On This Day, September 4: Steptoe and Son and Joseph Cotten
Also featured: Paul Lukas.
September 4 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial story metadata declarations, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on September 4 across Galton and Simpson's classic British junkyard comedy Steptoe and Son on the BBC Light Programme, Joseph Cotten hosting supernatural nautical folklore on The Flying Dutchman, Paul Lukas starring in Arch Oboler's anti-fascist European resistance drama on Hollywood Radio Theater, 1930s comedy detective capers on Detectives Black and Blue, grocery shakedown investigations on Under Arrest, and Bret Morrison narrating Elisabeth Ogilvie's coastal drama Storm Tide, Wilfrid Brambell & Harry H. Corbett (1966), Joseph Cotten (1959), Paul Lukas (1944), Joe DeSantis (1949), and Bret Morrison (1933–1966):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Arc Metadata | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Bath with Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett" | BBC Light Programme 1966-09-04 2:00 PM BST |
Sustaining British Sitcom |
Wilfrid Brambell & Corbett | Galton & Simpson | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Steptoe and Son", "Galton and Simpson", "BBC Light Programme"] |
null |
Harold attempts to install a proper modern indoor bathtub in the rag-and-bone yard home, sparking stubborn resistance from his filthy father. |
| "The Flying Dutchman with Joseph Cotten" | NBC (WNBC) 1959-09-04 8:05 PM EDT |
Sustaining Dramatic Showcase |
Joseph Cotten (Host) | NBC Dramatic Staff | ["Drama", "Supernatural", "NBC Radio Theater", "Joseph Cotten", "NBC"] |
null |
A doomed phantom sea captain cursed to sail the oceans for eternity searches for a faithful mortal love capable of breaking the supernatural spell. |
| "They Shall Rise Again with Paul Lukas" | AFRS Transcription 1944-09-04 |
Armed Forces Radio Troop Drama |
Paul Lukas (Star) | Arch Oboler (Writer) | ["Drama", "WWII", "Hollywood Radio Theater", "Paul Lukas", "AFRS"] |
null |
An underground anti-fascist partisan leader in occupied Europe rallies oppressed village citizens to resist enemy occupation forces. |
| "The Shakedown Syndicate with Joe DeSantis as Jim Scott" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-09-04 5:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining Police Procedural |
Joe DeSantis (Scott) | Wynn Wright (Dir.) | ["Police", "Procedural", "Under Arrest", "Joe DeSantis", "Mutual"] |
null |
Police Captain Jim Scott goes undercover to smash an extortion racket shaking down small neighborhood grocery store merchants. |
| "The Case of the Counterfeit Dollar with Frank Luther" | CBS (WABC) 1933-09-04 6:45 PM EDST |
DL&W Coal Company 'blue coal' |
Frank Luther & Parker | CBS Comedy Staff | ["Comedy", "Detective", "Detectives Black and Blue", "Frank Luther", "Blue Coal"] |
null |
Bumbling private investigators Barney Black and Aloysius Blue attempt to trace a bogus one-dollar silver certificate to a crooked sideshow carnival. |
| "Storm Tide (Part 2) with Bret Morrison" | ABC (WJZ) 1945-09-04 3:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Literary Serial |
Bret Morrison (Narr.) | Elisabeth Ogilvie | ["Drama", "Serial", "Best Sellers", "Bret Morrison", "Elisabeth Ogilvie"] |
{"title": "Storm Tide", "part": 2, "total_parts": 5} |
A newly married lobster fisherman and his ambitious young wife confront bitter Maine island gossip and an encroaching coastal gale. |