Highway Patrol
Escaped Mental Patient
TV Flash files “Escaped Mental Patient” as hour 52 of 156 in the TV Flash guide — Highway Patrol (1955–1959) on Syndication, season 2, episode 13, aired 1956-12-31, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E13: listed hour 52 of 156 in the Highway Patrol guide, hour 13 of 39 in season 2. It aired 1956-12-31 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Stolen Car Ring” (S02E12). Next is “Armored Car” (S02E14).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Escaped Mental Patient sit in the Highway Patrol guide?
S02E13 is listed hour 52 of 156 — hour 13 of 39 in season 2, season 2 episode 13.
When did Highway Patrol S02E13 air?
Escaped Mental Patient aired 1956-12-31 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Crawford barking ten-four over freeway crime. Semi-documentary dispatch is the form; you have the show in one chase.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Highway Patrol proved first-run syndication could own the culture: Broderick Crawford's bark, endless freeways, and ten-four as national grammar. Watch it in 2026 as the radio-dispatch crime show that taught America cop-talk — gravel voice, squad cars, and a non-network hit that still sounds like a scanner.
Ten-four, and the living room answers. First-run syndication, 1955–1959, Ziv Television, 156 episodes of Chief Dan Mathews leading California Highway Patrol officers against hijackers, killers, and road crime in semi-documentary bark. Broderick Crawford's gravel, William Boyett's sergeant, endless freeways, radio codes as national grammar. Highway Patrol did not need a network logo to own the night. It sounded like a scanner you could not turn off. On the palate: asphalt, a dispatch speaker, and a closing shout…
Filed against
- Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews
Broderick Crawford's bark made Highway Patrol a first-run syndication hit — endless freeways, ten-four as national grammar, gravel voice as the brand. Squad cars and radio-dispatch crime that taught America cop-talk without a network…
- William Boyett as Sgt. Ken Williams
William Boyett’s Sgt. Ken Williams rode Highway Patrol as ten-four infrastructure — Broderick Crawford’s bark, endless freeways, first-run syndication that owned the culture. Radio-dispatch crime that taught America cop-talk: gravel…