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Decoy (TV series)

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Decoy
Beverly Garland as Officer Casey Jones in Decoy (1958)
Also known asDecoy Police Woman
GenreCrime drama
Written by
Directed by
StarringBeverly Garland
Music byWladimir Selinsky
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producerEverett Rosenthal
Producers
  • David Alexander
  • Stuart Rosenberg
  • Arthur H. Singer
CinematographyMaurice Hartzband
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseOctober 14, 1957 (1957-10-14) –
July 7, 1958 (1958-07-07)

Decoy (also titled Policewoman Decoy)[1] is an American crime drama television series created for syndication and initially broadcast from October 14, 1957, to July 7, 1958, with 39 black-and-white 30-minute episodes. The series was the first American police series with a female protagonist.[2] Many Decoy episodes are in the public domain.[3]

Synopsis

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The series featured Beverly Garland as Patricia "Casey" Jones, a female undercover police officer in New York City.[4] The undercover nature of Jones's work had her impersonating women in a variety of roles, including gangster's molls, prostitutes, nurses, and singers.[1] Jones did not have a partner for her police work, and episodes revealed little about her personal life, with occasional exceptions of references to a love affair with a police officer who died on duty.[5]

Popularity

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Decoy was ranked among the top-10 syndicated programs, not only during its initial release, but also "long after production closed down".[1]

Production

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Stuart Rosenberg[6] and Don Medford were directors of Decoy,[7] and Steve Gardner was a writer.[8] The show was filmed by Pyramid Productions,[7] partially on location in New York City. Locations included Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, Randalls Island, and the South Bronx.[5] Studio scenes were filmed in the former Biograph Studios in the Bronx.[9]

Production of the show's pilot began on March 28, 1957, taking seven days for completion.[10]: 57  In August 1957, trade publication Billboard reported, "the first-run series is off to one of the fastest sales starts in years, particularly with major station purchases."[8] That sales success included a $600,000 prerelease order from five Westinghouse-owned TV stations and four independent stations.[11]

Production of the series ended on May 29, 1958, because producers lacked the funds to continue. Reruns were broadcast for seven years using the title Police Woman.[10]

