On This Day, August 22: The Green Hornet and Gangbusters
Also featured: Night Cap Yarns, Alec Templeton.
August 22 Day-by-Day Review Update
This report documents the deep update of 12 historical broadcasts transmitting on August 22 across the golden age of broadcasting (1939–1992). Each episode record has been cross-referenced against contemporary radio schedules, syndicated newspaper radio columns, and production trade logs:
1. August 22 Broadcast Inventory
| Title | Verified Airdate | Genres | Factual Plot Synopsis & Production Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| "A Rake-Off on the Job" | 1939-08-22 | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
Britt Reid, publisher of the Daily Sentinel, dons the mask of the Green Hornet alongside his trusted confidant Kato to expose a corrupt city building inspector demanding kickbacks from municipal contractors under threat of fabricated safety violations. Starring Al Hodge as Britt Reid. |
| "Tires Mean Trouble" | 1942-08-22 | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
The Green Hornet investigates a wartime black-market syndicate hijacking vulcanized rubber and retreaded truck tires needed for national defense transports, cornering the ringleader at a clandestine retreading plant. Starring Donovan Faust. |
| "Blabbermouth" | 1944-08-22 | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
Britt Reid and Kato track down a careless radio gossip commentator whose loose on-air speculation inadvertently tips off an underworld fence ahead of a police raid. Starring Robert Hall. |
| "After the Storm" | 1949-08-22 | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
The Green Hornet intervenes when a devastating flash flood hits the river valley and opportunistic looters disguised as emergency utility crews begin plundering evacuated residential neighborhoods. Starring Jack McCarthy. |
| "Trading Places" | 1939-08-22 | ["Drama", "Historical", "Talk"] |
A gentle late-evening narrative monologue reflecting on two lifelong friends from different social walks of life who decide to exchange their daily routines for a week, learning profound lessons about contentment and perspective. |
| "The Escaped Convict" | 1942-08-22 | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Suspense"] |
A quiet midnight yarn concerning an escaped prisoner who seeks shelter in an isolated country church, where an unexpected conversation with an elderly pastor alters the course of his life. |
| "The Case of Meppin, Winnik & Strokowski" | 1953-08-22 | ["Crime", "Detective", "Drama"] |
Phillips H. Lord presents the authentic police files detailing the manhunt for a trio of daring armed payroll bandits operating across the Midwestern industrial belt, narrated with authentic police sirens and March of Time style realism. |
| "The Case of the Highway Hijackers" | 1956-08-22 | ["Crime", "Detective", "Drama"] |
A dramatization of state police and FBI coordination tracking an interstate freight hijacking gang targeting pharmaceutical and high-value cargo shipments along the eastern seaboard. |
| "The Carlingford Chronicles: Miss Marjoribanks - Part 2" | 1992-08-22 | ["Drama", "Historical", "Romance"] |
BBC Radio 4 classic serial adaptation of Margaret Oliphant's Victorian masterpiece, dramatizing Lucilla Marjoribanks' determined efforts to reign as the social arbitress of Carlingford society while navigating local political rivalries. |
| "The Case of the Stolen Formula" | 1951-08-22 | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Drama"] |
Private investigator Richard Rogue is hired to restore stolen chemical manufacturing patents, but finds himself knocked unconscious into 'Cloud Eight' after discovering his client dead in an alleyway. |
| "Great Day - Musical Satire & Improvisations" | 1939-08-22 | ["Music", "Comedy", "Variety"] |
Blind Welsh musical virtuoso and satirist Alec Templeton performs dazzling piano improvisations on 'Great Day', clever operatic parodies, and musical sketches with guest vocalists and the studio orchestra. |
| "The Trail to Gold Creek" | 1939-08-22 | ["Western", "Adventure", "Action"] |
Deputy U.S. Marshal Lightning Jim Silver and his deputy Whitey track a gang of stagecoach bandits into the treacherous badlands of Gold Creek, relying on quick draws and frontier tracking. |