On This Day, August 27: BBC Radio Newsreel and Hedda Gabler
Also featured: Fiorello La Guardia.
August 27 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 27 across American network radio, the BBC, and municipal broadcast, two BBC Radio Newsreel reports (1944 German re-education debate and live Paris liberation victory celebrations), Joan Lorring & Alexander Scourby in Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler on The NBC Theater, NYC Mayor Fiorello La Guardia delivering his Sunday "Patience and Fortitude" talk on WNYC, cavalry training on Proudly We Hail, and Dashiell Hammett's hardboiled sleuth The Fat Man for Pepto-Bismol (1944–1950):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Can the German People Be Re-Educated?" | BBC North American 1944-08-27 |
Sustaining BBC Wartime Newsreel |
BBC Foreign Correspondents | BBC News Service | ["News", "Journalism", "Wartime", "Historical", "Debate"] |
Allied political analysts and European correspondents debate educational and ideological reconstruction strategies for post-Nazi Germany. |
| "The Paris Liberation Victory Party" | BBC North American 1944-08-27 |
Sustaining BBC Wartime Newsreel |
BBC Field Reporters in Paris | BBC News Service | ["News", "Journalism", "Wartime", "Historical", "Field Recording"] |
BBC correspondents capture live audio recordings of joyful street dances, church bells, and public celebrations across liberated Paris. |
| "Hedda Gabler" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-27 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Literary Showcase |
Joan Lorring, Alexander Scourby, Karl Swenson | Henrik Ibsen, Andrew C. Love | ["Drama", "Classic Literature", "Psychological Thriller", "Tragedy", "Anthology"] |
A manipulative, disillusioned general's daughter ruthlessly meddles in the lives and romantic affairs of those around her with tragic consequences. |
| "Talk to the People (Patience and Fortitude)" | WNYC New York 1944-08-27 1:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Municipal Broadcast |
Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia | WNYC Broadcast Staff | ["Public Affairs", "Speech", "Local Government", "Historical", "Americana"] |
New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia delivers his weekly Sunday address discussing meat rationing, city playground expansions, and wartime municipal updates. |
| "A Fool on Horseback" | US Military Synd 1950-08-27 |
US Army & Air Force Recruiting Service |
Kenneth Banghart (Host) | Syndicated Dramatic Cast | ["Military", "Drama", "Cavalry", "Americana", "Anthology"] |
An idealistic cavalry recruit learns humility, disciplined horsemanship, and tactical teamwork during rigorous training exercises. |
| "The Black Angel" | ABC (WJZ) 1948-08-27 8:00 PM EDT |
Norwich Pharmacal Pepto-Bismol |
J. Scott Smart, Mary Patton | Dashiell Hammett (Creator) | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Noir", "Crime"] |
Brad Runyon investigates the mysterious poisoning of an art gallery curator who was safeguarding a cursed Renaissance statuette. |