On This Day, August 23: Dorothy Thompson on Nazi-Soviet Pact and Mr. Malone
Also featured: Mr. District Attorney.
August 23 Exhaustive Update
This report documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 23 across American broadcasting history (1939–1950):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the Poisoned Uncle (Starring Frank Lovejoy as John J. Malone)" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-23 9:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining ABC Mystery Drama |
Frank Lovejoy (John J. Malone), Joan Alexander (Maggie), Berry Kroeger | Craig Rice (Creator), Gene Wang (Writer), William Spier | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "Comedy"] |
Chicago criminal defense lawyer John J. Malone takes the case of a wealthy socialite accused of poisoning her uncle, using unorthodox courtroom theatrics and streetwise interrogation at Joe the Angel's bar to trap the real beneficiary. |
| "Fantasy (Audition Pilot): 'Entity from the Void' (Starring John McIntire & William Conrad)" | NBC Hollywood 1947-08-23 (Audition Disc) |
Sustaining NBC Audition Series |
John McIntire (Narrator), William Conrad, Jeanette Nolan | Arch Oboler & Ray Bradbury (Writers), Homer Fickett | ["Science Fiction", "Horror", "Anthology", "Speculative"] |
In this audition pilot for the speculative radio anthology Fantasy, narrator John McIntire dramatizes the chilling story of an astronomer who discovers an invisible cosmic consciousness drifting into Earth's upper atmosphere to drain human mental willpower. |
| "Dorothy Thompson: On the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1939-08-23 10:30 PM EDST |
Sustaining NBC News Analysis |
Dorothy Thompson (Commentator & Political Analyst) | NBC News Bureau, New York | ["News", "History", "War", "Commentary"] |
Renowned political commentator Dorothy Thompson delivers an urgent news analysis of the shocking non-aggression pact signed in Moscow between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, warning American listeners that Hitler and Stalin's alliance makes immediate European war inevitable. |
| "So You Won't Talk (Starring John Brown as 'Broadway')" | Mayfair Syndication 1949-08-23 (KFI / Syndicated) |
Local Commercials Co-op Advertisers |
John Brown (Broadway), Alan Reed, Sheldon Leonard, Lurene Tuttle | Damon Runyon (Author), Russell Hughes (Adapter), Richard Sanville | ["Comedy", "Crime", "Anthology", "Broadway"] |
Broadway narrator John Brown relates the humorous tale of an obstinate safecracker who refuses to speak a single word following a bank job, driving police detectives and underworld loan sharks crazy until a chorus girl coaxes the combination out of him. |
| "The Case of the Intimidated Jury (Vitalis Hair Tonic)" | NBC (WEAF) 1944-08-23 9:30 PM EWT |
Bristol-Myers Co. Vitalis Hair Tonic & Sal Hepatica |
Jay Jostyn (Paul Garrett), Vicki Vola (Miss Miller), Len Doyle | Phillips H. Lord (Creator), Edward Byron (Director), Fred Cole | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "Crime"] |
Mr. District Attorney Paul Garrett and investigator Harrington intervene in a high-stakes racketeering trial after a syndicate boss threatens the families of jurors, planting an undercover detective inside the jury sequester hotel to catch the bribe-paying bagman. |
| "The Case of the Pebble of Death (Vitalis & Ipana)" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-23 9:30 PM EDT |
Bristol-Myers Co. Vitalis Hair Tonic & Ipana |
Jay Jostyn (Paul Garrett), Vicki Vola (Miss Miller), Len Doyle | Robert J. Shaw (Writer), Edward Byron (Director), Fred Cole | ["Police", "Procedural", "Detective", "Crime"] |
District Attorney Paul Garrett hunts a bizarre serial assassin who assassinates prominent diamond merchants using an untraceable custom slingshot loaded with heavy industrial ball-bearing 'pebbles' coated in rare South American curare poison. |