THE BIG TIE and THE BIG DEAL DRAGNET

🎙️ 1001 RADIO CRIME SOLVERS SHOW NOTES   🕵️‍♂️ Dragnet – "The Big Tie" Original Air Date: March 1, 1951 Series: Dragnet (Radio) Episode Length: ~30 minutes

Cast Jack Webb — Sgt. Joe Friday

Barton Yarborough — Sgt. Ben Romero

Herb Butterfield — Supporting role

Harry Bartell — Supporting role

Additional ensemble typical of Dragnet's 1951 cast

Summary A man is found dead in a downtown hotel room, strangled with his own necktie. Friday and Romero begin peeling back the layers of the victim's life — a traveling salesman with a reputation for cutting corners and making enemies. The detectives trace his last movements through bartenders, bellhops, and business contacts, slowly assembling a picture of a man whose habits finally caught up with him.

A single necktie becomes the key to the case, pointing Friday and Romero toward a suspect whose motive is rooted in betrayal and revenge. The investigation is classic Dragnet: steady, procedural, and built on the small details that eventually crack the truth wide open.

🕵️‍♂️ Dragnet – "The Big Deal" Original Air Date: May 11, 1950 Series: Dragnet (Radio) Episode Length: ~30 minutes

Cast Jack Webb — Sgt. Joe Friday

Barton Yarborough — Sgt. Ben Romero

Raymond Burr — Supporting role