wavePod

Dragnet: The Big Crazy (EP4839) - The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Back to The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas

Dragnet: The Big Crazy (EP4839)

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas

Thu Nov 06 2025

Today's Mystery: A woman is missing and her sister suspects her milquetoast husband of murder. Original Radio Broadcast Date: August 30, 1951 Originating from Hollywood Starring: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday; Barton Yarborough as Sergeant Ben...

Summary

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Host: Adam Graham

Episode: Dragnet – "The Big Crazy" (EP4839)

Air Date: November 6, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Adam Graham presents a 1950 episode of Dragnet titled “The Big Crazy,” following real LAPD detectives as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of Bernice Butler. What begins as a standard missing persons case grows increasingly strange as suspicion falls on her husband, James Butler—a man with a fragile grip on reality. As the story unfolds, detectives probe the line between psychological instability and actual crime, culminating in a dramatic and unexpected conclusion. After the radio drama, Adam Graham offers commentary on the case and responds to listener feedback.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Case Introduction and Initial Investigation

[02:56] The case begins with Sergeant Friday and Ben Romero assigned the task of finding 30-year-old Bernice Butler, missing for three months before her disappearance was reported.
Bernice’s twin sister, Ruth Daley, reports her missing, explaining the delay due to Bernice’s habit of disappearing for stretches in the past.
Ruth describes the deteriorating marriage with James Butler and recalls a disturbing comment:
- “He had this real horrible look on his face. He said it right out loud, plain as day…You’d be surprised if I killed her, wouldn’t you? You’d be surprised.” – Ruth Daley [06:21]

2. Suspicion Falls on James Butler

[07:00-12:00] Detectives Friday and Romero visit James Butler at work. He is uncooperative, evasive, and seems almost to relish talking about being violent with his wife—though friends and neighbors describe him as timid and henpecked.
The detectives press him:
- “Did you kill your wife, Butler?”
- “It’d be silly to tell you that, wouldn’t it? … Yeah, when you prove it.” – James Butler [09:25]

3. Community & Psychological Insights

[12:00-14:00] Interviews with friends and neighbors suggest Butler is a non-violent “milquetoast,” painting a contrasting picture to the persona Butler attempts to project to the police.
Notably, Butler often picked fights with bigger men in bars, possibly as a way to compensate for feelings of inadequacy and humiliation at home.

4. Potential Evidence Surfaces

[14:00-15:20] Ruth Daley finds a blood-stained hammer hidden in the attic, along with stains on the floor. She calls the police, who bring in the crime lab for analysis.
The apparent murder weapon heightens the suspicion, especially since Butler disappears the same day Ruth finds the hammer.

5. Intensified Search and Psychological Decompensation

[16:55] Butler resurfaces in Solari, CA, causing disturbances and boasting of having killed his wife “but nobody’s ever gonna find out.”
He is returned to Los Angeles, undergoes psychiatric evaluation (found abnormal but competent), and further questioning—but the blood on the hammer turns out to be animal, not human.

6. Unorthodox Police Tactics

[18:33] Ruth proposes to exploit Butler’s unstable psyche using a psychological ploy: she will impersonate her “dead” twin to shock a confession out of him.
The plan: Get Butler out of the house, Ruth disguises herself as Bernice and waits in a dimly lit room with Bernice’s Siamese cat.

7. The Climax—Psychological Break & Tragic End

[22:00-25:00] The detectives return Butler home. Upon hearing the cat and seeing Ruth in Bernice’s place, Butler is thrown into a hysterical breakdown:
- “No, it ain’t real. She’s not there. She’s not there.” – James Butler [24:10]
- “You go away, Bernice. You’re dead, and I killed you. You’re downstairs. You’re in the ground. You’re deep in the ground. I killed you…You can’t be sitting here.” [24:43]
Butler flees, plunges from an upper-story window, and dies instantly.

8. Resolution and Twist Ending

[26:00-28:00] Authorities search the grounds for a body—finding nothing. Months pass with the case still open.
Nearly a year later, the truth emerges: Bernice Butler had been in a San Francisco hospital with TB since just after her disappearance, dying there unclaimed.
The case closes:
- “Her late husband, James Butler, was cleared of any connection with her disappearance.” [29:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

James Butler’s disturbing bravado:
- “If you think this isn’t important, change your mind. Your wife’s been gone for three months. Nobody’s seen or heard from her, and it’s our job to check it.” – Sgt. Joe Friday [08:35]
On the futility of the case:
- “Suppose he really had himself talked into when he thought he committed 100% murder…happens inside the mind.” – Sgt. Friday [27:26]
Touching final assessment:
- “All things considered, I guess he loved her quite a bit. Well, it doesn’t seem to matter now. What he did wasn’t much of a chance either way. How do you mean? Well, the girl TB on one side, maybe murdered on the other side. Either way, she had to die.” – [27:53]

