison in '' Law of the Plainsman'') * Eve McVeagh (Mildred Fuller in

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...

; Roberta—Lucy's Hairdresser in

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

and Frances Moseby in '' The Clear Horizon'') *

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmothe ...

(Wilma Fansler in '' The Californians'') * Ewing Mitchell (Sheriff Mitch Hargrove in '' Sky King'') * Noel Neill ( Lois Lane in '' Adventures of Superman'') * John M. Pickard (Captain Shank Adams in '' Boots and Saddles'') *

Gloria Saunders Gloria Ella Saunders (September 29, 1927 – June 4, 1980) was an American actress of film and television, primarily from the late 1940s to 1960. Background Career Saunders acting career began on stage. She was discovered when she performed ...

(The Dragon Lady in ''

Terry and the Pirates ''Terry and the Pirates'' is an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, which originally ran from October 22, 1934, to February 25, 1973. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, ...

'') * Karen Sharpe (Laura Thomas in '' Johnny Ringo'') * Robert Shayne (Inspector Henderson in ''Adventures of Superman'') * Frank Wilcox (oil executive John Brewster on '' The Beverly Hillbillies'' and Federal District Atty. Beecher Asbury in The Untouchables) After ''Racket Squad'', Reed Hadley starred from March 1954 to June 1955 in another crime drama on CBS, '' The Public Defender''.

Episodes

Quotes

* R-r-r-r-racket Squad! * Captain Braddock: ''(prologue, to the camera)'' What you are about to see is a real-life story, taken from the files of the police racket and bunco squads, business protective associations and similar sources around the country. It is intended to expose the confidence game – the carefully worked-out frauds by which confidence men take more money each year from the American public than all the bank robbers and thugs with their violence. * Captain Braddock: ''(epilogue, to the camera)'' I'm closing this case now – or rather, the courts will – but there'll be others, because that's the way the world is built. There are people who can slap you on the back with one hand and pick your pocket with the other. And it could happen to you.

Release

Alpha Video released various episodes on DVD Worldwide Distribution.

Reception

Notes

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0042139
Squad '' at CVTA
1951 American television series debuts 1953 American television series endings 1950s American crime drama television series 1950s American police procedural television series 1950s American anthology television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television shows set in San Francisco American detective television series Television shows filmed in California