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Decoy (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Decoy is a groundbreaking American
crime drama
television series which was created for syndication
and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957 to July 7, 1958, lasting for thirty nine 30-minute black-and-white
episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist.http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2008/12/07/beverly-garland.html
as Casey Jones, a female police officer who is often assigned to work undercover (hence becoming the "decoy" of the title). The cast changed each week with Garland the only main continuing character, although there were several recurring characters, mostly her commanding officer and immediate colleagues.
The series was inspired by Jack Webb
's Dragnet and used a similar format to that series, with Jones being portrayed as a serious, by-the-book, yet sympathetic cop with no personal life outside of her job. In the episode "The Sound of Tears", she reveals that the man she loved was a police officer who was shot and killed by the man he was sent to bring in.
Decoy is of historical significance as it was the first American television series to focus on the work of a female police officer. The series also featured early performances by actors such as Larry Hagman
, Peter Falk
, Al Lewis and Martin Balsam
. Each episode was dedicated to the Bureau of Policewomen of the New York Police Department.
Many episodes focused on females being victims of crime and most episodes ended with Garland breaking the fourth wall
and speaking directly to the audience about the case just solved.
in the United States, about a dozen episodes of the series have so far seen limited release on DVD
issues by several different companies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crime drama
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
television series which was created for syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957 to July 7, 1958, lasting for thirty nine 30-minute black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
episodes. It was the first American police series with a female protagonist.http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2008/12/07/beverly-garland.html
Synopsis
The series starred Beverly GarlandBeverly Garland
Beverly Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons...
as Casey Jones, a female police officer who is often assigned to work undercover (hence becoming the "decoy" of the title). The cast changed each week with Garland the only main continuing character, although there were several recurring characters, mostly her commanding officer and immediate colleagues.
The series was inspired by Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
's Dragnet and used a similar format to that series, with Jones being portrayed as a serious, by-the-book, yet sympathetic cop with no personal life outside of her job. In the episode "The Sound of Tears", she reveals that the man she loved was a police officer who was shot and killed by the man he was sent to bring in.
Decoy is of historical significance as it was the first American television series to focus on the work of a female police officer. The series also featured early performances by actors such as Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
, Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, Al Lewis and Martin Balsam
Martin Balsam
Martin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
. Each episode was dedicated to the Bureau of Policewomen of the New York Police Department.
Many episodes focused on females being victims of crime and most episodes ended with Garland breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and speaking directly to the audience about the case just solved.
Guest stars
Notable guest stars include:- Edward Asner
- Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
- Barbara BarrieBarbara BarrieBarbara Barrie is an American actress and author of children's books.-Personal life:Barrie was born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, Illinois, of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Frances Rose and Louis Berman. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from University of Texas,...
- Albert DekkerAlbert DekkerAlbert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
- Peter FalkPeter FalkPeter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
- Colleen DewhurstColleen DewhurstColleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress known for a while as "the Queen of Off-Broadway." In her autobiography, Dewhurst wrote: "I had moved so quickly from one Off-Broadway production to the next that I was known, at one point, as the 'Queen of Off-Broadway'...
- Larry HagmanLarry HagmanLarry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
- Don HastingsDon HastingsDonald Francis Hastings is a longtime American actor, singer, and writer best known for his 50-year role as Dr. Robert "Bob" Hughes" on the soap opera As the World Turns...
- Diane LaddDiane LaddDiane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
- Al Lewis
- Kay MedfordKay MedfordKay Medford , was an American character actress and comedienne.She was born Margaret Kathleen O'Regan in New York City to James and Mary O'Regan, first-generation Irish-American parents, both of whom had died by the time she was 15 years old...
- Lois NettletonLois NettletonLois June Nettleton was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She was Miss Chicago of 1948 as well as a semifinalist at that year's Miss America Pageant.-Early years:...
- Suzanne PleshetteSuzanne PleshetteSuzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
DVD releases
Now mostly in the public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
in the United States, about a dozen episodes of the series have so far seen limited release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
issues by several different companies.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Stranglehold" | October 14, 1957 |
| 2 | "The Little Red Clown" | October 21, 1957 |
| 3 | "The Phoner" | October 28, 1957 |
| 4 | "To Trap a Thief" | November 4, 1957 |
| 5 | "Dream Fix" | November 11, 1957 |
| 6 | "The Savage Payoff" | November 18, 1957 |
| 7 | "Deadly Corridor" | November 25, 1957 |
| 8 | "Escape into Danger" | December 2, 1957 |
| 9 | "The Glass Necklace" | December 9, 1957 |
| 10 | "The Scapegoat" | December 16, 1957 |
| 11 | "Two Days to Kill" | December 23, 1957 |
| 12 | "Queen of Diamonds" | December 30, 1957 |
| 13 | "My Brother's Killer" | January 6, 1958 |
| 14 | "Bullet of Hate" | January 13, 1958 |
| 15 | "Death Watch" | January 20, 1958 |
| 16 | "Odds Against the Jockey" | January 27, 1958 |
| 17 | "Dressed for the Kill" | February 3, 1958 |
| 18 | "An Eye for an Eye" | February 10, 1958 |
| 19 | "The Challenger" | February 17, 1958 |
| 20 | "Across the World" | February 24, 1958 |
| 21 | "The Showplace" | March 3, 1958 |
| 22 | "Reasonable Doubt" | March 10, 1958 |
| 23 | "Night of Fire" | March 17, 1958 |
| 24 | "Saturday was Lost" | March 24, 1958 |
| 25 | "High Swing" | March 31, 1958 |
| 26 | "Earthbound Satellite" | April 7, 1958 |
| 27 | "The Sound of Tears" | April 14, 1958 |
| 28 | "Ladies' Man" | April 21, 1958 |
| 29 | "Cry Revenge" | April 28, 1958 |
| 30 | "The Gentle Gunman" | May 5, 1958 |
| 31 | "Night Light" | May 12, 1958 |
| 32 | "Fiesta at Midnight" | May 19, 1958 |
| 33 | "The Lieutenant Had a Son" | May 26, 1958 |
| 34 | "Shadow of Van Gogh" | June 2, 1958 |
| 35 | "Tin Pan Payoff" | June 9, 1958 |
| 36 | "Blind Date" | June 16, 1958 |
| 37 | "The Comeback" | June 23, 1958 |
| 38 | "First Arrest" | June 30, 1958 |
| 39 | "The Lost Ones" | July 7, 1958 |
External links
- Decoy TV Episodes posted in the Internet Archive's Classic TV collection.