Decoy

This past Christmas, I found a $3 discount DVD with four episodes of this obscure 1950s TV series. I was intrigued about a cop show featuring a female police officer dating back to the Father Knows Best and I Love Lucy era. Plus I admit I thought Beverly Garland looked cute in uniform.

I was very pleasantly surprised to discover - at least based upon the 4 episodes on the DVD - that Decoy was an excellent, ahead-of-its-time show. Yes, it was very much a forerunner of Police Woman, only without the cheesiness. In fact the show felt a lot more like Dragnet - complete with Garland providing a Jack Webb-style narration.

The 4 episodes all focused on women being victimized by crime, and Policewoman Casey Jones' efforts to right wrongs, often acting undercover (in one episode she becomes what is called a "honey trap" to attract a bad guy). Despite it being 1957-58, an era when women were not expected to be action heroes, Beverly Garland provides a surprising amount of action in an appealingly understated way, whether it be sneaking through a forest to snatch a hostage to freedom, or (in the DVD's most memorable moment) outdrawing a bad guy with a rifle!

Casey Jones is a character who takes her work very seriously. Perhaps too seriously -- but then Joe Friday was never a bundle of laughs, either. If I had to pick a modern-day equivalent to Casey, it would have to be Mariska Harigtay's policewoman in Law and Order Special Victims Unit. The two characters have much in common.

Sadly, Decoy only ran one season (and it looks as if some episodes were in cold storage for a couple of years before being aired), and while there are a few DVDs out there with episodes, the series looks set to fade into undeserved oblivion. Personally, with the popularity of such female action hero series as Alias and La Femme Nikita on TV and on DVD these days, I think a DVD release of the Decoy series would be a great move. Decoy is undeniably an historical document - but it stands up well more than 45 years later.

The original DRAGNET TV series ran from 1951 to 1959 until star Jack Webb decided to cancel it after 8 seasons despite continued high ratings. It became the template for every cop show that followed including a second DRAGNET from 1968-1971. Among the many police programs that followed in its wake was DECOY which featured a policewoman as its main character. That made it the flip side to DRAGNET. It featured Bevely Garland as policewoman Patricia "Casey" Jones and lasted for one season (39 episodes) in 1957-58. In many of those (25 of 39), Casey went undercover to try and catch the criminals thus the series title, DECOY. There were several other differences between the two shows besides having a female undercover officer.

To start with, DRAGNET was a West Coast produced show centering around Los Angeles (it was actually shot at Walt Disney Studios) with very little location shooting whereas DECOY was centered in New York City with lots of location shooting. Interior shots were done in the old Biograph Studios where D. W Griffith once worked. DRAGNET's performers were mostly from the movie industry while those in New York came from television and the NY stage. Jack Webb was already well known in Hollywood and, in addition to being the creator-star, he was also the head of production. DECOY's head of production was Stuart Rosenberg, an unknown TV director who would go on to a successful Hollywood career (COOL HAND LUKE, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR).

Each DRAGNET episode opened with "The story you are about to see is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent" DECOY's disclaimer came not at the beginning but at the end of the episode and read "This story is based on actual cases. All names and places are fictitious for obvious reasons" Since the series featured a policewoman as its principal character, each episode opened with "Presented as a Tribute to Bureau of Policewomen, Police Department Of New York City". Also each opening featured some different New York locale before the title credit appeared. A celebrated, retired policewoman, Officer Margaret Leonard, on whom the Casey Jones character was based, was credited as the technical advisor for the show.

However the biggest difference between the two series was in the storylines. In DRAGNET, each program was basically "Chase 'Em, Catch 'Em, & Convict 'Em" while DECOY's was "Chase 'Em, Catch Em & And Try To Understand 'Em". Sgt. Joe Friday was just an ordinary, everyday, hardworking cop doing his routine job. Policewoman Casey Jones' job was more exciting. She got to pose as everything from a high class call girl to a fashion model to a nightclub singer as she tried to flush out the chief criminal responsible. Once they were caught, Casey would address the camera and point out how it was the faults in our Society that made these people criminals. DRAGNET closed out with the criminals being tried, convicted, and sentenced.

