On This Day, September 5: Gangbusters and Rogue's Gallery
Also featured: Life Can Be Beautiful.
September 5 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial story arcs, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on September 5 across Frank Martin narrating moral twist thrillers on Night Cap Yarns, Phillips H. Lord dramatizing true police files on Gangbusters (The Case of the Lonesome Ride [1953] and The Case of the Wandering Fugitive [1956]) for Tide Detergent, Paul Stewart solving private eye blackmail on Rogue's Gallery for Bab-O, Alice Reinheart debuting as Chichi Conrad on Life Can Be Beautiful for Ivory Flakes, and Francis X. Bushman riding to the rescue on Lightning Jim, Alice Reinheart (1938), Francis X. Bushman (1939), and Phillips H. Lord (1953–1956):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Reward for Murder with Frank Martin" | Syndication 1939-09-05 |
Sustaining Mystery Vignettes |
Frank Martin (Narrator) | Syndicate Production | ["Mystery", "Anthology", "Night Cap Yarns", "Frank Martin", "Syndication"] |
A greedy conspirator schemes to claim a bounty on his criminal partner only to discover the reward deadline has sealed his own fate. |
| "The Case of the Lonesome Ride with Phillips H. Lord" | CBS (WCBS) 1953-09-05 9:00 PM EDT |
Procter & Gamble Tide Washing Powder |
Phillips H. Lord & Lynch | Stanley Niss (Writer) | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Gangbusters", "Phillips H Lord", "Tide"] |
State troopers track a hitchhiking highway robber who ambushes unsuspecting motorists along deserted Pennsylvania turnpikes. |
| "The Case of the Wandering Fugitive with Phillips H. Lord" | Mutual (WOR) 1956-09-05 8:00 PM EDT |
Sustaining True Crime Files |
Lord & MacLaughlin | Leonard Bass (Dir.) | ["Crime", "Police Procedural", "Gangbusters", "Phillips H Lord", "Mutual"] |
Federal agents and local sheriff deputies launch a multi-state manhunt for an escaped convict hiding in midwestern rail yards. |
| "The Triangle of Death with Paul Stewart" | ABC Network 1951-09-05 9:00 PM EDT |
B.T. Babbitt Inc. Bab-O Cleanser |
Paul Stewart & Tuttle | Ray Buffum (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Rogues Gallery", "Paul Stewart", "Bab-O"] |
Private investigator Richard Rogue is knocked unconscious into his alter-ego cloudland while investigating a blackmail scheme targeting three socialites. |
| "Chichi Conrad Arrives at the Slightly Read Bookshop with Alice Reinheart" | CBS (WABC) 1938-09-05 1:15 PM EDST |
Procter & Gamble Ivory Flakes Soap |
Alice Reinheart & Locke | Carl Bixby & Becker | ["Drama", "Soap Opera", "Life Can Be Beautiful", "Alice Reinheart", "Ivory Flakes"] |
Penniless runaway orphan Chichi Conrad seeks shelter from rain inside an eccentric second-hand bookstore and meets kindly Papa David Solomon. |
| "Thunder to the Rescue with Francis X. Bushman" | Don Lee Synd. 1939-09-05 |
Sustaining Western Drama |
Francis X. Bushman | Ray Erlenborn (SFX) | ["Western", "Adventure", "Lightning Jim", "Francis X Bushman", "Don Lee"] |
United States Marshal Lightning Jim and his trusty mount Thunder outrun a band of border rustlers to rescue a trapped homesteader family. |