Guest stars

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Stranglehold"Donald MedfordSteven GardnerOctober 14, 1957 (1957-10-14)
Casey moves into a seedy rooming house to try to befriend a woman whose former boyfriend was a suspect in a jewel robbery.
Guest stars: Joanne Linville, Bruce Gordon, and Arch Johnson.
2"The Little Red Clown"Teddy SillsLeon TokatyanOctober 21, 1957 (1957-10-21)
Casey attempts to locate an artist who has abandoned his young daughter.
Guest stars: John McLiam, Barbara Barrie, and Bill Quinn.
3"The Phoner"Teddy SillsLeon TokatyanOctober 28, 1957 (1957-10-28)
Casey investigates a series of threatening phone calls made to a woman.
Guest stars: Frank Sutton, Frank Campanella, and Pat Englund.
4"To Trap a Thief"Teddy SillsJerome CoopersmithNovember 4, 1957 (1957-11-04)
To solve a baffling armed robbery case, Casey assumes the identity of a blackmailer, then acts as an intermediary between the victim and the "perpetrator."
Guest stars: Frank Overton, George Mitchell, and Mary James.
5"Dream Fix"Teddy SillsSteven GardnerNovember 11, 1957 (1957-11-11)
Casey poses as a nurse in a sanatorium to trace the source of a stream of illegal narcotics.
Guest stars: Simon Oakland, Henry Beckman, and Phyllis Newman.
6"The Savage Payoff"Teddy SillsMel GoldbergNovember 18, 1957 (1957-11-18)
Casey is assigned to investigate whether players on a college basketball team are fixing games.
Guest stars: John Kellogg, Bill Zuckert, and the Video Ranger Don Hastings.
7"Deadly Corridor"Teddy SillsLeon TokatyanNovember 25, 1957 (1957-11-25)
Casey poses as a prisoner in a women's jail in order to apprehend a murderer.
Guest stars: Lois Nettleton, Peggy Feury, and Colleen Dewhurst.
8"Escape Into Danger"Teddy SillsCy ChermakDecember 2, 1957 (1957-12-02)
Casey tries to find a woman who has fled believing she murdered her husband.
Guest stars: Madeleine Sherwood, John McLiam, and Clifton James.
9"Necklace of Glass"Teddy SillsDan EttlingerDecember 9, 1957 (1957-12-09)
In order to lure a successful burglar into a trap, Casey poses as a wealthy woman with an expensive jewelry collection.
Guest stars: Rita Vale (as Rita Grapel), Edward Holmes, Martin Brooks, and Robert Goodier.
10"Scape Goat"Teddy SillsAbram S. GinnesDecember 16, 1957 (1957-12-16)
A woman, who is in jail for embezzling money to care for her mentally disabled son, escapes.
Guest stars: Lenka Peterson, John Connell, and Mel Ruick.
11"Two Days to Kill"Stuart RosenbergAbram S. GinnesDecember 23, 1957 (1957-12-23)
Casey is assigned to protect a witness to a murder, but the killer manages to track down the women to the hotel room where they are hiding.
Guest stars: Diane Ladd and Michael Strong.
12"Queen of Diamonds"Teddy SillsLeon TokatyanDecember 30, 1957 (1957-12-30)
Casey goes undercover as a nightclub photographer.
Guest stars: Kay Medford, "Grandpa" Al Lewis, and Richard Ward.
13"My Brother's Killer"Stuart RosenbergMel GoldbergJanuary 6, 1958 (1958-01-06)
Casey is assigned to arrest an escaped convict who has committed numerous hold-ups and murders since breaking out of prison.
Guest stars: Sy Travers, Bernard Kates, Barbara Barrie, Leonard Stone, and brothers Frank Campanella and Joseph Campanella.
14"Bullet of Hate"Teddy SillsDon EttlingerJanuary 13, 1958 (1958-01-13)
Casey believes a teenage girl's story and attempts to clear her of a murder charge.
Guest stars: Alfred Ryder and Joanna Roos.
15"Death Watch"Stuart RosenbergAbram S. GinnesJanuary 20, 1958 (1958-01-20)
Casey stumbles onto a murder-for-hire organization while investigating a shoplifting gang.
16"Odds Against the Jockey"Teddy SillsSteven GardnerJanuary 27, 1958 (1958-01-27)
In order to get a lead, Casey haunts the race track where a gambler was recently murdered.
17"Dressed for the Kill"Stuart RosenbergLeon TokatyanFebruary 3, 1958 (1958-02-03)
Casey poses as a model to investigate a garment district murder.
18"An Eye for an Eye"Teddy SillsMel GoldbergFebruary 10, 1958 (1958-02-10)
Casey pretends to be a drug addict in order to get evidence against a large illegal narcotics ring.
19"The Challenger"Stuart RosenbergSteven GardnerFebruary 17, 1958 (1958-02-17)
Casey tries to prevent a mobster from buying an up-and-coming boxer's contract.
20"Across the World"Teddy SillsCy ChermakFebruary 24, 1958 (1958-02-24)
When the new owner of an import/export business is murdered, Casey poses as her heir to get evidence against the gun runners who are using the company as a front for their criminal activities.
21"The Showplace"David AlexanderFrances FrankelMarch 3, 1958 (1958-03-03)
Casey pretends to be a nightclub entertainer in order to investigate a murder.
22"Reasonable Doubt"Teddy SillsIrving Gaynor NeimanMarch 10, 1958 (1958-03-10)
A man is falsely accused of robbery.
23"Night of Fire"Don MedfordJerome CoopersmithMarch 17, 1958 (1958-03-17)
Casey takes a job as a factory file clerk in order to investigate a suspicious fire. Evidence points to a secretary with a history of mental illness, but Casey suspects that an arson ring may be responsible.
24"Saturday Lost"Stuart RosenbergLeon TokatyanMarch 24, 1958 (1958-03-24)
During a murder investigation, Casey arrests a drug-addicted young woman who has lost her memory after an all-night pot party.
25"High Swing"David AlexanderDon EttlingerMarch 31, 1958 (1958-03-31)
Casey goes undercover to befriend a seemingly benign elderly couple who are actually plotting a series of muggings and robberies.
