On This Day, August 31: Benny Goodman and Inspector West
Also featured: Lum, Abner.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial story metadata, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across big band swing showcases, BBC Scotland Yard detective serials, prison true-crime docudramas, marital game show quizzes, and Arkansas rural comedies, Benny Goodman with Harry James and Gene Krupa on Camel Caravan (1937), Patrick Allen starring in John Creasey's Inspector West Cries Wolf on BBC Radio 4 (1970), Harry Bartell in Sentenced (1955), The Better Half (1942, 1944), and Chester Lauck with Norris Goff in Lum and Abner for Alka-Seltzer (1937–1970):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Camel Caravan with Harry James and Gene Krupa" | CBS (WABC) 1937-08-31 9:30 PM EDST |
R.J. Reynolds Camel Cigarettes |
Benny Goodman, Krupa | Harry James & Martha Tilton | ["Music", "Big Band", "Swing", "Benny Goodman", "Camel"] |
The King of Swing leads his orchestra in virtuosic jazz renditions of Caravan, Sing Sing Sing, and swing arrangements. |
| "Inspector West Cries Wolf — The Mark of the Wolf with Patrick Allen" | BBC Radio 4 1970-08-31 7:30 PM BST |
Sustaining Scotland Yard Serial |
Patrick Allen, Lawson | John Creasey (Author) | ["Detective", "Police Procedural", "British", "Inspector West", "BBC"]Arc: Inspector West Cries Wolf (Part 1) |
Chief Inspector Roger West investigates a series of brutal London armed robberies linked by the signature calling card of a wolf. |
| "The Case of the Bank Robbers with Harry Bartell" | Mutual (WOR) 1955-08-31 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Prison Docudrama |
Harry Bartell (Narrator) | Mutual Production Staff | ["True Crime", "Prison", "Drama", "Sentenced", "Mutual"] |
A penitentiary inmate recounts how desperate debts led to an ill-fated armed bank robbery and long-term imprisonment. |
| "Husband vs. Wife Quiz with Tom Slater (1942)" | Mutual (WOR) 1942-08-31 8:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Spousal Battle Quiz |
Tom Slater (Quizmaster) | Mutual Production Staff | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Comedy", "The Better Half", "Mutual"] |
Married couples compete against each other answering rapid-fire household trivia and situational marital dilemma questions. |
| "Husband vs. Wife Quiz with Tiny Ruffner (1944)" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-31 8:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Spousal Battle Quiz |
Tiny Ruffner (Quizmaster) | Mutual Production Staff | ["Quiz", "Game Show", "Comedy", "The Better Half", "Mutual"] |
Husbands and wives test their domestic knowledge in a battle of the sexes quiz awarding war bonds to winning spouses. |
| "Faking the Gold Mine Tale with Chester Lauck and Norris Goff" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1942-08-31 8:15 PM EWT |
Miles Laboratories Alka-Seltzer / One-A-Day |
Chester Lauck, Goff | Lauck & Goff (Writers) | ["Comedy", "Rural", "Lum and Abner", "Alka-Seltzer", "NBC Blue"] |
Lum and Abner concoct a tall tale about an abandoned Pine Ridge gold mine to discourage out-of-town swindlers. |