Old Time Radio: The Big Little Jesus (Dragnet, 1953)

After "The Big .22 Rifle For Christmas" had aired for four straight years, Dragnet creator Jack Webb decided to create a new Christmas drama.

In "The Big Little Jesus", a portion of the Nativity scene is stolen from a Los Angeles parish. If you've seen either television version, be it the video version of this episode, made a year later, or "The Christmas Story", from 1967, you then already know about the twist ending.

The radio version would be replayed just once, the very next year, when the video version debuted. The radio Dragnet ended in September 1955 after six years and change on the air.

Rating: A.