Adam Graham’s Commentary

[29:48]

Adam highlights the dangers of police psychological trickery reminiscent of pulp fiction, quipping:
- “Who could have predicted that playing with the head of a mentally unstable man could end badly? Well, a lot of people, actually.”
He notes the literary context of the Stevenson quote used by Butler, tying it to the character’s fractured reality.
Reacts to a listener’s comment about period descriptions of age, observing with humor how era-specific standards make people in their 40s seem ancient by today’s standards.

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:56 | Dragnet episode begins: Case facts outlined | | 04:23–06:30 | Interview with Ruth Daley, the missing woman’s sister | | 07:00–12:00 | Confrontation and interview with James Butler | | 12:00–14:00 | Neighborhood interviews: contrasting impressions of Butler| | 14:00–15:20 | Discovery of the ‘bloody’ hammer | | 16:55 | News from Solari, CA: Butler detained | | 18:33–19:31 | Ruth’s psychological plan explained | | 22:00–25:00 | Climactic confrontation & Butler’s breakdown/suicide | | 26:00–28:00 | Twist: Bernice found alive (then deceased) in San Francisco| | 29:48–31:30 | Adam Graham’s post-episode commentary |

Tone & Style

Dragnet is delivered in its classic semi-documentary, matter-of-fact style—methodical, unsensational, and authentic.
Adam Graham’s commentary is reflective, insightful, and lightly humorous, particularly in handling listener feedback and observations on cultural change.

Episode Takeaways

The story exemplifies Dragnet’s focus on procedure, psychological depth, and the unpredictability of real investigations.
Highlights dangers and ethical gray areas of psychological manipulation in law enforcement.
Ultimate lesson: Reality can defy the most thorough investigation and even the most grippingly constructed theory.
“Sooner or later you get them all. How would you figure out that night we had Butler at the house?...Suppose he really had himself talked into when he thought he committed 100% murder.” – [27:26]

Listeners looking for riveting radio detective fiction and commentary will find this episode a classic example of Dragnet’s procedural rigor, atmospheric storytelling, and Adam Graham’s thoughtful perspective on both the genre and its era.

Loading summary...

Transcript

A (0:00)

Did you know you can opt out.

B (0:01)

Of winter with VRBO?

A (0:02)

Save up to $1,500 for booking a month long stay with thousands of sunny homes. Why subject yourself to the cold? Just filter your search by monthly stays.

B (0:11)

And save up to $1,500.

A (0:13)

Book now at vrbo.com Limu Cake and Doug Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural Doug uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Fairy Underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates Excludes Massachusetts this is the story of the One as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes.

B (0:53)

Ensuring every light is working, the H.

A (0:56)

Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces.

C (1:03)

Plus 24.

A (1:04)

7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat.

B (1:07)

Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger.

A (1:11)

For the ones who get it done.

C (1:43)

Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first I want to encourage you. If you are enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show on a one time basis by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, P.O. box 15913. That's P.O. box 15913, Boise, ID 837158. You can also become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month by going to patreon.greatdetectives.net well now, from August 30, 1950, here is the big crazy.

A (2:56)

The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been change. Protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned the homicide detail. A 30 year old woman is missing. Three months pass before a disappearance is reported. There's not a trace of the woman, no lead to her whereabouts. Your job? Find her. Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case. Transcribed from official Police files from beginning to end. From crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Monday, June 9th. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day. Watch out. A homicide detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from the stats office, and it was 10:18am when I got to room 42, homicide. How are you, Joe? Been waiting for you. Hi. Ma', am. I'd like to have you meet my partner, Sergeant Friday. Joe, this is Ms. Daley. Ruth Daly.

