On This Day, August 24: Sergeant Preston and Rickshaw Boy
Also featured: Young Widder Brown.
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 and British BBC Home Service broadcasting history (1939–1959):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Rickshaw Boy (Part 5 — Series Finale Starring Keye Luke & Bret Morrison)" | ABC (WJZ) 1945-08-24 3:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining ABC Literary Adaptation |
Keye Luke (Xiangzi), Bret Morrison (Narrator) | Lao She (Author), Robert Newman, Marx Loeb | ["Drama", "Literature", "Historical", "Asian"] |
In the dramatic concluding chapter of Lao She's acclaimed novel, optimistic Beijing rickshaw puller Xiangzi battles relentless poverty, corrupt warlord soldiers, and harsh winters in his determined struggle to purchase his own rickshaw. |
| "The Humphries Family Conflict (Starring Florence Freeman as Ellen Brown — Bayer)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-24 4:30 PM EDT |
Sterling Drug Inc. Bayer Aspirin |
Florence Freeman (Ellen Brown), Wendy Drew, Ned Wever | Frank & Anne Hummert, Frank Gallop (Announcer) | ["Soap Opera", "Drama", "Romance", "Domestic"] |
In Simpsonville, widowed mother Ellen Brown faces agonizing heartbreak as the wealthy Humphries family attempts to intervene in her complicated courtship with Jim, threatening the happiness of her tea room business and children. |
| "The Case of the Noisy Corpse (Chapter 9 — Post's 40% Bran Flakes)" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-24 2:00 PM EWT |
General Foods Post's 40% Bran Flakes |
Ned Wever (Jeff Spencer), Louise Fitch (Penny) | Harry Ingram (Writer), Donald Peterson | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Crime"] |
In chapter nine of The Case of the Noisy Corpse, husband-and-wife sleuths Jeff and Penny Spencer search a creaky funeral home basement at midnight, dodging a shadowy prowler who is desperately trying to retrieve an incriminating coded letter. |
| "Desert Island Discs: Charles Mackerras (Roy Plomley — BBC Home Service)" | BBC Home Serv. 1959-08-24 1:10 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Cultural Feature |
Roy Plomley (Host), Charles Mackerras (Conductor) | Roy Plomley (Creator), Monica Chapman | ["Interview", "Music", "Classical", "Talk", "British"] |
Australian-born conductor Charles Mackerras joins host Roy Plomley on the mythical desert island, sharing his eight favorite classical discs (including Janáček and Mozart), a luxury telescope, and the complete orchestral scores of Handel. |
| "Portrait of Jennie (Host Herbert Marshall with Barbara Rush — Your Radio Theater)" | NBC (WNBC) 1959-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining NBC Dramatic Series |
Herbert Marshall (Host), Barbara Rush, Jeffrey Lynn | Robert Nathan (Author), Kenneth MacGregor | ["Drama", "Romance", "Fantasy", "Anthology", "Theater"] |
Host Herbert Marshall presents a radio dramatization of Robert Nathan's lyrical fantasy Portrait of Jennie, following a struggling Manhattan painter who finds artistic inspiration and supernatural love with a mysterious girl in Central Park. |
| "The Gold Cache Ambush (Starring Jay Michael as Sgt. Preston & King)" | WXYZ / Mutual 1939-08-24 7:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining Local Detroit Advertisers |
Jay Michael (Sgt. Preston), King the Wonder Dog | George W. Trendle & Fran Striker, Bob Hite | ["Western", "Adventure", "Canadian", "Action", "Police"] |
Mountie Sergeant William Preston and his wonder dog King brave a blinding Klondike blizzard to track two murderous claim jumpers who dynamited an elderly prospector's hidden gold cache on Moose Creek. |