It was 90 years ago today, on January 15, 1936, that the radio show Gang Busters debuted on CBS. Gang Busters was an anthology series that dramatized real-life police histories based on files from police departments across the country. It was known for its opening, which featured the sound of a machine gun, a police siren, the sound of convicts marching, and a police radio. It gave rise to the phrase, "come on like Gang Busters," which is still in use to this day. Gang Busters proved to be phenomenally popular and would expand into media beyond radio. It would have a lasting impact as one of the earliest examples of the true crime genre.
The origins of Gang Busters go back to an earlier radio show titled G-Men. Both shows were created by Phillips H. Lord, who had earlier created Sunday Evening at Seth Parker's, what might be described today as a faith-based program. It was after that show ended that Phillips H. Lord created G-Men, which largely owed its existence to the 1935 movie of the same name starring James Cagney. G Men (1935) was released in the spring of 1935 and proved to be a smash hit. The success of G Men, as well as the popularity of the true crime genre in general at the time, convinced Phillips H. Lord that a radio show based on real-life F.B.I. cases could be successful.
G-Men proved to be a somewhat difficult experience for Phillips H. Lord. J. Edgar Hoover did not particularly approve of a radio show based on F.B.I. cases. Fortunately the United States Attorney General of the time, Homer Cummings did like the idea of the program and as a result Phillips H. Lord obtained access to the F.B.I's files. Unfortunate for Mr. Lord, G-Men would still have to produced with the cooperation of J. Edgar Hoover, who insisted that only closed cased be used for the show and that every single script be approved by him or another high ranking F.B.I official. J. Edgar Hoover also insisted that the F.B.I. agents on the show conform to his vision of G-men, who were invariably strong, educated, intelligent, and free of any eccentricities who pretty much simply cogs in the machine that was the F.B.I. This was completely at odds with what Phillips H. Lord wanted, which was a radio show filled with excitement. Although the show was popular, it was because of the clashes between Phillips H. Lord and J. Edgar Hoover that G-Men ran only one season on NBC Blue, from July 20, 1935 to October 12, 1935.
G.Men would return after a fashion as Gang Busters. Gang Busters was in some respects the same show as G-Men, except that it focused on local law enforcement across the country for the most part instead of the F.B.I. In other words, Phillips H. Lord would not have to deal with J. Edgar Hoover. To lend more credibility to Gang Busters, Phillips H. Lord had former head of the New Jersey State Police Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. introduce the show. Later New York City police commissioner Lewis Joseph Valentine would handle the introductions.
Not only would Gang Busters feature well-known law enforcement officials introducing the show, but it also featured well-known radio stars, some of who would go onto success in other media. Among them were Joan Banks and her husband Frank Lovejoy, Art Carney, Larry Haines, and Richard Widmark.
As mentioned earlier, the success of Gang Busters led to the phrase "come on like Gang Busters" entering the English language. It also lead to Gang Busters being adapted to other media, In 1942, Universal produced 13 chapter movie serial, Gangbusters, starring Kent Taylor, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan, and Robert Armstrong. Among the most successful adaptations of Gang Busters to another medium was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1947 to 1959 for 67 issues.
Like many radio shows, Gang Busters would make the transition to television, although it did so because of another radio show, Dragnet. When Dragnet first came to television, however, its creator and producer Jack Webb had difficulty producing a half hour episode each week. NBC needed a show to air during the weeks that they did not have episodes of Dragnet. As a result Gang Busters came to television as a temporary show that would alternate weeks with Dragnet until Jack Webb could begin producing weekly episodes. The television version of Gang Busters debuted on March 20, 1950, on NBC, and proved to be a hit. It ranked no. 14 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1951-1952 season. For the 1952-1953 season, it actually ranked no. 8. Unfortunately for the producers of Gang Busters, by 1952 Jack Webb was able to provide NBC with a new episode of Dragnet every week. NBC then cancelled Gang Busters despite the fact that it was the no. 8 show for the season.
For syndication, the television version of Gang Busters was re-titled Captured and nine new episodes were added to the seventeen episodes broadcast on NBC. Episodes of the show were also edited, along with new footage, into two feature films: Gang Busters (1955) and Guns Don't Argue (1957).
Gang Busters ultimately had a long run on radio, although it did change networks from time to time. It aired on CBS until 1940, at which point it moved to the NBC Blue Network, its first episode airing there on October 11, 1940. It moved back to CBS on January 8, 1948. It was in 1955 that it moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System with its final season starting there on October 5, 1955. In the end, it ran until November 27, 1957 At twenty one years, it was one of the longest running, broadcast network radio shows.
Gang Busters would have a lasting impact beyond a still common phrase in English. It was one of the earliest true crime shows in any medium, and would pave the way for other, similar radio shows. Border Patrol, Call the Police, Dragnet The Black Museum, and yet others owe something to Gang Busters. Perhaps Calling All Cars, which debuted in 1933 and dramatized Los Angeles Police Department cases, had as much impact on Gang Busters. Gang Busters' impact would even be felt on television, and can be seen in shows from Dragnet to America's Most Wanted. It is still seen today in the form of true crime podcasts and shows like Dateline NBC. Chances seem good that Gang Busters will still have an impact 90 years from now.
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