A (6:30)

10:40Am we finished taking a complete statement from Ruth Daly regarding the disappearance of her married sister, Bernice Butler. Before she left, we got the business address of her brother in law. A broadcast and a missing bulletin was gotten out. And then Ben and I drove across town to have a talk with the husband of the missing woman, James Butler. We located him at work in a job printing shop on South Vermont where he was employed as a journeyman printer. He was in his early 30s, thin, blond hair, light complexion, about 5 foot 7, 125 pounds. He wore a pair of rimless glasses. Ben and I introduced ourselves and began to interview him. He was close mouthed and not too cooperative. Seemed to resent every question we asked him while we talked. He worked over a paper cutting machine. You'll have to admit it's a little out of the ordinary, Mr. Butler. Your wife missing three months and you acting like you been gone three hours. Did you hear me, Butler? I heard you. Well, what about it? Just a minute. Well, you know, it's not ordinary her going away. I'm married to her. I'd know my own wife. We talked to your wife's sister this morning, Ruth Daly. She seems to think you might know all about your wife disappearing. She does? That's right in my way. I got to get that other set of cards. Oh yeah? What do you think? I don't know. There's something wrong with him. Sure got a big grudge for somebody his side. I wonder what that girl meant when she called him Bashful. About as bashful as a wild boar in a plum. Thick in my way. I gotta get in there. Yeah, go ahead. Haven't got any spare time to talk. I have to get this order out. It'll only take a few minutes. If you'll be good enough to cooperate. Haven't got the time, that's all. It's almost your lunch hour, isn't it? Suppose we can talk then? Got no time then, either. Why don't you talk to Ruth? She seems to know. Now, listen. That's about enough of this, mister. We ask you civil questions, we expect civil answers. If you think this isn't important, change your mind. Your wife's been gone for three months. Nobody's seen or heard from her, and it's our job to check it. Now, you can talk to us here or downtown. You take your pick. Have to finish up this badge first. We can talk out in the alley and back. I want everybody knowing my business. That's fine with us. You do what you have to do. We'll wait for you. Sure is aching from an argument. Yeah, or what. His big trouble is maybe a hangover. Looks a little used up. That could be. If he had something to do with his wife's disappearing. You'd think he'd try to cover the way he's acting. He doesn't seem to care what we think. Now, let's see what kind of a story he's got. Okay, it's this way out back. Go ahead. Yeah, what's the big deal? You ever been arrested, Butler? No, almost. Couple of times, they couldn't get me. What kind of trouble were you in? They said they didn't get me. I'm not gonna put myself in hot water. We'd like to find out how your wife was before she disappeared. You know of any reason why she'd go off the way she did? Any reason why she'd stay away three months without any word? No, I don't know any reason. How about your relatives, your friends? You checked to see if she might be with one of them? They'd call if she was. You never checked with them? No. Think, Ruth. Did you have any big arguments with your wife, Butler, around the time she disappeared? I mean, we had him all the time. She bothered me. She was too fresh. I beat it out of her. That too. You got to give him a little freedom. I think he can take over. Nagging, tell you what to do, what not to do. Sick of it. We'd like a straight answer here, Butler. Did you want your wife out of the way? What do you mean by that? I mean, do you know why she's missing? Could be a lot of reasons. I'd know one. Did you kill your wife, Butler? It'd be silly to tell you that, wouldn't it? Yeah. Did you kill her? Only one way. I'LL say yes to that. Yeah, when you prove it. Well, it wasn't easy to understand from the way it started. Our interview with James Butler would get us nothing. We had no evidence against him, nothing to indicate definitely that his wife had met foul play. Nothing but a suspicious remark he was supposed to have made to his sister in law, Ruth Daly. But once we'd left the print shop and got out in the back alley where he couldn't be overheard, he was full of information. Besides telling us that he beat the his wife, Butler also admitted that he'd threatened her life on several occasions. Twice in the presence of friends. He seemed to take some kind of a peculiar pride in admitting how violent he'd been with his wife. Ben and I took him downtown, questioned him further and listened to him talk. He made veiled hints that he'd been involved in various criminal activities in this country and also in Europe. That he was a close friend with a half a dozen notorious underworld gang leaders. That he was ruthless and clever enough to dispose of his wound wife if he wanted to and still avoid prosecution. While we were talking, Ben had James Butler's name and description double checked to the Record Bureau files. There was no previous criminal record listed for him as far as we knew. At no time had he even been held under suspicion in a criminal investigation. The next day, together with Brian and Lopez from Homicide, Ben and I made the rounds of Mr. And Ms. Butler's friends, relatives and neighbors. 4:25pm we got back to the office. Oh, hi. Eloping. Hi, Ben. Joe. What's doing? Nothing. Great. How'd you two make out? It's a funny setup. To me, I'd say the guy's a phony. Everybody we talk to, everybody who knows Butler, they all say the same thing. What's that? Guy's afraid of his own shadow. He's a milquetoast. Nothing to him. What'd you get? About the same. Every housewife around the neighborhood, out where they live, they all told us the same thing. The guy's a henpecked husband. His wife laid down the laws and he follows him. Psycho case, huh? Must be. Don't know how else to explain it. Every time I asked one of their friends if Butler beat up his wife, they laughed in my face. Said he wouldn't even dare cash his check on payday. Had to bring it home. If anybody got beat up, it must have been him. Yeah, it sure tells a great story. He can make you believe he was a Bluebeard. Do you get any different answers at all over yeah, one maybe. You want me take a look? Yeah. Let's see here. Yeah, here. Mrs. Irene Brady. She's an animus. Butler. She said the same thing about Butler, about him being a real mouse and all. And she told us about the dizzy things he'd been doing the last couple of years. Yeah, what was that? Four or five times. She said he just went out looking for trouble. Go in a neighborhood bar, insult some big stevedore, he'd get his face pushed in. He always picked big guys. Didn't seem to mind getting beat up as long as he couldn't sell them. Not much doubt. I guess the guy's ready for the nut. For him? Well, apparently he's got a big beef with people who push him around. Maybe he figured if he could take care of just one of those people, he could even up the score. How do you mean, Joe? Well, Mrs. Butler, the wife, she's probably the one who gave him the worst time. If he's a little bit off mentally, that'd make him capable of murder one. Couldn't be. Yeah, maybe the wife poured it on real strong, drove him to it. Crazy as a coot, that guy. Too many movies, mystery books. I got him. Homicide. Male. Oh, yes, ma'. Am. How's that now? When was that? Yes, ma'. Am. Yes, as soon as we can, but that does it. What's that? That was her sister in law, Ruth Daly just told me she's positive Butler murdered his wife. What makes you think so? Number one, she says Butler told her so. He admitted it to her last night. It doesn't hold any more water than the rest of his stories. I don't know. The Daly girl says she's positive. She's got the evidence to prove it. What's that? A murder weapon. Blood stains all over. 4:45pm Ben and I got in the car and drove out to the home of Mr. And Mrs. Butler, where we found the missing woman's sister waiting for us on the front stairs. She told us she'd been doing some kind of checking of her own through the house that afternoon. In going over the attic, she said she'd found a claw hammer hidden under a loose board in the attic floor. She said the hammer was covered with what appeared to be dry blood stains. She took us inside, up the stairs to the attic.

