DVD Release: Decoy

DVD Release Date: May 30, 2017
Price: DVD $11.53
Studio: Film Chest

First, the facts: the 1957-58 television show Decoy was not only the first TV series in the history of American television to explore the life of a New York City policewoman, it was also the first series to feature an actress as the star protagonist in a full-season, dramatic series.

Beverly Garland in Decoy

Decoy follows Detective Casey Jones (Beverly Garland, TV’s My Three Sons, Airport 1975) as she walks the streets of New York City, solving a new case each week. Case narratives were based on experiences told to Garland by the show’s technical director, Margaret Leonard, a former NYPD detective herself. Decoy helped to create a strong new archetype of the “female detective” character that would set the standard for years to come.

Decoy was filmed on location throughout the backdrop of 1950s New York City, with sweeping shots of the Manhattan Bridge, Beat-era Greenwich Village, Penn Station and many other iconic NYC landmarks. In addition to its on-location shots, the crime drama was unique for its time due to a documentary style of shooting; beautifully framed, noir shots; and an extremely brave approach to its gritty subject matter, with performances influenced by the Method school.

The 39-episode series (presented here on three discs) includes appearances by such stars as Ed Asner, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Suzanne Pleshette, Al Lewis, and Larry Hagman.