The Lineup (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Lineup is an American police drama
which aired on CBS radio
from 1950 to 1953 and on CBS television
from 1954 to 1960, possibly in response to NBC's
hit Dragnet
.
The radio version depicted the investigations of Lieutenant
Ben Guthrie and Sergeant
Matt Grebb, detective
s in the police force
of an unnamed "great American city." Bill Johnstone, one of several actors to play The Shadow
on radio, portrayed Guthrie, while Grebb was played by Wally Maher.
The television version was set specifically in San Francisco and was produced with the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department
, which received a credit at the close of each episode. It starred Warner Anderson
as Guthrie and Tom Tully
as Grebb, who was now an inspector
instead of a sergeant because at the time the series was made there was no such rank as sergeant in the Bureau of Inspectors, SFPD's investigative division, and a full inspector was the closest equivalent to the generic detective sergeant the character had been on radio. The TV version, a CBS Television Production, was filmed on location, using Desilu's production facilities. In the final season, the show expanded to an hour, and the Grebb character was replaced by a number of younger officers.
Syndicated
reruns of the series were broadcast under the title San Francisco Beat.
Guest stars:
The film The Lineup
, based on the series, was released in 1958 by Columbia Pictures
, with Eli Wallach
in the starring role. It was directed by Don Siegel
, who had also directed "The Paisley Gang", pilot episode of the television series.
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
which aired on CBS radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
from 1950 to 1953 and on CBS television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
from 1954 to 1960, possibly in response to NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
hit Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
.
The radio version depicted the investigations of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Ben Guthrie and Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Matt Grebb, detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s in the police force
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
of an unnamed "great American city." Bill Johnstone, one of several actors to play The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
on radio, portrayed Guthrie, while Grebb was played by Wally Maher.
The television version was set specifically in San Francisco and was produced with the cooperation of the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
, which received a credit at the close of each episode. It starred Warner Anderson
Warner Anderson
Warner Anderson was an American actor. He had a small part in a film in 1915. He had supporting parts in several films through the years....
as Guthrie and Tom Tully
Tom Tully
Tom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
as Grebb, who was now an inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
instead of a sergeant because at the time the series was made there was no such rank as sergeant in the Bureau of Inspectors, SFPD's investigative division, and a full inspector was the closest equivalent to the generic detective sergeant the character had been on radio. The TV version, a CBS Television Production, was filmed on location, using Desilu's production facilities. In the final season, the show expanded to an hour, and the Grebb character was replaced by a number of younger officers.
Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
reruns of the series were broadcast under the title San Francisco Beat.
Guest stars:
- Walter CoyWalter CoyWalter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...
appeared as an actor in "The Murdered Blonde Case" (May 8, 1959). - Russ ConwayRuss Conway (actor)Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...
appeared in "The Robert Avery Case" (1957) and "The Missing Cargo Case" (1958). - Ron HagerthyRon HagerthyRonald F. "Ron" Hagerthy is a former American actor known primarily for his guest-starring and supporting roles on television westerns. In 1952, he portrayed Clipper King in the modern western series, Sky King, with Kirby Grant in the title role of Clipper's uncle, Schuyler "Sky" King, pilot of...
appeared in both "The Toy Tiger Case" and then as John Oakhurst in "The Security Officer Case" (1957). - Joyce MeadowsJoyce MeadowsJoyce Meadows is a Canadian-American actress. From 1960-1961, she co-starred as Stacy in the syndicated western series Two Faces West with Charles Bateman and Francis De Sales...
as Paula Adams in "The Boylston Billing Case" (1959)
The film The Lineup
The Lineup (film)
The Lineup is a 1958 American film version of the police procedural series that ran on CBS radio from 1950 through 1953 and on CBS television from 1954 through 1960, directed by Don Siegel...
, based on the series, was released in 1958 by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, with Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
in the starring role. It was directed by Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
, who had also directed "The Paisley Gang", pilot episode of the television series.