On This Day, August 24: The Green Hornet (4 Eras) and Dr. Christian
Also featured: Inner Sanctum.
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 broadcasting history (1937–1952):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "No Rest for the Dead (Host Paul McGrath — Inner Sanctum Mystery)" | CBS (WCBS) 1952-08-24 9:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining CBS Mystery Presentation |
Paul McGrath (Host), Mason Adams, Santos Ortega | Himan Brown (Creator/Director), Dwight Weist | ["Horror", "Mystery", "Supernatural", "Macabre", "Psychological"] |
Host Paul McGrath opens the creaking door to a chilling psychological horror tale about a greedy chemist who poisons his wealthy business partner, only to be haunted nightly by the deceased partner's footsteps pacing outside his locked bedroom. |
| "The Oxygen Tent (Starring Jean Hersholt as Dr. Christian — Vaseline)" | CBS (WCBS) 1949-08-24 8:30 PM EDT |
Chesebrough Mfg. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly |
Jean Hersholt (Dr. Christian), Rosemary DeCamp | Neil Reagan (Director), Art Gilmore (Announcer) | ["Drama", "Medical", "Small Town", "Human Interest", "Domestic"] |
In the idyllic town of Rivers End, beloved country doctor Paul Christian battles a raging blizzard to deliver a life-saving oxygen tent to an impoverished family whose young son is stricken with acute pneumonia. |
| "The Waterfront Smuggling Ring (Starring Al Hodge as The Green Hornet)" | WXYZ / Mutual 1937-08-24 8:00 PM EST |
Sustaining Local Detroit Advertisers |
Al Hodge (Britt Reid), Raymond Hayashi (Kato) | George W. Trendle & Fran Striker, Fielden Farrington | ["Superhero", "Action", "Adventure", "Crime", "Mystery"] |
Newspaper publisher Britt Reid and trusty valet Kato don their masks and roll out in the Black Beauty to smash an armed waterfront smuggling syndicate hijacking imported silk shipments along the Detroit docks. |
| "The House That Jack Built: The Schoolhouse Racket (The Green Hornet)" | Mutual (WOR) 1939-08-24 8:00 PM EDST |
Sustaining Mutual Presentation |
Al Hodge (Britt Reid), Rollon Parker (Kato), Gil Shea | Fran Striker (Writer), Charles Livingstone, Hal Neal | ["Superhero", "Action", "Adventure", "Crime", "Mystery"] |
The Green Hornet and Kato expose a corrupt municipal building contractor who uses sub-standard concrete in a newly constructed public school, racing against time to prevent a catastrophic structural collapse. |
| "Death Money: The Tainted Banknotes (Starring Jack McCarthy as The Green Hornet)" | ABC (WJZ) 1948-08-24 5:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Action Presentation |
Jack McCarthy (Britt Reid), Michael Tolan (Kato) | Dan Beattie (Writer), Charles Livingstone, Bob Hite | ["Superhero", "Action", "Adventure", "Crime", "Mystery"] |
Britt Reid tracks a ring of counterfeiters distributing poisoned tainted banknotes to silence their underworld distributors, deploying the Hornet's non-lethal gas gun to trap the master engraver. |
| "The Fortune Seekers (Starring Bob Hall as The Green Hornet)" | ABC (WJZ) 1952-08-24 5:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Youth Adventure |
Bob Hall (Britt Reid), Mickey Tolan (Kato) | Dan Beattie (Writer), Charles Livingstone, Fred Foy | ["Superhero", "Action", "Adventure", "Crime", "Mystery"] |
The Green Hornet and Kato intervene when a gang of ruthless fortune hunters target an eccentric oil heiress, using trick wills and hypnotic drugs in an attempt to steal her vast Texas estate. |