On This Day, August 31: Nick Carter and Night Beat
Also featured: The First Nighter.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serialized story chapter metadata, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across pulp detective mysteries, atmospheric newspaper human-interest noir, and the glamorous Little Theater Off Times Square, Lon Clark across three cases of Nick Carter, Master Detective (1944, 1947, 1952), Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone in Night Beat for Lucky Strike (1951), and Don Ameche, Barbara Luddy, and Olan Soule in The First Nighter Program (1934, 1952):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Drums of Death (Part 4) with Lon Clark" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-31 9:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Street & Smith Pulp Serial |
Lon Clark, Manson | Jock MacGregor (Director) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Nick Carter", "Lon Clark", "Mutual"]Arc: The Drums of Death (Part 4 of 4) |
Nick Carter corners a voodoo cult leader on an isolated island estate, unmasking the criminal mastermind behind occult extortion murders. |
| "The Case of the Precious Pebbles with Lon Clark" | Mutual (WOR) 1947-08-31 6:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Detective Mystery |
Lon Clark, Manson | Ferrin N. Fraser (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Nick Carter", "Lon Clark", "Mutual"] |
Nick Carter investigates an uncut diamond cache smuggled from South Africa inside ordinary geological specimen cases. |
| "The Case of the Caribbean Cruise with Lon Clark" | Mutual (WOR) 1952-08-31 6:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Detective Mystery |
Lon Clark, Manson | Ferrin N. Fraser (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Nick Carter", "Lon Clark", "Mutual"] |
Nick and Patsy board a luxury Caribbean cruise liner to foil a targeted assassination plot aimed at a key foreign diplomat. |
| "A Practical Man with Don Ameche and June Meredith" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1934-08-31 10:00 PM EDST |
Campana Sales Co. Italian Balm |
Don Ameche, Meredith | Anthony Wayne (Writer) | ["Drama", "Romance", "First Nighter", "Don Ameche", "Campana"] |
A pragmatic business executive's strictly structured lifestyle is turned upside down when he falls unexpectedly in love with a free-spirited artist. |
| "The Long Voyage Home with Barbara Luddy and Olan Soule" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-31 8:00 PM EDT |
Campana Sales Co. Solitair / Italian Balm |
Barbara Luddy, Soule | Marvin Miller (Host) | ["Drama", "Romance", "First Nighter", "Barbara Luddy", "Campana"] |
A veteran transatlantic freighter captain attempts one final perilous voyage to secure a peaceful retirement home for his fiancée. |
| "The Five-Cent Call with Frank Lovejoy (Lucky Strike)" | NBC (WNBC) 1951-08-31 8:30 PM EDT |
American Tobacco Lucky Strike |
Frank Lovejoy, Banks | Russell Hughes (Writer) | ["Detective", "Newspaper", "Hardboiled", "Night Beat", "Frank Lovejoy"] |
Reporter Randy Stone traces an anonymous public payphone tip from a terrified woman trapped in an illegal gambling den. |