While Jack Webb was the ideal personification of Joe Friday (as it should be since he created the character), I can't say the same for Beverly Garland as DECOY's "Casey" Jones. Garland was a very capable actress as she proved in a number of 1950s B movies and she could be really tough when she had to be as shown in movies like SWAMP WOMEN and GUNSLINGER (both 1956). Here, however, I found her a little too glamorous to be believable as an undercover cop. It might work for the occasional high class assignment but not for the majority of the down and out characters like a singer in a nightclub or an inmate in a women's prison. I blame the producers and 1950s sensibilities for the glamour. Ida Lupino would have been my choice for the role.

Having said all that, there are 2 things that DECOY has going for it. 1) The New York City locations ca.1957. This show is a rare opportunity to glimpse iconic NYC locations such as Peen Central railway station, the Horn & Hardart automat, The Stork Club, Charlie Parker's Birdland Jazz Club, Colony Records on Times Square, and Sardi's Restaurant. 2) The performers. While there are old pros like Al Lewis, Vincent Gardenia, Albert Dekker, and Frank Silvera, it's the up and coming talent like Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Balsam, Ed Asner, Lois Nettleton, Larry Hagman, Frank Sutton, Suzanne Pleshette, and Peter Falk just starting out on their careers that are really interesting to watch. Almost all of them came from the New York stage and would later make their mark in television.

Although inspired by and modeled on DRAGNET, DECOY explored some controversial subject matter which DRAGNET avoided. These topics included obscene phone calls, heroin addiction, gun running, dysfunctional families, spousal abuse, and mental illness. Unlike DRAGNET which had several episodes in the can when it aired, DECOY's shows were only shot two weeks in advance before they aired. The location shooting used hidden cameras so people wouldn't stop and stare. Ultimately the controversial subject matter of some shows and the lecture-like endings discouraged advertisers and the series ended after only one season for lack of funds. Now thanks to Film Chest Media, all 39 episodes are available on 3 CDs with a lot of bonus materials for a very good price...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Yes, this is a wonderfully gritty, no-nonsense cop yarn. What struck me is: Where's the sexism? Where's the condescension? Where's the "Oh, ya gonna arrest me, Officer Sweetie Pie?" This was the Fifties, right? It's a cop show with a twist: a cop who gets emotional over what she sees and what she has to do. But Casey Jones never, and I mean never, lets it get in the way of her completely professional approach to her job. She works with male officers, and they are nothing if not equals, comrades in arms. And for those of you who know Beverly Garland only from the fluff of My Three Sons, have you got a surprise coming. Great entertainment all the way around. And for something a little snappier, try Front Page Detective.

Decoy's the first TV police drama to star a woman and casting couldn't have done better than Garland. She's strong and appealing but hardly glamorous, and really good at not over-playing her part though the tension is often there. As Casey Jones she goes undercover in downscale NYC to crack cases. The on-location filming in the city's seediest precincts lends a lot of color plus perspective to even the mildest episodes. Nevertheless, I'll bet the Chamber of Commerce was none to happy about grubby sites not often shown. Anyway, we get perspectives on the Statue of Liberty, crowded city streets, and soaring towers that seemingly entrap her as she walks along. All add color and period interest to the storylines. Of course some episodes are better than others but all offer abundant compensations. I haven't seen every episode, but let me recommend The Red Clown as particularly riveting. A look at the cast lists shows no stars but an abundance of familiar A-grade supporting players, e.g. Simon Oakland, Barbara Barrie. I guess ratings weren't strong enough for a second season (1958). Likely, 50's audiences weren't ready for a female lead in a traditionally male genre. Then again, to my knowledge, Decoy's never been re-run or put into syndication; so to say it's obscure is a mild understatement. Too bad, because the series was clearly ahead of its time, while its abundant human interest has no time limit.

In passing-- I caught up with the complete series in a DVD collection titled "Decoy" from Film Chest Media. I'd recommend the collection because of the detailed notes about locations and historical aspects of the productions that the enclosed booklet provides. For those like me who've never been to NYC, it's something of an interesting tour guide.

Watching this on Amazon Prime. It's a series I hadn't had the opportunity to view on television. Yes, it's dated and some police techniques might seem questionable by today's standards, but it's ahead of its time by focusing on a female police officer and female victims and criminals. Lots of terrific early performances by actors who became well known and respected.