On This Day, August 24: Norman Corwin (Women of Britain) and Murrow
Also featured: Budd Schulberg.
August 24 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 24 across American network, literary debate, and transatlantic wartime history (1940–1958):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Disenchanted: Budd Schulberg Defends His Novel (Author Meets the Critics)" | ABC (WJZ) 1950-08-24 10:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Literary Debate |
John K.M. McCaffery (Mod.), Budd Schulberg, Sterling North | Martin Stone (Producer), Ted Cott, Don Lowe | ["Talk", "Interview", "Literature", "Debate", "Educational"] |
Moderator John K.M. McCaffery convenes a fiery literary cross-examination as novelist Budd Schulberg defends The Disenchanted against sharp critiques from Sterling North and Leo Cherne over the moral depiction of Hollywood and 1920s literary icons. |
| "The Payroll Hijackers (Starring Nat Polen as Assistant D.A. Edward Blaine)" | CBS (WCBS) 1958-08-24 5:05 PM EDT |
Sustaining CBS Crime Drama |
Nat Polen (Assistant D.A.), Robert Dryden, Joan Lazer | Joseph L. Greene (Writer), Oliver Barbour, Bob Dixon | ["Police", "Legal", "Procedural", "Detective", "Crime"] |
Assistant District Attorney Edward Blaine leads a grand jury investigation into a violent armored truck payroll heist, exposing collusion between an undercover plant security guard and a notorious waterfront fencing ring. |
| "Luftwaffe Raids on Southern England (Edward R. Murrow & William L. Shirer — CBS)" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-24 8:00 AM EDST |
Sustaining CBS News of the World |
Edward R. Murrow (London), William L. Shirer (Berlin) | Bob Trout (Anchor), CBS News Foreign Bureaus | ["News", "World War II", "Historical", "Journalism", "Public Affairs"] |
Anchored in New York by Bob Trout, CBS correspondents Edward R. Murrow in London and William L. Shirer in Berlin report live on massive Luftwaffe daylight bombing raids across southern English airfields and the RAF's fierce defensive dogfights during the Battle of Britain. |
| "Edward R. Murrow: This Is London on the Blackout (August 24, 1940)" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-24 6:45 PM EDST |
Sustaining Historical Broadcast |
Edward R. Murrow (London Bureau Chief) | CBS News Special Events Unit Transatlantic Transmission | ["Historical", "Documentary", "News", "World War II", "Journalism"] |
Edward R. Murrow's legendary rooftop shortwave report from central London during the nightly blackout, describing how millions of British citizens conduct daily life beneath sirens, barrage balloons, and nighttime anti-aircraft artillery. |
| "Women of Britain (Written & Directed by Norman Corwin — Music by Bernard Herrmann)" | CBS / BBC 1942-08-24 10:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining CBS/BBC Morale Docudrama |
Joseph Julian (Narrator), Norman Corwin Ensemble | Norman Corwin (Writer/Dir.), Bernard Herrmann | ["Docudrama", "World War II", "Historical", "Anthology", "Drama"] |
Norman Corwin's celebrated shortwave docudrama Women of Britain, broadcast live from London with music by Bernard Herrmann, capturing the courage and determination of British women working on assembly lines, operating munitions factories, and serving in anti-aircraft batteries during the Blitz. |
| "The Case of the Woman Who Loved Her Husband (Joseph Curtin & Alice Frost — Woodbury)" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Andrew Jergens Co. Woodbury Facial Soap |
Joseph Curtin (Jerry North), Alice Frost (Pam North) | Richard & Frances Lockridge, S. Mowry Lowe, Frank Gallop | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Crime", "Couple"] |
Sleuthing couple Jerry and Pam North investigate the poisoning murder of a wealthy Wall Street broker whose doting wife insists their marriage was idyllic, only for Pam's sharp intuition to uncover a double life funded by stolen inheritance funds. |