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Dragnet: The Big Phone Call (1952)

Name: The Big Phone Call
Genre: Crime & Mystery
Released: 1952
Duration: 26 min

195226 minCrime & MysteryStrong rights evidenceTV episode

Dragnet: The Big Phone Call (1952) is a 26-minute crime mystery that airs free on Starlite TV's Silver Screen (CH 2) channel. Our rights research indicates it is in the U.S. public domain (evidence below).

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About Dragnet: The Big Phone Call (1952)

"The Big Phone Call" is episode 12 of season 1 of Dragnet, first broadcast on May 23, 1952 on NBC. It was directed by Jack Webb and written by Jack Webb.

Friday and Jacobs interrogate a jewelry store owner about the theft of $20,000 worth of precious gems. The suspect repeatedly tries calling his wife but keeps getting a busy signal because his wife is constantly talking on the phone. Cast: Vic Perrin. Note: this episode has only 3 actors and the entire show is filmed on one set.

Dragnet (NBC, 1951-59) is Jack Webb's landmark police procedural: Sgt. Joe Friday of the Los Angeles Police Department works real cases drawn from LAPD files ("only the names have been changed to protect the innocent"), first with Ben Romero (Barton Yarborough), then Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips) and, from 1953, Officer Frank Smith (Ben Alexander). The 1951-54 episodes shown on Starlite TV are in the U.S. public domain because their copyrights were not renewed; the Copyright Office renewal records were checked episode by episode.

Quick facts

Year: 1952
Runtime: 26 minutes
Type: TV episode · Crime & Mystery
Series: Dragnet
Sound: Original soundtrack

Episode summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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You can play this title on demand above any time. It also airs on Starlite TV's live channels on a schedule; times are shown in your local time zone.

Airs on

Silver Screen - CH 2, Classic Cinema
Case Files - CH 9, Crime & Mystery TV

Rights & source

Basis: Published 1931-1963 with no copyright renewal found (renewal-record search cited below)
Evidence: Dragnet (NBC, 1951-59) episode produced by Mark VII Ltd. and first telecast 1952-05-23. Renewal check, U.S. Copyright Office Public Records System (publicrecords.copyright.gov, searched Oct 29 2026, title='Dragnet', names 'Sherry TV' and 'Mark VII', records 1978-1992): the only Dragnet episode renewals on file are 114 'Sherry TV, Inc.' RE registrations claimed by Universal City Studios (RE0000147001-147029 of 1982-11-15, RE0000180837-180856 of 1983-10-17, RE0000212600-212651 of 1984-07-02/06, RE0000318700-318706 of 1986-12-29), all for episodes first telecast 1954-59; the Mark VII renewals are the 1954 feature film (RE0000134622) and radio/music items. No renewal exists for this episode; a 1951-54 work whose first 28-year term was not renewed entered the U.S. public domain. Corroboration: Festival Films public-domain TV list (fesfilms.com/public-domain/television/drag.html) carries this episode; Wikipedia: most 1951-59 episodes are public domain and sold by PD labels. Source file: Internet Archive item Dragnet1951 (16 mm syndication/TV print transfer, 320x240, no disc menus or label bumpers seen at 0:03, 0:40 and 15:00). Evidence files: overnight/add-2026-10-30/dragnet/cprs_*.json, renewed_episodes.json.
Credit: Dragnet (1951) is a Mark VII Ltd. production; this episode is in the U.S. public domain (copyright not renewed). Print via the Internet Archive.
Music: Dragnet main-title motif / score by Walter Schumann. The compositions were registered separately and renewed (RE0000081078 'Themes from Dragnet' and RE0000081081 'Dragnet', renewed 1981 by Universal/Mark VII; see cprs_markvii.json), so the PICTURE is public domain but the THEME MUSIC remains a copyrighted composition. The print's own synchronised recording falls with the episode (no SR copyright before 1972 for US sound recordings); a public performance of the composition in an ad-supported stream should be covered by the station's ASCAP/BMI blanket licences. Action for the owner: confirm ASCAP/BMI coverage (Pluto/Tubi carry the same theme under blanket licences); if not held, trim the ~15 s main title and ~20 s end title.
Source: Internet Archive

How we check every title: Content & Rights.

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