Podcast Summary: Dragnet – "The Big Switch" (11/23/1954)

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: Dragnet: The Big Switch
Air Date (Original): November 23, 1954
Analysis Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Jack Webb as Detective Joe Friday (no host commentary present in content)

Episode Overview

This Dragnet episode, originally aired in 1954, dramatizes a real-life homicide case as investigated step-by-step by Detective Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith. The episode follows the investigation of the mysterious death of George Pilsen, a 57-year-old night shift worker found dead by his wife. The story navigates through suspects, forensics, and suspicions, culminating in a psychological study of motive and confession.

Key Discussion Points & Case Progression

1. Report of the Crime & Initial Investigation

• Setting: 906 S. Norwood Street, Los Angeles; July 8, 11:03 a.m.
• Detective Friday and Smith respond to a call from Marie Pilsen reporting the death of her husband, George Pilsen.
• Initial observations suggest a head wound, indicating possible murder. The body shows little sign of struggle; theft of a watch and diamond ring reported (07:30).
• Crime lab and coroner are called in (02:39, 07:30).

2. Interview with Marie Pilsen – The Victim’s Wife

• Marie describes a typical morning, leaving for shopping around 9:00 a.m. and returning at approximately 10:30 a.m. to find her husband dead (04:08).
• Reveals insight into their 30-year marriage, her childlessness and emotional state, highlighting her collection of elephants as a pseudo-family (05:28).
• “Maybe one exception. You see over there on the table? My collection of elephants. I started collecting them as a little girl. I always thought that one day I’d have a little girl. I’d give them to her. We never had any children, so my children have been pretend.” (05:28, Marie Pilsen)
• No known enemies; marriage described as ordinary. She admits to usual marital disputes but "nothing serious" (06:04).

3. Neighborhood Canvass – Sam Mordell’s Testimony

• The detectives interview Sam Mordell, a retired railroad man and woodcarver, living across the street.
• Mordell reports seeing a man leave the Pilsen home at exactly 10:00 a.m., noting the time by his railroad watch (09:45). He identifies the man’s vehicle as a green panel truck with the name "Ray" or "Gray" on the side, used for a lawnmower service (10:00-11:14).
• “My eyes are good yet, but only the Ray part was real clear... could have been Gray, Bray or Crazy.” (11:14, Sam Mordell)

4. Tracing the Lawnmower Service – Ray Power

• Detectives check classified listings and locate “Gray’s Lawnmower Service.”
• They meet Ray Power, new owner of the business, who admits to having a green panel truck and having visited the Pilsen house that morning for a pickup, entering briefly when no one answered but claims seeing nobody and leaving quickly (16:03).
• “I walked into a house. I didn’t do anything wrong. If there was someone there, ask them... Be a little hard to do, huh?” (16:50, Ray Power)
• Power is temporarily held as a suspect, but evidence is inconclusive: no physical items from the crime scene are found with him, and he maintains his innocence (17:14).

5. Advancement in Forensic Evidence

• Crime lab cannot find fingerprints of anyone but the victim and wife.
• Autopsy reveals large amounts of barbiturates in Pilsen’s system. Forensic evidence suggests he was poisoned and likely dead before the head wounds were inflicted (18:30).

6. Marie Pilsen’s Mental State and Confession

• Detectives re-interview Marie; a neighbor, Lydia Shires, reveals that Marie feared her husband was poisoning her and trying to drive her insane (21:10).
• Lydia says, “It was George, her husband, that made her sick. Kept telling her she was going crazy. Said she was gonna die. Finally, she got to believing the things he was saying.” (21:38, Lydia Shires)
• Marie admits to having a nervous breakdown, believing her husband was drugging her, and ultimately confesses to administering barbiturates to George and then striking him upon returning from shopping (23:44).

7. Emotional Climax & Resolution

• Marie’s emotional confession is powerful; she references jealousy over a suspected other woman and wanting Lydia to inherit her “children” – the elephant collection (24:18).
• “I want you to take my family. My elephants. I want you to have them.” (24:18, Marie Pilsen)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Marie Pilsen: "How do you sum up thirty years in one or two sentences? Good, bad and happy, unhappy—it was all those." (05:00)
• Sam Mordell: “That’s why I’m carving this chain. It’s going to be the longest chain ever carved out of a single piece of wood. When I finish, I’m going to sweep them all up and weigh them. You know, give the reporters something to write about.” (12:20, Sam Mordell)
• Ray Power (suspect): "I walked into a house... If there was someone there, ask them... Be a little hard to do, huh?" (16:50)
• Marie’s Confession: “He’d put [pills] in my food or in my drink. You sure he did that? Yes. I counted the capsules in the bottle every time I took one... I wrote the number down on paper so I’d be sure. Some were always missing. I knew he’d been giving them to me.” (23:02, Marie Pilsen)

Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:07 | Case summary (narrator and Joe Friday set the scene) | | 03:08 | First interview with Marie Pilsen | | 07:30 | Discovery: only watch and ring missing, crime scene examined | | 08:05 | Interview with neighbor Sam Mordell | | 09:45 | Mordell sees a suspicious truck at 10:00 a.m. | | 13:49 | Confrontation with Ray Power at the lawnmower shop | | 16:03 | Ray Power recounts visiting the Pilsen house, admits to brief entry | | 18:30 | Autopsy results: barbiturate poison found | | 19:04 | Detectives question Marie Pilsen about possible drug use | | 21:10 | Lydia Shires reveals Marie’s fear and George's psychological manipulation | | 23:44 | Marie Pilsen confesses to poisoning and then killing her husband | | 24:18 | Emotional moment: Marie bequeaths her elephant collection to Lydia | | 25:08 | Epilogue: Marie found insane, committed to state hospital |

Final Outcome

Marie Pilsen is found legally insane by three state-appointed psychiatrists and is committed to Mendocino State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. The narrative closes on a somber note about justice, mental health, and domestic tragedy.

Tone and Language

The episode maintains the iconic Dragnet style—stoic, efficient, procedural, and starkly compassionate in moments. The language is factual and direct, occasionally punctuated by emotionally raw confessions and reflections on marriage, loneliness, and desperation.

This episode provides a compelling glimpse into mid-century police work and the human stories behind crime, with a special emphasis on psychological distress and hidden domestic turmoil.