- Henry Wilson, a Hollywood movie director, has been killed by a falling arc light. Was it really an accident? To answer this question, Friday and Smith go Hollywood with a wonderful excuse to visit the studios. But the two men do not fail to mix business with pleasure and they will wind up solving the mystery.—Guy Bellinger
- Season 2 Episode 20 The Big Light Aired 3-26-53 Synopsis - The Big Light Aired 3-26-53 Friday, Smith are working the day-watch out of Homicide Division, the boss is Captain Lohrman, a call came, reporting an accident at one of the motion picture studios, the officers had to follow-up on the report. They enter a sound stage, asking Jack, the guard, for Gerald Adams, they find him, he is production supervisor. They view the 150# lamp, that fell on Director Bill Bradley, ultimately killing him. Adams explains the roped off accident scene, the lighting man is Dick Patterson, who they meet, escorting them to a ladder, to view the lamp's rigging. Patterson is leery of the police accusing him, the director was a friend. As Smith climbs the ladder, Patterson says he has been rigging lamps for ten years, this is the first time anything like this happened. Patterson follows Smith, then Friday up to the cat walk, where questions are asked how the lamp would be anchored, what steps are in place for everything to work. Patterson tells the officers he thinks the lamp was dropped on Bradley. Friday states the crime lab crew was called out to photograph the area. The best boy agreed with Patterson, he checked everything, as far as he was concerned, the lamp could not have fallen by itself, it had to be dropped. The only prints found on the lamp's glass were from the best boy.
Friday, Smith talk to Sam Phillips, first assistant director, about the dead man, director Bill Bradley. There were people who didn't get along with the deceased, but no one that wanted him dead. Working closely with the entire crew for days on end, eight to six, nerves get frayed, but not enough to hurt Bill. Patterson interrupts the officers to tell them of a folded message he took from Sam to give to Bradley. Patterson gave Bill the folded note, leaving the set for a few minutes, Sam went to the accident set area.
Friday, Smith look for the note Bradley had taken; the body was checked for the note back at the hospital. The coroner found nothing with that description. Laborers searched the area for the note, Friday, Smith resumed talking to Sam Phillips. Initially, Sam denies ever having a note to pass on to Bill Bradley. Sam then recalls the note, addressed to Bill on his desk in the morning, he guesses he put it in his pocket and forgot about it. He remembered the note at lunch, gave to Dick to give to Bill. Friday shows Sam evidence material from a gray-flannel slacks found by the crime lab crew on the lamp that killed Bradley, the same material Gerald Adams was wearing that morning. Friday, Smith question Gerry about his pants, one cuff has material torn from it. They ask Adams his exact whereabouts after he found the body. He explains his pattern. Friday asks for his pocket contents to be examined. He provides his wallet from his coat pocket. He tries to hide something in his hand, Friday asks to see it. Friday takes it from him, reads it. It is the note they were looking for all afternoon, as Adams makes a dash for the catwalk. He makes his way up the stairway, onto the walk, as Friday, Smith follow from below, watching Gerry moving along the catwalk. The note was summoning Bradley to the hotel set or crime scene by Adams, saying the meeting was private, he wanted to talk; obviously setting Bradley up for the light fixture to be dropped on him.
Friday tries to talk Adams down. Adams confesses to killing Bradley, saying he was no good, the picture was mine he says, Bradley wouldn't let go. Friday tells Smith, Adams wants to be a director, let him figure out the ending, we can wait for him to come down.
The suspect, Gerald Adams, was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. He was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, CA.
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