Gangbusters

Gangbusters was an American dramatic radio program heralded as “the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories.” It premiered on July 20th, 1935, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957.

The series was created by Phillips H. Lord, who was already in radio and was looking for a new show concept. He hit upon the idea of doing a crime show, like the gangster films of the early 1930s, but making it about real criminals and cops and the FBI. Lord went to Washington and got the tacit approval of J. Edgar Hoover himself to develop a show that used only closed cases and had a solid law-enforcement slant.

The show began on NBC as “The G-Men,” with Chevrolet as the sponsor. Changing the name to Gangbusters, the show came on strong right from the start and was a radio sensation. The pace was fast, the action was real and sometimes violent, and the crimes and criminals were dramatized based on what was written about in the newspapers.

The Stars

Gangbusters often featured prominent names in radio broadcasting, many of whom also starred in films and television.

Key Dates

• July 20th until October 12th, 1935 heard as G-Men, Chevrolet
• January 15th, 1936 - June 15th, 1940 on CBS, sponsors included Colgate Palmolive and Cue Magazine.
• From October 11, 1940 to December 25, 1948, it was heard on the Blue Network, with various sponsors that included Sloan’s Liniment, Waterman pens and Tide.
• Returning to CBS on January 8, 1949, it ran until June 25, 1955, sponsored by Grape-Nuts and Wrigley’s chewing gum.
• The final series was on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 5, 1955 to November 27, 1957.

Other Information

The popularity of the radio show prompted a spin-off comic book published by DC Comics, which ran for 67 issues between 1947 and 1958.

Film and television versions were also produced. A very popular movie serial was made in 1942, starring Robert Paige, Jayne Hazard, and Ralph Forbes.

NBC aired a TV version from March 20, 1952 to Oct. 23, 1952, hosted by Walter Greaza. The series did well in the ratings, finishing at #14 in the 1951–1952 season and at #8 in 1952–1953. It went off the air because it alternated weekly with Dragnet, and when that series could produce enough episodes weekly, NBC had no more use for Gangbusters as a stop-gap show.

Episodes of the TV show were later reedited into two feature films, Gangbusters (1955, with Richard Denning as Public Enemy No. 4) and Guns Don’t Argue (1957, with Denning as Rocco Trapani).

The radio series was also adapted for Big Little Books and a 1942 movie serial. The show’s opening sound effects, which included a shrill police whistle, convicts marching in formation, police siren wailing, machine guns firing, and tires squealing, became so well-known that the phrase “came on like Gangbusters” entered the popular lexicon.

To lend an extra air of authenticity to the presentation, Lord had former New Jersey State Police Superintendent Norman Schwarzkopf (the father of General Norman Schwarzkopf, leader of the coalition forces in the 1990–1991 Gulf War) give a short talk to lead into the actual dramatization. After about 1945, various crime-busting officials replaced Schwarzkopf as the authoritative opening speaker.

Gangbusters was a pioneering radio series that detailed the activities of the nation’s most notorious crime figures of the day. It was unique in that at the end of every episode, the announcer would inform listeners to call the local police or "Gangbusters" for information on wanted criminals still on the loose. In that respect, it was definitely a precursor of today’s reality shows like “America’s Most Wanted.”

Despite its high ratings, NBC eventually cancelled the TV version in favor of airing Dragnet weekly. The network obviously saw Gangbusters as a stop-gap filler for the equally successful Dragnet during its early years as a bi-weekly show. When Jack Webb filmed enough episodes for a weekly slot, "Gangbusters," one of the highest rated series of the 1952 season, had to go.