If you asked most people what the first TV series was that
told what it was like for women on the police force odds are you would hear
POLICE WOMAN with Angie Dickinson. Whoever gives that answer is wrong though.
Long before Dickinson went undercover there was a short lived series called
DECOY starring Beverly Garland in the title role.
Using various real life cases this series used the tried and
true format so many police shows at the time did, giving the facts of the case
and then going into what progressed from there. In the case of this show it
ended each episode with Garland’s character Casey Jones talking to the camera
and discussing how the events of the show that week affected her.
One episode seems like fairly light weight case to be
working on, that of a deadbeat dad who disappeared. For me it seemed odd the
amount of time spent on this case. With all the other problems in the world I
wouldn’t think the police would be that active in this case. But then maybe
they were at that point in time (the series takes place in the late fifties).
Another episode involves a man harassing people on the phone. But then there
are more high level cases as well from protecting witnesses to catching
murderers.
The show doesn’t really stand the test of time in the way
it’s written, shot and performed. It definitely shows its age. But that really
doesn’t matter. It still provides an entertaining drama for those who love
classic golden age television programs. Many will forget that this was the way
shows were in those days. Tell a young person that black and white shows were
the norm and not the exception and you’re likely to get blank stares from them
wondering how you could have been alive during such a primitive age.
Garland does a fine job in the series and gives her
character as much life as the writers would allow. She ended up becoming a
familiar face on series television but never seemed to reach mega-star status
for some reason. Her most familiar roles were as Barbara Harper, the woman who
married Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) on MY THREE SONS and as Amanda King’s
(Kate Jackson) mother on THE SCARECROW AND MRS. KING.
If you’re a fan of golden age dramas then you’ll want to
pick this one up. It’s offered at an affordable price and the folks at Film
Chest have done a great job of cleaning it up in a presentable fashion. To date
they’re one of the few companies that takes items like this and gives them the
credit they’re due. Let’s hope they continue to do so in the future.
Click here to order.
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