DECOY

Details

• Release Year: 1957
• Genre: Crime, Drama
• Plot: A GROUND-BREAKING police drama...; - FIRST to shoot on location in NYC; - FIRST to feature a policewoman in the lead role; - One of the FIRST to tackle real-life controversial subjects; ; Based on a variety of factual cases tackling controversial subjects, the Decoy series was a significant marker in television history, undeniably ahead of its time. Initially aired on October 14,1957, it was the first show to film on location in New York City and the first to feature a policewoman as its main character. The series also had high production value in terms of its film noir look and fully developed characters. The talented and stunning Beverly Garland steals the show as the no-nonsense and uncompromising female crime fighter, Casey Jones, sharing the screen with a variety of up-and-coming talent such as Peter Falk, Larry Hagman, Martin Balsam, and Suzanne Pleshette.; ; The stories are presented in a style much like the popular TV police drama series, Dragnet, but from a more compassionate point of view. Casey Jones narrates and, at the end of every episode, breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience, often sharing how the case affected her. She does not have a regular partner and is assigned to a different department every week whether in uniform, undercover, or as the officer in charge. Working on any type of crime and in any area of the city, she is respected by her fellow male officers who appear to accept a policewoman as standard.; ; In its all-too-brief run, Decoy contained an assortment of routine sensibility as well as captivating psychological drama that directly influenced later crime drama shows like Police Woman (1974), and would remain an archetype for crime drama shows that followed decades later.; ; Decoy was (and still is) dedicated to the NYC Bureau of Policewomen / Policewoman's Endowment Association.
• Cast: Beverly Garland; Frank Campanella; Joseph Sullivan; Lois Nettleton; John Kellogg; Simon Oakland; Barbara Barrie; Zohra Lampert; Ed Bryce; Curt Conway; Lee Bergere; Ed Holmes; Charles Mendick; Mary Michael; Alfred Hinckley; John Newton; Matt Crowley; Phyllis Newman; John McLiam; Ludwig Donath; Arch Johnson; Frank Sutton; Louis Guss; Lou Polan; Pat Englund; Don Hastings; Joanne Linville; Kay Medford; Frank Overton; Lenka Peterson; Mason Adams; Martin Balsam; Lonny Chapman; Whitfield Connor; Richard Davalos; Albert Dekker; Betty Lou Holland; Harold Huber; Mike Kellin; Barbara Lord; Gloria Marlowe; Suzanne Pleshette; Raymond Reinhardt; Joshua Shelley; Frank Silvera; Michael Tolan; John Connell; Les Damon; Peggy Feury; Mary James; Al Lewis; Michael Strong; Rita Vale; Edith Atwater; Arthur Batanides; Donald Briggs; Clifford David; Peter Falk; Joan Harvey; Anne Hegira; Molly McCarthy; Tomas Milian; Ellen Parker; Tom Pedi; Joe Silver; Lilia Skala; Edgar Stehli; Martin Wolfson; Colleen Dewhurst; Bruce Gordon; George Mitchell; James Mitchell; Barbara Myers; Dorothy Sands; Bill Zuckert; Edward Asner; Dario Barrie; Fran Carlon; John Cassavetes; Pug Flanagan; Bert Freed; Larry Hagman; Muriel Kirkland; Jimmy Little; Ruth McDevitt; Len Wayland; Howard Wierum; Henry Beckman; Betty Garde; Sam Gray; John McGovern; Bill Quinn; Jane Rose; Mel Ruick; Richard Ward; Elaine Aiken; David Bauer; Miriam Colon; William Hickey; Paul Huber; Frank Marth; Tom Noel; James O'Rear; Norman Rose; Fred Sadoff; Milton Selzer; Norman Shelly; Ralph Stantley; Philip Sterling; Joseph Bernard; Leta Bonynge; Claire Edmonds; Bobby Heller; Linda March; George McCoy; Anna Minot; Anita Stober; Agnes Young; Edward Claymore; Bruce Evans; Lawrence Fletcher; Clement Fowler; Ellen Madison; Eleanor Phelps; Amelia Romano; Paula Trueman; Betty Walker; William Woodson; Al Hinkley; Steve Pluta; Jean Alexander; Martin Andrews; Harry Bergman; Philip Faversham; Norma Frances; Charles Rae King; James McMahon; Augusta Merighi; Don Saroyan; Joseph Campanella; Harry Davis; Nita De Soto; Paul Eilers; Henry Evans; Arny Freeman; Leslie Barrett; Joseph Roman; Ludmila Toretzka; James Bender; Martin E. Brooks; Robert Goodier; Clifton James; Virginia Kaye; Diane Ladd; Madeleine Sherwood; George L. Smith; Henry Vehez; Richard Abbott; Bob Carraway; Lewis Charles; Irene Dailey; Danny Dennis; Timmy Everett; Mary Finney; Chris Gampel; Vincent Gardenia; Robie Grant; Bill Hayes; Harry Holsten; Bernard Kates; Adelaide Klein; Will Kuluva; Vilma Kurer; Connie Lembeck; Bernard Lenrow; Loretta Leversee; Morton Lighter; Frank Maxwell; Robert McQueeney; Martin Newman; Leo Penn; Lin Pierson; Joanna Roos; Evelyn Russell; Arthur Ryder; Rebecca Sand; Steven Saunders; Stefan Schnabel; Fred J. Scollay; Richard Silvera; Leonard Stone; Elliott Sullivan; William Thourlby; Sy Travers; Lois Wheeler; Sandra Whiteside; Teddy Sills; Stuart Rosenberg; David Alexander; Michael B. Gordon; Don Medford; Arthur H. Singer; Marc Daniels; Lillian Andrews; Nicholas E. Baehr; Cy Chermak; Jerome Coopersmith; Don Ettlinger; Frances Frankel; Steven Gardner; Abram S. Ginnes; Mel Goldberg; Saul Levitt; Leon Tokatyan
• Director: Teddy Sills
• Runtime: 16:54
• Company: Official Films Television, Film Chest
• Media Format: Series