On This Day, August 28: Big Town and Cavalcade of America
Also featured: Defense Attorney.
August 28 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 28 across American network radio and BBC Radio 2, Edward Pawley & Walter Greaza taking down black marketeers and aerospace saboteurs on Big Town for Ironized Yeast and Lifebuoy (1945–1951), Walter Huston portraying Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. on Cavalcade of America for DuPont, Mercedes McCambridge fighting for an accused woman on Defense Attorney, comedian Joe E. Brown on Twenty Questions, and gold rush folk history on How The West Was Sung (1944–1974):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "California (Part 9 of 26)" | BBC Radio 2 1974-08-28 |
Sustaining BBC Musical Doc |
Glenn Yarbrough (Host) | BBC Radio 2 Staff | ["Folk Music", "Western", "History", "Documentary", "Americana"] |
Folk singer Glenn Yarbrough chronicles the 1849 California Gold Rush through authentic pioneer wagon-train ballads and prospector folk songs. |
| "The Black Marketeers" | CBS (WABC) 1945-08-28 8:00 PM EWT |
Sterling Drug, Inc. Ironized Yeast / Bayer |
Edward Pawley, F. Carlon | Jerry McGill (Director) | ["Drama", "Newspaper", "Crime", "Hardboiled", "Wartime"] |
Managing editor Steve Wilson goes undercover to expose a dangerous criminal ring forging wartime food and gasoline ration coupons. |
| "A Dragon in the Sky" | NBC (WNBC) 1951-08-28 8:00 PM EDT |
Lever Brothers Co. Lifebuoy / Rinso |
Walter Greaza, F. Carlon | Jerry McGill (Director) | ["Drama", "Newspaper", "Crime", "Mystery", "Aviation"] |
Steve Wilson investigates mysterious aerial explosions over the city after an aerospace engineer's rocket prototype is sabotaged. |
| "Yankee from Olympus" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-28 8:00 PM EWT |
DuPont "Better Things for Better Living" |
Walter Huston (Star) | Catherine Drinker Bowen | ["Biography", "History", "Docudrama", "Legal", "Americana"] |
A biographical dramatization depicting Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. defending constitutional civil liberties from the Civil War through the high court bench. |
| "The Case of the Midnight Caller" | ABC (WJZ) 1952-08-28 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Legal Drama |
Mercedes McCambridge | Howard Culver | ["Legal", "Courtroom", "Detective", "Drama", "Mystery"] |
Defense attorney Martha Bryan represents a terrified woman framed for the shooting murder of her abusive ex-husband after receiving late-night telephone threats. |
| "Guest Joe E. Brown" | Mutual (WOR) 1948-08-28 8:00 PM EDT |
Ronson Art Metal Ronson Lighters / Ronsonol |
Bill Slater, Joe E. Brown | Van Deventer & Rinard | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Panel", "Comedy", "Trivia"] |
Beloved wide-mouthed comedian Joe E. Brown joins the panel to identify mystery subjects through twenty animal, vegetable, or mineral inquiries. |