A (19:32)

Let's give it a try. The following night, a few minutes before 8 o', clock, Ben and I got James Butler away from his house on the pretext of taking him downtown for further interrogation. We delayed long enough to make sure that Ruth Daley, the sister of the missing woman, had plenty of time to get into the house, change her clothes, and take her place in the upstairs room with her sister's pet Siamese cat. Then we started back for the house. We'd made arrangements to have Brian and Lopez from Homicide standing by, concealed in the immediate vicinity of the house in case they were needed. 1105pm While we drove him back toward his home. Butler was talkative, but not too relaxed, was the same line we don't heard before. How tough he could be when he wanted to. The same hints that he was an undiscovered killer, one of the more talented professionals in the deadly circles of the underworld. I came from Illinois originally. Cicero. You guys know how it is back there. You have to stay right up on your toes. Yeah. How long you been out here? Now, brother, you expect me to tell you that I'm wise. The way you guys work, you're not gonna get me on questions like that one, understand? You do quite a bit of reading, Jim. You come across anything good lately? Nah, nothing lightly. All the good books, they've already been written. Edgar Allan Poe, Stevenson, De Moupasant, Gogo. They know how to tell a good murder story. These new guys are a waste of time. Reading, that's all. Reading, that's what I like to do. Not that modern junk. Only the best. You take some of Poe and Stevenson for instance, I know those guys. Sure, I know their stuff well enough to tell you I got whole pages memorized. How'd you like to hear some? Stevenson, maybe. All right, go ahead. I have to belie my nature. All men do. All men are better than this disguise that grows about and stifles them. You see? Each dragged away by life like one whom bravos have seized and muffled in a cloak. If they had their own control, if you could see their faces, they would be altogether different. They would shine out for heroes and for saints. I am worse than most. Myself is more overlaid. My excuse is known to me and to God. But had I the time, I could disclose myself. That's out of Stevenson. Pretty smart fella, huh? Yeah, sure is. You got a pretty good memory. I read those books all the time. Nothing better. This is the house, all right? Yeah, that's right. Well, maybe I'll see you later, huh? Thanks for the ride. Well, I tell you, we'd like to come in the house with you, if you don't mind, Butler. One or two things you'd like to check over, if that's all right with you. It's all right. Sure. Guess you ought to know by this time, huh? Nothing I'd hide in that house that you'd ever want to find. Come on, let's go. Sure dark out. Isn't it? A little bit chilly? Yeah. What do you want to check over in the house? Always one or two things. Just routine, Jim. We won't keep you long. Guess I ought to be a little burned at you cops by now, huh? Getting all this rousting. How about laying off pretty soon? Maybe I am getting a little burned. You can prove something on old Jimmy Butler. Prove it. If you can't do it, let him alone. We're just tying up a few loose ends here, Jim. There's nothing to get excited about. What's the matter? Forget your front door key? I got it. My business. You learn not to forget anything. Can't afford to forget. Yeah, it's quite a big place you got, Butler. You stay here all by yourself. That's the way I like it. By myself. You want to look at anything, you can look now. When you're through, I got some bourbon in the cellar. I keep a big booze cellar, you know. All first rate stuff. What's the matter? Oh, nothing, Jim. Thought I heard a cat someplace. Did you? No cats in this house. What do you mean you heard a cat? I hate the lousy things. I wouldn't have one. Didn't you tell Us? Once your wife had a cat. I think it was you. You didn't like it much, did you? Killed the lousy thing. Got an axe and killed it. Dumb wife of mine used to drive me crazy with the cat. Hair all over the place. You know how it is. Got an axe and killed it. Mm. Yeah, there it is. I thought I heard it. Guess you got another one now, Butler. We'll get rid of that thing. I'll find him and get rid of him right now. Upstairs. I suppose the house makes you think of your wife quite a bit, doesn't it, Jim? What? Well, I mean, you spent so much time in it together, you and Bernice. He's got quite a few memories for you, I guess, huh? Find that thing if it takes all night. I'll get the axe and I'll find the thing. It's up here, all right. Maybe down the hall there. Bernice's room. She had the cat. What's it doing here? There's no reason for it. Could have wandered back in. Can we get more light in this hallway? I can't see anything. Cat could be anywhere. What's it doing here alone? The cat was always with Bernice. Never left. It sounds to me like it's just around here. Maybe through that door there. You think it's Bernice's room? I killed a lousy cat. He couldn't be in there. Well, maybe it's just a cat out in the streets now. Out in the side alley, maybe, huh? Probably not even in the house. Take a look in the room here. No. No, it ain't real. She's not there. She's not there.

