On This Day, August 31: Harry Nile and Sherlock Holmes
Also featured: Fitch Bandwagon.
August 31 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 31 across Seattle private eye mysteries, Sherlock Holmes standard masterworks, wartime Mediterranean convoy docudramas, Victorian Scotland Yard procedurals, and boogie-woogie big band jazz, Jim French's Imagination Theatre featuring Harry Nile and The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1997, 2003, 2008), BBC's Saturday Night Theatre (1974, 1985), and The Fitch Bandwagon with Will Bradley and Ray McKinley (1941–2008):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Operation Pedestal with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Radio 4 1974-08-31 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining Naval War Docudrama |
Martin Jarvis, Stock | Gordon Gow (Writer) | ["Drama", "WWII", "Naval", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
A Royal Navy convoy endures ferocious Mediterranean aerial and submarine assaults to deliver vital fuel supplies to besieged Malta in 1942. |
| "Peter Lovesey's A Case of Spirits with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Radio 4 1985-08-31 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining Victorian Crime Drama |
Barry Foster, King | Peter Lovesey (Author) | ["Detective", "Victorian", "Mystery", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
Victorian Scotland Yard detective Sergeant Cribb investigates a fatal séance poisoning in a London spiritualist salon. |
| "Harry Nile — The Wandering Wife Matter / Crisis — Night Rider" | Jim French Prod. 1997-08-31 |
Sustaining Audio Mystery |
Phil Harper, French | Jim French (Creator/Dir) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Harry Nile", "Jim French"] |
Seattle private eye Harry Nile is hired to locate a missing socialite, uncovering an intricate blackmail scheme and midnight hit-and-run. |
| "Harry Nile — The Baffled Ballerina / Incident at Crofton Wells" | Jim French Prod. 2003-08-31 |
Sustaining Audio Mystery |
Larry Albert, French | Jim French (Creator/Dir) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Harry Nile", "Jim French"] |
Harry Nile protects a prima ballerina whose life is threatened by an anonymous stalker sabotaging stage props. |
| "The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Charles Augustus Milverton" | Jim French Prod. 2008-08-31 |
Sustaining Sherlock Holmes Audio |
John Patrick Lowrie, Albert | M.J. Elliott (Adapter) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Sherlock Holmes", "Jim French", "Conan Doyle"] |
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson burgle the country estate of a ruthless master blackmailer to restore compromising society letters. |
| "Guest Will Bradley and His Orchestra with Ray Noble and Tobe Reed" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1941-08-31 7:30 PM EDST |
F.W. Fitch Company Fitch Shampoo |
Will Bradley, McKinley | Tobe Reed (Emcee) | ["Music", "Big Band", "Boogie Woogie", "Fitch Bandwagon", "Fitch"] |
Will Bradley and Ray McKinley lead explosive boogie-woogie arrangements of Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar and Down the Road Apiece. |