Racket Squad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 'Racket Squad' | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime/Drama |
| Format | Black and White |
| Starring | Reed Hadley |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 98 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Racket Squad is an American television series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional cop working for the San Francisco, California Police Department. The show aired in syndication for a season (1950) before being picked up by CBS for three seasons (1951-1953). The series was filmed at Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California, USA.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The show dramatized the methods and machinations of con men and bunko artists. At episode's end, Captain John Braddock (Reed Hadley) 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.
[edit] Guest stars
The show featured several guest stars that would achieve starring roles in future TV shows:
- Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver in Leave It to Beaver)
- Jan Clayton (Ellen Miller in Lassie)
- Noel Neill (Lois Lane in Adventures of Superman)
- Robert Shayne (Inspector Henderson in Adventures of Superman)
- Will Geer (Grandpa Walton in The Waltons)
- Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester in The Addams Family), billed as "John L. Coogan"
[edit] 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.
[edit] Awards
Racket Squad was twice nominated for the Best Mystery Emmy.
[edit] Sponsor
Cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris sponsored the show.
[edit] DVD releases
Alpha Video released various episodes on DVD Worldwide Distribution.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Racket Squad, Vol. 1 | 4 | 2003 |
| Racket Squad, Vol. 2 | 4 | 2005 |
| Racket Squad, Vol. 3 | 4 | 2005 |
