Over the years, I've seen Virginia Gregg playing tons of characters on the "Dragnet" series from the 1960s. Now that I am watching some of the original ones from the early 1950s, I was not surprised to see Miss Gregg (after all, Jack Webb seemed to put her in everything) but seeing her looking so young was a bit of a surprise! Marjorie Lewis (Gregg) contacted the police. She was at the bus station and a young mother gave her the baby to watch briefly. However, the mother did not return and Ms. Lewis was worried. The rest of the show is all about the police's efforts to locate the child as well as dealing with the aftereffects of the case.
This episode was a first for me. While I love "Dragnet" and really love Joe Friday, I must admit that often the shows were rather square and the only emotions you generally felt while watching was revulsion at the criminals. "The Big Show", however, is very different. It is exceptionally well acted and may just have you in tears. I couldn't believe that a "Dragnet" episode would leave me all teary-eyed, but this one did...and Miss Gregg was wonderful.