On This Day, September 5: Big Town and Cavalcade of America
Also featured: Bill Stern.
September 5 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 September 5 across two hard-hitting investigative newspaper exposés on Big Town starring Edward Pawley and Fran Carlon for Lifebuoy Soap (1944, 1950), Richard Widmark narrating the industrial saga of the Mesabi iron range on Cavalcade of America for DuPont (1950), Bill Stern interviewing New York Giants home-run slugger Johnny Mize for Colgate (1947), underwater children's fantasy on The Land of the Lost (1944), and occult terror in The House and the Brain on The Weird Circle (1943), Edward Pawley & Fran Carlon (1944, 1950), Johnny Mize (1947), and Richard Widmark (1950):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The House and the Brain (NBC Transcription)" | Syndicated Radio 1943-09-05 |
Sustaining Classic Horror |
NBC Dramatic Players | Edward Bulwer-Lytton | ["Horror", "Anthology", "The Weird Circle", "Edward Bulwer-Lytton", "Syndicated"] |
An occult investigator spends a terrifying night in an Oxford Street townhouse confronting an invisible psychic apparition. |
| "Murder Deals in Futures with Edward Pawley and Fran Carlon" | CBS (WABC) 1944-09-05 8:00 PM EWT |
Lever Brothers Co. Lifebuoy Soap & Rinso |
Pawley & Fran Carlon | Jerry McGill (Director) | ["Newspaper", "Drama", "Big Town", "Edward Pawley", "Lifebuoy"] |
Steve Wilson and Lorelei Kilbourne investigate a corrupt commodity trading ring manipulating wartime grain futures. |
| "Million Dollar Murder with Edward Pawley and Fran Carlon" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-09-05 8:00 PM EDT |
Lever Brothers Co. Lifebuoy & Pepsodent |
Pawley & Fran Carlon | Jerry McGill (Director) | ["Newspaper", "Drama", "Big Town", "Edward Pawley", "Lifebuoy"] |
Steve Wilson uncovers a conspiracy among high-society heirs attempting to murder a reclusive industrialist before his new will is signed. |
| "The Iron Mountain with Richard Widmark" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-09-05 8:00 PM EDT |
E.I. du Pont de Nemours DuPont Better Living |
Richard Widmark & Cast | Donald Voorhees Orch. | ["Docudrama", "History", "Cavalcade of America", "Richard Widmark", "DuPont"] |
A gritty historical dramatization of the discovery and industrial development of the massive iron ore deposits in Minnesota's Mesabi Range. |
| "Guest Johnny Mize with Bill Stern" | NBC (WEAF) 1947-09-05 10:30 PM EDT |
Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Colgate Shave Creams |
Bill Stern & Johnny Mize | NBC Sports Division | ["Sports", "Interview", "Bill Stern", "Johnny Mize", "Colgate"] |
Bill Stern dramatizes inspiring athletic comebacks and interviews New York Giants slugger Johnny Mize on his record home run chase. |
| "The Search for the Lost Pocketknife with Isabel Manning Hewson" | Blue Network (WJZ) 1944-09-05 4:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Children's Fantasy |
Hewson & Art Carney | Isabel Manning Hewson | ["Children", "Fantasy", "The Land of the Lost", "Isabel Manning Hewson", "Blue"] |
Billy and Isabel travel beneath the ocean waves to the magical Land of the Lost to restore a child's favorite lost pocketknife. |