On This Day, August 28: Martin Kane and Father Knows Best
Also featured: Mr. Chameleon.
August 28 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 28 across American network radio, BBC Light Programme, and syndication, William Gargan clearing an executed man's name on Martin Kane for Model Pipe Tobacco, Robert Young's autumn budget battle on Father Knows Best for Post's Bran Flakes, Karl Swenson disguised as a French couturier on Mr. Chameleon for Bayer Aspirin, Outback aviation on The Flying Doctor, antique mystery in The Black Leather Case, and Roy Acuff swinging on the Grand Ole Opry (1936–1969):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Man Hunt" | BBC Light / ABC 1958-08-28 |
Sustaining Medical Drama |
James McKechnie, B. Dickson | Ernest Dudley (Writer) | ["Medical", "Adventure", "Aviation", "Australian", "Action"] |
Dr. Greg Halliday pilots his air ambulance into the rugged Australian Outback to rescue an injured tracker assisting police in a manhunt for an armed fugitive. |
| "The Posthumous Client" | Mutual (WOR) 1949-08-28 4:30 PM EDT |
US Tobacco Co. Model Tobacco / Sano |
William Gargan (Martin Kane) | Frank Burns (Director) | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Noir", "Mystery", "Crime"] |
Martin Kane accepts a two-thousand-dollar bequest from an executed death-row inmate to uncover new ballistics evidence proving his innocence posthumously. |
| "New Season Budget Battle" | NBC (WNBC) 1952-08-28 8:00 PM EDT |
General Foods Post's 40% Bran Flakes |
Robert Young, J. Vander Pyl | Ted Donaldson, Ed James | ["Sitcom", "Comedy", "Domestic", "Family", "Americana"] |
Jim Anderson tries to implement strict household austerity measures to pay for autumn school clothes, only to find the entire family united in rebellion. |
| "The Secret of the Black Leather Case (Part 1)" | Syndicated Elec 1936-08-28 |
Commercial Regional Sponsors |
Dramatic Mystery Cast | Syndicated Drama Staff | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Serial", "Suspense", "Noir"] |
An antique dealer purchases a battered leather briefcase at a probate auction, discovering hidden compartments containing coded diplomatic correspondence. |
| "Alabamy Bound" | WSM Nashville 1969-08-28 |
Martha White Mills Martha White Flour |
Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe | Minnie Pearl | ["Music", "Country", "Bluegrass", "Americana", "Variety"] |
Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys open the live Ryman Auditorium broadcast with an energetic fiddle breakdown performance of 'Alabamy Bound'. |
| "The Surprise Motive Murder Case" | CBS (WABC) 1952-08-28 9:00 PM EDT |
Sterling Drug, Inc. Bayer Aspirin / Phillips' |
Karl Swenson, Frank Butler | Frank & Anne Hummert | ["Detective", "Hardboiled", "Mystery", "Disguise", "Whodunit"] |
Master-of-disguise detective Mr. Chameleon adopts the persona of a French couturier to uncover why a wealthy socialite was poisoned without an apparent motive. |