On This Day, August 29: Sam Spade and Rocky Jordan
Also featured: Official Detective.
August 29 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 29 across American network radio and syndication, Howard Duff starring as Sam Spade solving border payroll embezzlements on The Adventures of Sam Spade for Wildroot Cream-Oil (1948), George Raft's Cairo cafe audition as Rocky Jordan (1955), Craig McDonnell cracking kidnapping cases on Official Detective, Frank & Anne Hummert's Our Gal Sunday for Anacin, Procter & Gamble's Mystery of the Week, and 1966 NBC radio promos for The Monkees (1947–1966):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the Formal Duck (Part 5)" | CBS (WABC) 1947-08-29 7:00 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Ivory Soap / Oxydol |
Dramatic Mystery Cast | P&G Production Staff | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Serial", "Suspense", "Noir"] |
The detective unmasks a black-tie jewel smuggler who used taxidermy waterfowl to slip rare stolen emeralds past customs. |
| "Sunday Seeks Clues to Lord Henry's Disappearance" | CBS (WCBS) 1955-08-29 12:45 PM EDT |
Whitehall Pharmacal Anacin / Kolynos |
Vivian Smolen, K. Swenson | Frank & Anne Hummert | ["Soap Opera", "Serial", "Drama", "Romance", "Mystery"] |
Sunday searches for clues across the Virginia estate after Lord Henry mysteriously vanishes following a cryptic midnight telegram. |
| "The Kidnap Clue of Tugboat Scuffy" | Mutual (WOR) 1950-08-29 8:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Procedural |
Craig McDonnell (Britt) | Wynn Wright (Director) | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "True Crime", "Hardboiled", "Action"] |
Harbor police and city detectives follow the trail of an abandoned toy tugboat to rescue a kidnapped industrialist's child. |
| "TV Promo — The Monkees NBC Network Premiere Announcement" | NBC Network 1966-08-29 |
Kellogg's / Yardley Network Advertisers |
The Monkees, Announcer | NBC Promotion Staff | ["Promo", "Commercial", "Pop", "Rock", "Television History"] |
A dynamic NBC promotional teaser introducing The Monkees with musical snippets of their upcoming television series debut. |
| "The Lawless Caper" | CBS (WCBS) 1948-08-29 8:00 PM EDT |
Wildroot Company Wildroot Cream-Oil |
Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle | Bob Tallman & Hammett | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Noir", "Private Eye"] |
Private eye Sam Spade travels to a lawless border gambling town to restore an embezzled payroll and find a missing courier. |
| "The St. Louis Woman (Audition Show)" | CBS Radio 1955-08-29 |
Sustaining Audition Recording |
George Raft (Rocky Jordan) | Larry Roman & Nixon | ["Adventure", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Middle East", "Mystery"] |
Expatriate cafe owner Rocky Jordan in Cairo gets caught between rival smugglers when a seductive American tourist is framed for murder. |