John Robinson Movies

An out-of-town couple named Johnser are the latest victims of a sneak thief who preys upon hotel guests. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) have only one tangible clue to work with: the thief leaves behind a carnation at the scene of each crime. Veteran dialect comedian Benny Rubin has a meaty character role in this episode, as does radio humorist Arlene Harris, aka "the human chatterbox." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George Nader plays a reporter whose career is ruined by liquor. A comeback opportunity presents itself when Nader is a bystander at the arrest of a well-known criminal. The reporter knows that the crook, who has been accused of an ambush murder, is innocent, and he sets about to collar the real killer. Nader goes "cold turkey" on the booze despite tempations at every turn, and gets his man. Appointment with a Shadow is one of a handful of films directed by onetime I Led 3 Lives star Richard Carlson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The owner of a fashionable Wilshire Boulevard auction house is slugged and robbed of $1200. Searching f or clues, Friday (Jack Webb) and Ben Alexander (Ben Alexander) find some partially burned matches. A rundown of the companies manufacturing these matches leads the detectives to the elusive--but fatally careless--bandit. Featured in the cast is starlet Jill Richards, who later left acting to become a top fashion designer. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of July 27, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The body of a man is found in a Sepulveda hotel, only a few days after he registered. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) suspect that the dead man had given a phony name to the desk clerk--and that, contrary to evidence of suicide, he was actually murdered. It soon develops that the victim had recently been seen in the company of a flashy blonde, even though he was married to someone else. In addition, it turns out he was telling the truth about being a salesman: trouble is, his merchandise consisted of illegal narcotics. This episode is based on the final Dragnet radio broadcast of September 20, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

$60,000 worth of phony checks, all obviously signed by the same person, have been cashed in various LA supermarkets. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) realize that they're dealing with pros when even the forensic lab can't come up with any palpable clues as to the forgery gang's identity. Fortunately, a hardened female ex-convict provides a vital third-act clue. Popular 1950s starlet Eve Brent (who later played the mother of teenage dope fiend "Blue Boy" in the 1960s Dragnet TV revival) appears in this episode billed as Jean Ann Lewis. "The Big Help" is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 14, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) answer a call from a Mrs. Halmer (Lucille Vance), whose husband Jason, a mannequin salesman, has been missing for several hours. Mrs. Halmer believes she has good reason to worry: Mr. Halmer had left the house in the company of his business partner Fred Madison (Walter J. Lally)--whom Halmer was planning to turn over to the police! Trouble is, Madison has disappeared as well. Only after Halmer's abandoned car is located are the two detectives able to crack the case. This episode is a remake of the Dragnet radio broadcast of October 19, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Emmatine Haskell (Ernestine Barrier), an out-of-town buyer, reports that her purse, which contained $6000, is missing. Detectives Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) based their investigation on Ms. Haskell's belief that she left her purse in a taxicab. A humble five-dollar bill proves to be the "clincher" in this particular mystery. "The Big Fin" is one of a handful of black and white Dragnet episodes not based on a previous radio version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

$1200 in cash and various other items of value have been stolen from a restaurant safe. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) do their best to find both the crook and the loot, but their investigation goes nowhere until they receive a phoned-in tip from a garrolous old woman. Featured in the cast is character actress Jessalyn Fax, perhaps best remembered as the owner of the fatally curious dog in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are puzzled when two different women report that their husbands are missing. The descriptions of the missing men are remarkably similar, leading the detectives to one of two conclusions: Either the husbands were twin brothers, or there's a bigamist on the loose. Guess which conclusion proves to be true. This is one of a handful of black and white Dragnet episodes written directly for television, with no previous radio version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A juvenile delinquent in the "holding tank" lets slip that his older brother is planning to rob a loan office. Though Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) do their best to head off the holdup man, the robbery goes off exactly as scheduled. All the detectives can hope for is that the outlaw's limp will slow him down long enough to be arrested. Iconic 1940s "pin-up girl" Mary Beth Hughes has a flashy role as the perpetrator's fed-up wife. This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of June 7, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elderly Bertha Gillespie is reported missing, and Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are assigned to find her. The two detectives have a handful of intriguing clues to work on: someone had drawn a huge amount of money from Bertha's bank account; her phone bill hasn't been paid in several weeks; and she has accumulated an enormous water bill. Even so, it is only after Bertha's dead body is found that Friday and Smith get their first real lead--courtesy of a most observant youngster named Gordy (Jimmy Karath). This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of January 19, 1954. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even though it's Thanksgiving Week, all days off at the LAPD are cancelled in hopes of capturing a brutal holdup man who preys upon helpless women. Knowing that the perpetrator has been haunting the streetcar routes and bus stops, the department assigns several policewomen decoys throughout the city--with each female cop backed up by two males. Meanwhile, Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) are kept busy following up a number of false leads. Ultimately, the criminal is put out of business permanantly...but success comes at a terrible price for young police officer Barney Swanson (Norman Bartold). Adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 20, 1954, this classic black and white episode is readily available on a multitude of public-domain VHS and DVD collections. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide