This first episode of Dragnet's sixth TV season was adapted from a radio drama first broadcast on June 15, 1954. Identifying himself as the owner of a small circus, elderly Clarence Havill (Will Wright) tells Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) that his circus truck has been broken into and his animals have been stolen. Havill is especially worried that the most dangerous of the beasts, a black panther named Danny, may be prowling the Hollywood Hills. Only after a citywide panic has occurred do the detectives learn the truth about Havill's "big cat". When the radio version of this episode (featuring Cliff Arquette, aka "Charley Weaver", as the old circus man) originally aired, Jack Webb was sued by the real-life counterpart of Clarence Havill; according to Dragnet historian Michael Hayde, a federal judge ruled in Webb's favor.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
