On This Day, August 22: Horatio Hornblower and Nevil Shute
Also featured: Harry Nile.
August 22 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for 6 historical broadcasts transmitting on August 22 across British and American dramatic broadcasting history (1959–1999):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Ware Case (Starring Michael Denison & Dulcie Gray)" | BBC Home Service 1959-08-22 8:30 PM |
Non-commercial British Broadcasting Corp. |
Michael Denison (Sir Gerald Loddon), Dulcie Gray, Derek Blomfield, Brewster Mason | George Pleydell Bancroft (Playwright), Cynthia Pughe (Adapter), Archie Campbell (Director) | ["Drama", "Legal", "Mystery", "Theatre"] |
Eminent barrister Sir Gerald Loddon defends his charming, aristocratic brother-in-law Sir Hubert Ware at the Old Bailey against charges of drowning his wealthy young brother-in-law, securing an acquittal before an agonizing private confession shatters the family. |
| "Trustee from the Toolroom (by Nevil Shute, Starring Cyril Shaps)" | BBC Home Service 1964-08-22 8:30 PM |
Non-commercial British Broadcasting Corp. |
Cyril Shaps (Keith Stewart), Anthony Jacobs, Ralph Truman, Gudrun Ure | Nevil Shute (Author), Stephen Grenfell (Adapter), John Gibson (Director) | ["Drama", "Adventure", "Maritime", "Literature"] |
Mild-mannered model engineer Keith Stewart embarks on an extraordinary journey from London to a remote Polynesian coral reef to restore twenty-six thousand pounds in miniature diamonds embedded in a sunken yacht for his orphaned niece. |
| "Hornblower and the Crisis (by C.S. Forester, Starring Ray Brooks & Patrick Troughton)" | BBC Radio 4 1970-08-22 8:30 PM |
Non-commercial British Broadcasting Corp. |
Ray Brooks (Horatio Hornblower), Patrick Troughton (Meadows), Anthony Jackson | C.S. Forester (Author), John Keir Cross (Adapter), Brian Miller (Director) | ["Drama", "Historical", "Adventure", "Maritime"] |
During the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Horatio Hornblower is temporarily relieved of his command of the sloop Hotspur to undertake a covert intelligence mission for the British Admiralty, delivering forged French naval orders to mislead Admiral Villeneuve's fleet before Trafalgar. |
| "Goodbye to an Old Friend (by Brian Freemantle, Starring John Woodvine & Kenneth Cranham)" | BBC Radio 4 1981-08-22 8:30 PM |
Non-commercial British Broadcasting Corp. |
John Woodvine (Chris McCreedy), Kenneth Cranham (Viktor), Sean Arnold | Brian Freemantle (Author), David Buck (Adapter), Christopher Venning (Director) | ["Espionage", "Thriller", "Cold War", "Drama"] |
Elite British intelligence interrogator Chris McCreedy is tasked with debriefing an extraordinarily high-ranking Soviet aerospace defector in a remote countryside safe house, suspecting that the defector's valuable scientific revelations are a plant designed to compromise Western satellite defenses. |
| "Unto the Grave (Starring Robert Beatty & Michael Shannon)" | BBC Radio 4 1987-08-22 7:45 PM |
Non-commercial British Broadcasting Corp. |
Robert Beatty (Ebenezer Jordan), Michael Shannon (Jesse), Elizabeth Bell | Arthur Kelly (Writer), Jane Morgan (Producer & Director) | ["Drama", "Western", "Family", "Historical"] |
An intense generational drama set on the harsh Canadian prairie frontier where an unyielding pioneer patriarch's obsession with land ownership drives his sons to rebellion, culminating in a tragic boundary dispute with neighboring homesteaders. |
| "The Adventures of Harry Nile: Crisis at Amazon House" | Imagination Theatre 1999-08-22 (Syndicated) |
National Syndication | Phil Harper (Harry Nile), Pat French (Murphy), John Gilbert | Jim French (Writer & Director), Terry Rose (Music) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Noir", "Anthology"] |
Seattle private investigator Harry Nile uncovers a treacherous extortion scheme inside Amazon House, an upscale women's residential club where a wealthy boarder's mysterious death is revealed to be premeditated poison rather than natural heart failure. |