192:. William Clothier and William Faris were the producers. Lord worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as the organization provided photographs and data about the criminals that they most wanted to apprehend. Contents of episodes were gathered from sources that included friends and relatives of criminals, members of their gangs, and the perpetrators themselves.
152:. Content of episodes was factually based and included interviews with professionals in law enforcement. Lord narrated the episodes, which used a "semi-documentary style" to dramatize actual cases taken from files of law-enforcement agencies. Viewers saw "the criminal in action, his problems, his psychology, his fears."
155:
At the beginning of each episode, viewers saw a gun pointing at the camera and prisoners in a prison yard, and they heard police sirens and machine guns firing. Each episode ended with the display of a photograph of one of the most-wanted criminals in the United States at that time. Viewers who could
251:
reported in July 1954 that that eight episodes had apparently been made and that
General Teleradio had acquired four additional unaired episodes from Lord. Lord continued to "handle the production reins" on the new series.
129:
is an
American crime anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC from March 20, 1952, until December 25, 1952. It was cancelled even though it had the eighth-highest rating of that season's TV shows.
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is nothing more than an effort to attract an audience by dramatizing murder, robbery, brutality, and other less than commendable acts." He related his view of the show to an editorial in
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bought the "Gangbusters" trademark from Lord, and in the summer of 1954 it began promoting a new first-run series to potential national advertisers. The trade publication
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that addressed "the adverse medical and psychological implications" contained in many TV crime dramas." To illustrate his point, Panitt cited one episode of
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that he felt contained excessive emphasis on violence, while the work of the police "was an extremely minor element in the story."
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was never intended to be a full-time TV series, but merely a stopgap provided by the sponsor to fill in the weeks when
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was filmed and was broadcast on
Thursdays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time, alternating weekly with
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became "probably the highest-rated program ever to be canceled in the history of television."
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The
Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific
235:, that series included 17 episodes from the broadcast series and nine episodes filmed after
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Total
Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present
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wasn't on." The alternate-week schedule provided time to make enough episodes of
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The
Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
269:
The
Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present
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was taken off the network. The NBC Film
Division handled the syndication.
347:(4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 313.
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From Radio to
Television: Programs That Made the Transition, 1929-2021
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Two feature films were made by re-editing episodes of the series.
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provide information about that criminal were asked to contact the
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to be shown every week. Brooks and Marsh wrote in their book
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Encyclopedia of
Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed
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The Radio Burglar: Thief Turned Cop Killer in 1920s Queens
271:, "The reason for the cancellation appears to be that
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658:"Big Advertisers Get Sales Pitch on 'Gangbusters'"
377:. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 150.
532:"So Crime Doesn't Pay? Just Look at Gangbusters"
455:"Criminals Dislike Clue Portion of Gangbusters"
316:The Journal of the American Medical Association
171:included a three-part series about bank robber
422:. Random House Publishing Group. p. 516.
416:Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009).
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723:1950s American crime drama television series
718:1950s American anthology television series
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16:American TV crime anthology series (1952)
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287:had a rating of 42 in the fall of 1952,
713:1952 American television series endings
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708:1952 American television series debuts
530:Panitt, Merrill (September 11, 1952).
371:Bianculli, David (September 5, 2017).
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620:Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014).
489:Aquino, John T. (September 6, 2022).
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263:was cancelled to clear the way for
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453:Danson, Tom E. (April 10, 1952).
243:General Teleradio's Film Division
567:. February 27, 1954. p. 12
495:. McFarland. pp. 161–162.
1:
592:. McFarland. pp. 87–88.
225:were released with the title
664:. July 10, 1954. p. 12
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626:. McFarland. p. 378.
536:The Philadelphia Inquirer
306:The Philadelphia Inquirer
113:
303:Merrill Panitt wrote in
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283:to go weekly. Although
138:Like the radio program
728:NBC television dramas
459:Martinez News-Gazette
343:McNeil, Alex (1996).
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160:, local police, or
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599:978-1-4766-8836-7
502:978-1-4766-4757-9
429:978-0-307-48320-1
384:978-1-101-91132-7
299:Critical response
199:starred in both:
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39:Presented by
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461:. p. 9
321:Gangbusters
311:Gangbusters
293:Gangbusters
285:Gangbusters
273:Gangbusters
261:Gangbusters
237:Gangbusters
223:Gangbusters
219:syndication
213:Syndication
184:Gangbusters
169:Gangbusters
162:Gangbusters
146:Gangbusters
126:Gangbusters
23:Gangbusters
702:Categories
327:References
179:Production
101:1952-12-25
91:1952-03-20
47:Production
29:Created by
662:Billboard
565:Billboard
248:Billboard
144:, the TV
52:Producers
228:Captured
209:(1957).
87:March 20
289:Dragnet
281:Dragnet
277:Dragnet
265:Dragnet
189:Dragnet
109:Related
99: (
95: –
89: (
84:Release
74:Network
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134:Format
693:IMDb
670:2023
641:2023
628:ISBN
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544:2023
510:2023
497:ISBN
467:2023
437:2023
424:ISBN
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379:ISBN
349:ISBN
217:For
691:at
309:, "
158:FBI
78:NBC
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