26"Earthbound Satellite"Michael GordonSaul LevittApril 7, 1958 (1958-04-07)
Sonny Van Brock, part of high society, commits suicide after getting in way over his head at an elite gambling salon. Casey goes undercover as a visiting member of Seattle society who loves the roulette wheel, hoping to nail George Courtney, the man running the gaming operation.
27"The Sound of Tears"Marc DanielsLillian AndrewsApril 14, 1958 (1958-04-14)
Ken Morgan is murdered by a woman who clearly had strong feelings for or against him. She unloaded the contents of a revolver into him. Casey goes to work investigating the women in his life: his domineering mother who wouldn't let another female have him; the young woman who's practically a member of their family; and the ex-fiance whom Ken's mother made him give up.
Guest star: Suzanne Pleshette.
28"Ladies' Man"Stuart RosenbergAbram S. GinnesApril 21, 1958 (1958-04-21)
Posing as an insurance agent, Mike Bergen (Michael Tolan) enlists a naive woman (Lois Nettleton) to take a hidden camera photo of a suspect. The camera turns out to be a gun and the shooting victim is his wife. Casey goes undercover to a hunting lodge in the Catskills to smoke Bergen out into the open.
Guest star: Joan Harvey as Maggie.
29"Cry Revenge"David AlexanderAbram S. GinnesApril 28, 1958 (1958-04-28)
Casey gets involved in the lives of a woman and her daughter when they receive a series of threatening phone calls. The situation takes a strange turn when the young woman marries the man who makes the calls.
30"The Gentle Gun-Man"Michael GordonMel GoldbergMay 5, 1958 (1958-05-05)
Casey goes undercover to gather evidence against a gang that deals in illegal weapons.
31"Night Light"Stuart RosenbergFrances FrankelMay 12, 1958 (1958-05-12)
Casey goes undercover to recover a stolen ruby necklace before it can be fenced. Her investigation leads to an ex-convict who is inadvertently leading his teenage son into a life of crime because of the youngster's love for his father.
32"Fiesta at Midnight"Michael GordonJerome CoopersmithMay 19, 1958 (1958-05-19)
Newly arrived in New York, a young Puerto Rican man is arrested for robbery and assault. He claims to have been with two women at the time of the theft, but one won't identify him and the other can't be found.
33"The Lieutenant Had a Son"David AlexanderMel Goldberg
Cy Chermak		May 26, 1958 (1958-05-26)
An Army officer is driven to violence by his ex-wife.
34"Shadow of Van Gogh"Michael GordonSaul LevittJune 2, 1958 (1958-06-02)
A struggling artist becomes obsessed with Van Gogh, dressing like him and painting like him. When he is innocently coaxed into illegally copying a Van Gogh original, Casey, investigating the sale of the forgery, must find out who hired him.
35"Tin Pan Payoff"David AlexanderSteven GardnerJune 9, 1958 (1958-06-09)
Casey investigates the murder of a songwriter.
36"Blind Date"Stuart RosenbergNicholas E. BaehrJune 16, 1958 (1958-06-16)
Casey goes on a blind date in hopes of arresting a businessman awaiting the delivery of a large amount of stolen money.
37"The Come Back"David AlexanderDon EttlingerJune 23, 1958 (1958-06-23)
When a roll of blank parimutuel tickets are stolen from a race track, Casey attempts to convince the gang responsible that she's a cop on the take who can help them pass the counterfeit ducats through crooks she's blackmailing.
38"First Arrest"Arthur H. SingerJerome CoopersmithJune 30, 1958 (1958-06-30)
Casey goes undercover as an exotic dancer at a carnival sideshow, and begins to suspect that a fellow carnival worker is fencing stolen property.
39"The Lost Ones"Arthur H. SingerMel GoldbergJuly 7, 1958 (1958-07-07)
Casey's visit to a girl she arrested and later befriended takes a turn into the macabre when she discovers the girl's brutal father dead. The girl claims to have shot him, but Casey isn't so sure she believes her.

DVD releases

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In 2017, Film Chest Media Group released a DVD set containing all 39 episodes.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947–1987. McFarland & Company. p. 39. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.
  2. ^ "My Three Sons stepmom dies". CBC News. December 7, 2008.
  3. ^ "Decoy", Festival Films
  4. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books USA. p. 210. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  5. ^ a b c "Sleuths, Capable and Klutzy". The New York Times. September 3, 2017. p. AR 8. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Kehr, Dave (March 19, 2007). "Stuart Rosenberg, Director Of TV and Films, Dies at 79". The New York Times. p. B 6. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "N.B.C.-TV slating a comedy series". The New York Times. March 27, 1957. p. 63. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Sinclair, Charles (August 5, 1957). "'Decoy' and Beverly Garland Solid Hits" (PDF). Billboard. p. 14. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "Nevada newspaper to provide TV fare". The New York Times. July 25, 1957. p. 47. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Vecchio, Deborah Del (2012). Beverly Garland: Her Life and Career. McFarland & Company. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7864-9023-3. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "'Decoy' Goes Syndie -- For $600,000 Lure" (PDF). Billboard. July 29, 1957. p. 14. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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