On This Day, August 31: Texas Rangers and Guiding Light
Also featured: London Blitz.
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 American Western police procedurals, daytime radio drama serials, WWII live eyewitness combat journalism, true crime magazine docudramas, Canadian Mountie adventures, and British naval comedy, Joel McCrea in Tales of the Texas Rangers on NBC (1952), Irna Phillips' The Guiding Light for Procter & Gamble (1950), CBS correspondent Larry LeSueur broadcasting live during the London Blitz (1940), The Silver Eagle (1954), True Detective Mysteries (1937), and The Navy Lark (1937–1969):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Check Forgery Racket with John Shuttleworth" | Mutual (WOR) 1937-08-31 10:00 PM EDST |
Macfadden Publications True Detective Magazine |
John Shuttleworth, Keith | Macfadden Staff | ["True Crime", "Police Procedural", "Detective", "True Detective", "Mutual"] |
Postal inspectors trace altered bank payroll drafts across three states to dismantle a sophisticated check forgery syndicate. |
| "Bill's Drinking Problem with Lyle Sudrow" | CBS (WCBS) 1950-08-31 1:45 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Duz Soap / Ivory Flakes |
Lyle Sudrow, Bauer | Irna Phillips (Creator) | ["Soap Opera", "Drama", "Irna Phillips", "Guiding Light", "CBS"] |
Bert Bauer confronts her husband Bill over his recurring drinking binges and strained family finances in Five Points. |
| "Larry LeSueur Reports on the London Blitz" | CBS (WABC) 1940-08-31 8:00 AM EDST |
Sustaining War News Coverage |
Larry LeSueur, Bob Trout | CBS News Division | ["News", "WWII", "History", "CBS", "Larry LeSueur"] |
CBS correspondent Larry LeSueur describes Luftwaffe night bombing raids over London docks and civilian air raid shelter life. |
| "Misplaced Person with Joel McCrea" | NBC (WEAF) 1952-08-31 6:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Western Police Drama |
Joel McCrea, Barrett | Stacy Keach Sr. (Director) | ["Western", "Police Procedural", "Joel McCrea", "Texas Rangers", "NBC"] |
Texas Ranger Jace Pearson matches tyre tracks and ballistics to identify the body of an unidentified hitchhiker murdered outside El Paso. |
| "Death on Wolverine Trail with Jim Ameche" | ABC (WJZ) 1954-08-31 7:30 PM EDT |
General Mills Cheerios / Kix Cereal |
Jim Ameche, Jack Lester | James Jewell (Writer) | ["Western", "Adventure", "Mounties", "Silver Eagle", "Jim Ameche"] |
Canadian Mountie Jim West pursues an armed fur trapper who murdered a trading post manager on Wolverine Trail. |
| "The Big Business Lark - Initiating Through" | BBC Radio 2 1969-08-31 2:00 PM BST |
Sustaining British Military Comedy |
Leslie Phillips, Pertwee | Lawrie Wyman (Writer) | ["Comedy", "British", "Military", "Navy Lark", "BBC Radio 2"] |
The scheming crew of HMS Troutbridge attempts to launch a fraudulent commercial boardroom enterprise under the Admiral's nose. |