First Aired - May 11, 1967
Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon are working in the homicide division. Friday and Gannon respond to a late night call at the house of Jessie Gaynor. Her daughter, Nora Hamlin, is staying with her due to a separation from her husband. A gunshot heard from a locked study where Carl Hamlin's body is discovered. At first it is assumed that the husband killed himself but when Ray Murray from SID tells them that the bullet doesn't match the gun it turns into a murder case.
This was the final episode of the first season of the 1960s Dragnet.
Just the Tropes, ma'am:
- Battle Trophy: The 9mm that the fatal shot was fired from was a German Luger that Mrs. Gaynor's late husband brought back from WWII.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Jessie Gaynor kills Carl Hamlin for shooting her bible then throwing it in the fireplace, though she does get convicted of a reduced charge of manslaughter.
- Locked in a Room: Carl Hamlin locked himself in the study and dies. Friday has to break the window from the outside to get in the room.
- Locked Room Mystery: Carl Hamlin is found dead in the study of Jessie Gaynor's house, a recently-fired .38 revolver by his body. The door was locked and barricaded from the inside, and all the windows are locked. But the bullet that killed Hamlin was fired from a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, so Friday and Gannon have to figure out who killed Hamlin and how..
- Out of Focus: Ray Murray is more of the driving force, with Friday and Gannon in the background.
- Never Suicide: At first it appears to be suicide but when the bullet pulled from Carl's body doesn't match the gun found, it becomes a murder case. It turns out Mrs. Gaynor shot him and he ran into the study. He then rearranged the room while dying to make it look like suicide.
- Psycho Ex-Husband: Carl and Nora Hamlin are separated but not divorced. He starts harassing Nora for her to take him back, even saying he will kill himself for her.
- Shot-for-Shot Remake: This episode was a remake of The Big Bible episode from the radio series.
