On This Day, August 31: Dark Passage and Under Arrest
Also featured: The Happy Time.
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 American radio noir, police procedurals, literary serialized adaptations, daytime soap operas, and mystery serials, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Dark Passage (1959), Craig McDonnell and Joe DeSantis in Under Arrest (1947, 1952), Robert Fontaine's The Happy Time (1945), daytime serial drama Young Widder Brown for Sterling Drug (1950), and Two on a Clue (1945–1959):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the Counterfeit Plate with Craig McDonnell" | Mutual (WOR) 1947-08-31 5:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Procedural |
Craig McDonnell, Voice Cast | Wynn Wright (Director) | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "Crime", "Under Arrest", "Mutual"] |
Police Captain John Drake investigates the murder of an engraver who hid forged currency engraving plates in a bowling alley locker. |
| "The Waterfront Arson Ring with Joe DeSantis" | Mutual (WOR) 1952-08-31 5:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Procedural |
Joe DeSantis, Voice Cast | Under Arrest Staff | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "Crime", "Under Arrest", "Mutual"] |
Captain Drake tracks an arson-for-hire racket setting fire to commercial cargo wharves to collect insurance claims. |
| "Robert Fontaine's The Happy Time (Part 5)" | NBC (WEAF) 1945-08-31 3:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Literary Serial Drama |
Bret Morrison, Cast | Robert Fontaine (Author) | ["Comedy", "Drama", "Serial", "Literature", "NBC"]Arc: The Happy Time (Part 5) |
Young Bibi navigates comedic family squabbles and eccentric French-Canadian relatives in 1920s Ottawa. |
| "Ellen Tells Nurse McEvoy She Loves Dr. Loring" | NBC (WEAF) 1950-08-31 4:45 PM EDT |
Sterling Drug Inc. Haley's M-O / Bayer |
Wendy Drew, Ned Wever | Frank & Anne Hummert | ["Soap Opera", "Drama", "Romance", "Frank Hummert", "NBC"] |
Ellen Brown confides her deep romantic feelings for Dr. Anthony Loring to Nurse McEvoy while facing village gossip in Simpsonville. |
| "The Case of the Noisy Corpse (Episode 14)" | CBS (WCBS) 1945-08-31 2:00 PM EWT |
General Foods Post's Raisin Bran |
Ned Wever, Louise Fitch | Harry Ingram (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Comedy", "Serial", "CBS"]Arc: The Case of the Noisy Corpse (Part 14) |
Sleuthing couple Jeff and Penny Spencer discover a hidden tape recorder mechanism inside a murder victim's study. |
| "The Dark Passage with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall" | AFRTS / Radio Theater 1959-08-31 |
Sustaining Hollywood Radio Drama |
Humphrey Bogart, Bacall | David Goodis (Author) | ["Noir", "Drama", "Thriller", "Humphrey Bogart", "Lauren Bacall"] |
An escaped San Quentin convict undergoes secret plastic surgery in San Francisco to conceal his identity and prove his innocence. |