ABSTRACT
During the 1920s, the American public lost confidence in law enforcement officers as news of bribery and scandal involving real-life police officers became routine. The onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s exacerbated this situation, and criminals such as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, Al Capone, and George “Baby Face” Nelson were often portrayed as folk heroes. Hollywood produced films (e.g., Public Enemy with James Cagney and Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson) that presented gangsters as tragic heroes. Gang Busters, the first successful regularly scheduled detective drama on network radio, played a major role in restoring America’s confidence in law enforcement officials.