A (25:03)

Come on, Ben. Downstairs? Yeah. I tried to grab him. Tried to. He broke Away. Yeah. Lopez. Lope. Here's you over here. Did you see it? Lope? Yeah. Good drop from the window. He came fast. Yeah. Not too pretty, huh? Must be something, huh? How about getting a doctor? Yeah. He lost the doctors when he hit that sidewalk. Only one thing left. I know. Yeah. Call a priest. In his suicide leap from the top story of his house, James Butler died instantly on the pavement below. Afterwards, when the reports were made out and the deputy coroner removed the body, a special detail of men was sent out to helped probe the grounds around the Butler home and also the ground directly beneath the house. The search was thorough. The ground was dug up foot by foot. We found nothing. Butler's last admission before his death that he killed his wife and buried her in the grounds adjoining the house seemed to be as empty and worthless as some of the other stories that he told us. The painstaking search for the body of James Butler's wife went on. We found nothing. Alive or dead. There was still no trace of her. Butler's friends and relatives held a modest funeral for him. And he was buried in a small cemetery south of the city. In missing persons bureau there were still no leads on the case of Bernice Butler. It was still open. Summer finally got to an end. The fall season came and went. And then Christmas and the holidays and then back into January and February. On a rainy morning early in March, almost a year to the very day when the case started, we got a communication from San Francisco. It had come to the notice of the police through the county health department. In regard to your APB of June so and so last year, this is to inform you that Mrs. Bernie Sputler has been a patient in the Tubercula Ward County Hospital, San Francisco since June 16th of last year. Apparently her case was considered critical from the day she was admitted to the hospital last Thursday, she succumbed to the illness. Identification was established. Next of kin notified, but no one claimed the body. She was buried at county expense. I trust this may aid you in establishing facts pertinent to her disappearance on her. Well, how about that? It doesn't figure, does it? Sooner or later you get them all. How would you figure out that night we had butter at the house? You mean we had his sister in law in there and he thought he saw his wife? Oh, who knows? Suppose he really had himself talked into when he thought he committed 100% murder? Yes. He thought about it long enough actually convinced himself. Must have worked out something like that inside his mind. Imagine he lived right through it. Figured he really killed her when it came for the punishment. He's ready to buy that there wasn't any way out. So he jumped. Mixed up. Killer.