Almost every single episode of The Line Up opened the same way. Lieutenant Ben Guthrie, portrayed by Bill Johnstone for the show’s entire run, entered the room where Sergeant Matt Grebb (Wally Maher), then later Sergeant Pete Karger (Jack Moyles) had literally lined up a rogue’s gallery for witnesses and crime victims to view. Guthrie, often with another officer interrupting, would then visit briefly with a particular person, explaining in his own way what was about to happen. When someone identified a member of the parade before them as the person they saw or the criminal, then they were held for questioning. Almost without fail before the process was completed, Lieutenant Guthrie would be summoned away to work on something else, which usually unfolded into the case at the center of that episode.
Not every case on The Line Up was a headline grabber or high profile murder. Lieutenant Guthrie chased down his share of truly evil villains, but largely he pursued robbers, con artists, thieves, thugs, and the occasional murderer.
Guthrie and his men worked crimes in ‘a great American city’, one that was never truly given a name. Some believe that the city was intended to be San Francisco, especially since writers sometimes garnered ideas for episodes from that city’s police department. This wasn’t the case, though, as often street names, neighborhoods, and even building names were borrowed from locations in cities other than San Francisco. E. Jack Neuman, a writer contributing several episodes to the series, made a point to slip locations in from his own childhood, having grown up in Denver, Colorado. Other writers did this as well, causing this ‘great American city’ to have a neat amalgam of characteristics, including a waterfront, a ferry going to and from somewhere, and a rather spread out collection of suburbs.
Ride along with Lieutenant Ben Guthrie as he solves big city cases in twelve original broadcasts of The Line Up, Volume 3, restored to sparkling digital quality.
#99 The Pitiful Patricide Case
Tuesday, June 17, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sponsored by Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum
#100 The Cutie-Calling Culprit Case
Tuesday, June 24, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sponsored by Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum
#101 The Guided Gang Case
Tuesday, July 1, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sponsored by Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum
#103 The Twitching Twist’s .22 Tweaking Case
Tuesday, July 15, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sponsored by Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum
#104 The Drinkler Kidnapping Case
Tuesday, July 22, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#106 The Karger Cops A Clinker Case
Tuesday, August 5, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sponsored by Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum
#108 The Fresno Break Case
Wednesday, September 17, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#110 The Poker-Party Killings
Wednesday, October 1, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#111 The Teacher’s Pet
Wednesday, October 8, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#112 Bentley’s Boo Boo Case
Wednesday, October 15, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#113 The Green Cap Case
Wednesday, October 22, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
#115 The Be-Bop Bandits Bungling Bang-Bang
Wednesday, November 5, 1952 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining no commercials
