Customer Reviews

Decoy: Police Woman, Volume 1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pre-dating the Angie Dickinson series "Police Woman" by nearly two decades, "Decoy" starred Beverly Garland as Patricia "Casey" Jones, an undercover police officer with the New York Police Department. The series had a total of 39 episodes and was broadcast in the 1957-1958 season. The series had its interiors filmed at the Production Center in New York City and there are usually several exterior scenes of New York City locales in each episode, including one episode that's set at Coney Island. Beverly Garland is great as the no-nonsense cop.

Alpha Video's DVD release is a mixed bag. The first episode on the disc, "First Arrest" looks very good and is of near-broadcast quality. From there, however, things go down hill. The next two episodes, "High Swing" and "Saturday Lost," are of considerably less visual quality, yet are still watchable. Things rebound a bit with the final episode "To Trap a Thief." Given the relative rarity of this series on video/DVD, Alpha's release is certainly acceptable, though one wishes that Alpha had used better source materials. This series is highly recommended for fans of classic/vintage police dramas like "Dragnet" and "The Naked City." Look for guest stars like Larry Hagman, William Hickey and Simon Oakland, among others, in these episodes.

The episodes included are:

First Arrest (Episode #38)
High Swing (Episode #25)
Saturday Lost (Episode #24)
To Trap a Thief (Episode #4)

***** for the "Decoy" series; *** for Alpha's DVD presentation.

Kudos goes to Alpha Media/Oldies.com for bringing to DVD four episodes of this excellent series, arguably the most obscure television program in their catalog of titles.

Not only does Beverly Garland predate Angie Dickinson in "Police Woman" but also "Cagney & Lacey," "Prime Suspect" and so many others. And she and her character of Casey Jones can stand toe-to-toe with any of them. The grit, professionalism, and intelligence which is constantly shown in this character flies in the face of so many of the assumptions we have about how women were depicted on TV during the medium's "golden age."

But besides being a great pre-feminism feminist image, "Decoy" is very entertaining with really well-constructed plots each of them anchored by Garland's masterful, timeless performance.

"Decoy" is an extraordinary series that deserves to be rediscovered and celebrated.

Decades before Angie Dickinson starred in "Policewoman", TV saw it's very first tough female cop - Beverly Garland in the vintage 1950's television series DECOY. In what must have been quite an unusual sight for audiences of the period (a time when the most an actress ever played on TV was a housewife or secretary), DECOY highlighted the work of a jobbing police-woman on the 'beat' in New York City.

Casey Jones (Beverly Garland) doles out justice to drug-pushers, petty thieves and elderly fraudsters in these four episodes. Quality is typical Alpha; those who regularly buy from this label know what to expect. On the upswing, their selection of 1950's TV shows is one of the best and most varied; and a lot of what they offer isn't available anywhere else.

Episodes:

"First Arrest" - Casey remembers back to one of her first big cases as a rookie cop, where she went undercover as a kooch-dancer at Coney Island.

"High Swing" - Casey assists a pair of old-time crooks in a mugging and robbery spree.

"Saturday Lost" - Most notable for featuring a young Larry Hagman, this episode sees Casey helping a strung-out young woman who has lost her memory.

"To Trap a Thief" - Casey poses as a blackmailer in order to crack a bizzare case of armed robbery.