A couple of years ago, I was able to get a set of 5 DVDs that contained 20 of the 39 episodes of Decoy, and it was great to watch them again after so long. Back when Decoy aired in 1957-58, I was 12 and 13 years old and had something of a crush on Beverly Garland. Recently, I found an advertisement--for the first time--for a DVD set with all 39 episodes. And the price was hard to beat as well. Naturally, I ordered the set and have been enjoying watching them all over again.The picture quality is excellent, but at times the sound is a little muffled; however, all in all, it is great viewing. For anyone who enjoys the genre of Dragnet, Police Woman, etc., this is a great series that ran, sadly, for only one season. Yet, I consider it to be a classic.

....who seemed to be a lot tougher and didn't need to resort to skimpy clothes and flirty looks. By 1957 television was awash with police shows ("Dragnet", "The Line Up", "M Squad") but not one with a female star. That changed when Beverly Garland took on the role of Casey Jones the sultry undercover cop in "Decoy". Garland had appeared in a number of TV pilots most of which went on to become regular series so she was considered a "good luck charm" and was eagerly sought for the lead in "Decoy". Filmed on the streets of New York, the show was heavily promoted and praised and broke new ground with the occasional down beat ending. It was also a valuable training ground for young stage actors wanting to try their skills on TV. Director Stuart Rosenberg went on to notable success with "The Untouchables" and "The Defenders" and films such as "Cool Hand Luke" but unfortunately "Decoy" lasted only one season - the producers didn't have the money to maintain the high standard.Casey was hard boiled and relied just as much on substance as style. "To Trap a Thief" had her going undercover as the get away driver in an effort to recover $10,000 that seems to be missing from a robbery. "High Swing" - Albert Dekker stars as Otto, an elderly man who has resorted to crime to keep his wife supplied with the drugs she craves. "The Sound of Tears" - a man's murder reveals a possessive mother (Muriel Kirkland), a secret fiancée (don't you just love Susanne Pleshette) and a cute little dog. "Night Light" - Martin Balsam is a ruthless fence who is not above using his son as a pawn in smuggling jewels. "The Comeback" has a young Peter Falk giving a terrific performance as a crooked racing tout that Casey helps rehabilitate. Harold Huber, he of all the gangster punks of the 1930s, finally gets a chance to play Mr. Big in this episode.Highly Recommended.

One would call "Decoy" for what it is... a female "Dragnet", with the beguiling Beverly Garland ("My Three Sons", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King") and the city of New York filling in for Jack Webb and sunny Los Angeles. But once you get caught in its premise, it's easy to overlook other aspects of the show. Such as the fact that Ms. Garland is required, in her role as undercover policewoman Patricia "Casey" Jones, to play a different role in each of the 39 episodes filmed. In one episode, she could play an exotic dancer in a carnival, in the next, she can play an addict, and so on and so on, all in the guise of a crime fighter. Whether Angie Dickinson, as Pepper Anderson - "Police Woman", took her cues from Beverly Garland is open to debate, but it's clear to say that Ms. Garland's Casey Jones is clearly a trailblazer for other lady lawmen to follow.As for the other co-star, New York City... "Decoy" isn't the first series filmed on location in the Big Apple, nor was it the last, but it was certainly one of the most effective in terms of its film noir look and fully fleshed characters. This isn't "Naked City", but it's as close a similarity as you can get on a shoestring budget. And it does the city justice, as "Naked City" would do the next year. Check it out on DVD when you get the chance."Decoy" is a Pyramid Production in association with Official Films, Inc. with technical assistance from the Policewoman's Bureau, NYC Police Department. 39 episodes were filmed on location in 1957.

This past Christmas, I found a $3 discount DVD with four episodes of this obscure 1950s TV series. I was intrigued about a cop show featuring a female police officer dating back to the Father Knows Best and I Love Lucy era. Plus I admit I thought Beverly Garland looked cute in uniform.I was very pleasantly surprised to discover - at least based upon the 4 episodes on the DVD - that Decoy was an excellent, ahead-of-its-time show. Yes, it was very much a forerunner of Police Woman, only without the cheesiness. In fact the show felt a lot more like Dragnet - complete with Garland providing a Jack Webb-style narration. The 4 episodes all focused on women being victimized by crime, and Policewoman Casey Jones' efforts to right wrongs, often acting undercover (in one episode she becomes what is called a "honey trap" to attract a bad guy). Despite it being 1957-58, an era when women were not expected to be action heroes, Beverly Garland provides a surprising amount of action in an appealingly understated way, whether it be sneaking through a forest to snatch a hostage to freedom, or (in the DVD's most memorable moment) outdrawing a bad guy with a rifle!Casey Jones is a character who takes her work very seriously. Perhaps too seriously -- but then Joe Friday was never a bundle of laughs, either. If I had to pick a modern-day equivalent to Casey, it would have to be Mariska Harigtay's policewoman in Law and Order Special Victims Unit. The two characters have much in common. Sadly, Decoy only ran one season (and it looks as if some episodes were in cold storage for a couple of years before being aired), and while there are a few DVDs out there with episodes, the series looks set to fade into undeserved oblivion. Personally, with the popularity of such female action hero series as Alias and La Femme Nikita on TV and on DVD these days, I think a DVD release of the Decoy series would be a great move. Decoy is undeniably an historical document - but it stands up well more than 45 years later.