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21st Precinct

1950s CBS police drama
from archive.org

Broadcast from July 7th 1953 through November 1st 1956 on the CBS network.

21st Precinct was a very dramatic police drama. CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for this series and to focus on the happenings in an actual police precinct. The premise was to put the listener into the drama from the opening phone call until the final report was written.

The 21st was described as "just lines on a map of the city of New York. Most of the 173,000 people wedged into the nine-tenths of a square mile between Fifth Avenue and the East River wouldn't know if you asked them that they lived or worked in the 21st." The detail was made up of 160 patrolmen, eleven sergeants, and four lieutenants, under the command of one captain - Frank Kennelly. It was mentioned in each episode's closing that, "21st Precinct is presented with the official cooperation of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association an organization of more than 20,000 members of the Police Department, City of New York."

The Captain was the primary character and also acted as the narrator. Three actors played the Captain's role: Everett Sloane as Kennelly for the first 109 episodes and returned briefly in episode 135; James Gregory as Vincent Cronin for episode 109-144; and Les Damon as Thomas Keough starting in episode 145 through the remainder of the series. In supporting roles were Ken Lynch as Lt. Matt King and Harold Stone as Sgt. Waters. Santos Ortega appeared frequently as Lt. Patrick "Red" Gorman.

Ninety-two episodes are in circulation for this series. It is generally believed that they were all recorded off the air by one collector as they were broadcast; however, many episodes appear to have been circulating independently of one another in the early 1970s. Several dealer catalogs from that period list them for sale, stating 'dubbed from the original transcription disks'.

  1. The Nolen Brothers (25.6Mb)
  2. Case of the Young Incorrigible (23.4Mb)
  3. The Bartender (26.2Mb)
  4. The Twins (25.8Mb)
  5. Case of the Sailor's Family (25.1Mb)
  6. Post Number Seven (25.4Mb)
  7. The Mainliner (25.1Mb)
  8. The Bookkeeper (25.3Mb)
  9. The Friend (24.9Mb)
  10. The Certified 600 (24.6Mb)
  11. The Dog Day (25.8Mb)
  12. The Homecoming (23.6Mb)
  13. The Shooting Gallery (23.8Mb)
  14. The Bird (25.1Mb)
  15. Case of the Picture (24.1Mb)
  16. Case of the Foundling (24.4Mb)
  17. Case of the Fall (24.7Mb)
  18. Case of the Patient (24.9Mb)
  19. Case of the Basket (24.1Mb)
  20. Case of the Ditch (24.4Mb)
  21. Case of the L.D. 80 (26.2Mb)
  22. The Plant (29Mb)
  23. Case of the Stairs (26.7Mb)
  24. The Platform (27.7Mb)
  25. The Visitors (26Mb)
  26. The Kid (24.7Mb)
  27. The Baker (25.4Mb)
  28. Case of the Drive (25Mb)
  29. The Cure (24.1Mb)
  30. The Door (24.5Mb)
  31. The Package (25.5Mb)
  32. The Collar (24.7Mb)
  33. The Brother (27.5Mb)
  34. The Story (24Mb)
  35. The Cabinet (24.6Mb)
  36. The Dollar (25Mb)
  37. The Day (23.5Mb)
  38. The Father (26.7Mb)
  39. The Needle (25.4Mb)
  40. The Book (25.9Mb)
  41. The Sprinter (26.3Mb)
  42. The Will (28.3Mb)
  43. The Red Tiger (25.4Mb)
  44. The Mover (27.6Mb)
  45. The Shotgun (26.5Mb)
  46. The Ledge (24Mb)
  47. The DOA (26.5Mb)
  48. The Job (25.6Mb)
  49. The Iron (25.9Mb)
  50. The Wreck (17.2Mb)
  51. The Copperhead (26.8Mb)
  52. The Trip (17.4Mb)
  53. The Suit (25.7Mb)
  54. The Walker (26Mb)
  55. The Jet (26Mb)
  56. The Number (17.3Mb)
  57. The Virtuoso (17.3Mb)
  58. The Mark (26.9Mb)
  59. The Glass (17.3Mb)
  60. The Sticks (10.2Mb)
  61. The Bottle (17.3Mb)
  62. The Beaver (26.3Mb)
  63. The Purse (17.3Mb)
  64. The Jump (17.3Mb)
  65. The Loser (25.3Mb)
  66. The Giver (25.6Mb)
  67. The Wife (24.8Mb)
  68. The Trade (24.3Mb)
  69. The Notes (24.6Mb)
  70. The Fire Escape (25.1Mb)
  71. The Daughter (25.1Mb)
  72. The Surety (24.9Mb)
  73. The Lender (25Mb)
  74. The Museum (24.2Mb)
  75. The Dowager (24.2Mb)
  76. The Declaration (24.4Mb)
  77. The Communication (26.7Mb)
  78. The Doctor (26Mb)
  79. The Artery (24.3Mb)
  80. The Pair (25.2Mb)
  81. The Summons (25.6Mb)
  82. The Tree (26Mb)
  83. The Special Orders (26.3Mb)
  84. The Friend (25.4Mb)
  85. The Son (24.1Mb)
  86. The Heirs (25.3Mb)
  87. The Beard (24.6Mb)
  88. The Slugger (25.1Mb)
  89. The Platform (22.4Mb)
  90. The Baker (24.6Mb)
  91. The Homecoming (24.2Mb)
  92. The Six Hundred (24.3Mb)
  93. The Shopping Bag (24.8Mb)
  94. The Poodle (24Mb)
  95. The Gorilla (24.1Mb)
  96. The Basket (23.6Mb)
  97. The Partners (24.5Mb)
  98. The Paperhanger (24.5Mb)
  99. The Neighbor (24.4Mb)
  100. The Books (23.6Mb)
  101. The Brother (24.5Mb)
  102. The Foundling (26.2Mb)
  103. The Fall (24.9Mb)
  104. The Bottle (24.6Mb)
  105. The Glass (24.1Mb)
  106. The Ledge (24.5Mb)
  107. The Red Tiger (24.4Mb)

MP3 files hosted by archive.org.