On This Day, August 28: Screen Guild and The Whistler
Also featured: Dick Tracy.
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 Radio 4, and syndication, Ray Milland & Ruth Hussey in the classic ghost drama The Uninvited on The Screen Guild Theater for Lady Esther Cosmetics, Bill Forman narrating a shipboard murder on The Whistler for Signal Oil, two action-packed adventures of Dick Tracy (1939 & 1944), Marvin Miller's highwayman adventure on Armchair Adventures, and Annette Crosbie in BBC's Inspector Gwen Danbury (1939–2002):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Uninvited" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-28 10:00 PM EWT |
Lady Esther Cosmetics Face Cream / Powder |
Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey | Betty Field, Bill Lawrence | ["Drama", "Horror", "Gothic", "Supernatural", "Hollywood"] |
A London composer and his sister buy an abandoned seaside mansion in Cornwall, only to discover it is haunted by two rival supernatural presences. |
| "Murder on the High Seas" | CBS (WABC) 1946-08-28 8:00 PM EDT |
The Signal Oil Co. Signal Gasoline |
Bill Forman (The Whistler) | Gerald Mohr, Lurene Tuttle | ["Suspense", "Psychological Thriller", "Mystery", "Crime", "Noir"] |
A greedy ship purser plans the overboard murder of a wealthy passenger carrying an envelope of bearer bonds during a transatlantic crossing. |
| "The Case of the Counterfeit Coins (Part 1)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1939-08-28 5:00 PM EDST |
Quaker Oats Co. Puffed Wheat / Rice |
Ned Wever, Walter Kinsella | Chester Gould (Creator) | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "Hardboiled", "Juvenile", "Action"] |
Detective Dick Tracy and junior partner Junior investigate a rash of counterfeit silver dollars circulating through waterfront slot machines. |
| "The Mystery of the Smuggled Jewels (Episode 381)" | NBC Blue (WJZ) 1944-08-28 5:15 PM EWT |
Sweets Co. of America Tootsie Rolls |
Matt Crowley, Howard Smith | Chester Gould (Creator) | ["Police Procedural", "Detective", "Hardboiled", "Juvenile", "Action"] |
Dick Tracy corners a rogue dockworker attempting to smuggle uncut diamonds inside crates of industrial ball bearings. |
| "The Ride of Midnight" | Syndicated Elec 1952-08-28 |
Commercial Regional Sponsors |
Marvin Miller (Narrator) | Syndicated Story Staff | ["Adventure", "Historical", "Storytelling", "Drama", "Anthology"] |
Marvin Miller tells the story of an 18th-century English highwayman whose daring midnight ride through thunderstorm-swept moors saves an innocent farm family. |
| "Old Dog" | BBC Radio 4 2002-08-28 2:15 PM |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Annette Crosbie, Shaun Dingwall | Sue Rodwell (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "British", "Police Procedural", "Cozy Mystery"] |
Retired magistrate Gwen Danbury investigates the suspicious drowning of an eccentric elderly neighbor whose devoted sheepdog refuses to leave the canal bank. |