On This Day, August 29: I Love a Mystery and Jack Armstrong
Also featured: Texaco Town.
August 29 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 29 across American network radio, Carlton E. Morse's I Love a Mystery traversing haunted attic crypts and Nicaraguan bat temples for Fleischmann's Yeast & Ivory Soap (1939–1944), Jack Armstrong tracking circus phantoms for Wheaties (1947), Paul Ernst's The Avenger solving subway disappearances, Eddie Cantor and Deanna Durbin in Shakespeare in Hollywood on Texaco Town, and James Melton's operatic concert (1937–1947):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Summer Operatic Concert" | CBS (WABC) 1943-08-29 9:30 PM EWT |
The Texas Company Texaco Fire-Chief Gasoline |
James Melton, Robert Weede | Al Goodman (Conductor) | ["Concert", "Music", "Opera", "Vocal", "Classical"] |
Metropolitan Opera tenor James Melton sings lyrical Broadway show tunes and classical Italian arias with baritone guest Robert Weede. |
| "Phantom of the Sawdust Trail" | ABC (WJZ) 1947-08-29 5:30 PM EDT |
General Mills Wheaties Breakfast Cereal |
Michael O'Day, J. Thorne | Robert Hardy Andrews | ["Juvenile", "Adventure", "Serial", "Circus", "Mystery"] |
Jack Armstrong and Billy Fairfield investigate a spectral phantom haunting an itinerant traveling circus and sabotaging trapeze wires. |
| "The Subway Mystery" | WHN / Syndicated 1941-08-29 |
Sustaining Superhero Mystery |
Dick Curtis, H. Walpole | Paul Ernst (Creator) | ["Superhero", "Pulp", "Mystery", "Sci-Fi", "Action"] |
Jim Brandon assumes his cloaking disguise as The Avenger to solve the vanishing of subway passengers between underground express stations. |
| "Shakespeare in Hollywood" | CBS (WABC) 1937-08-29 8:30 PM EDST |
The Texas Company Texaco Fire-Chief Gasoline |
Eddie Cantor, D. Durbin | Bobby Breen & Renard | ["Comedy", "Variety", "Music", "Vocal", "Parody"] |
Eddie Cantor and Deanna Durbin parody movie studio auditions and perform comedic musical adaptations of Shakespearean plays. |
| "The Thing That Cries in the Night (Part 15)" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1939-08-29 7:15 PM EDST |
Standard Brands Fleischmann's Yeast |
Michael Raffetto, Doc Long | Carlton E. Morse (Author) | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Serial", "Supernatural", "Thriller"] |
Jack, Doc, and Reggie corner an elusive wailing specter in a secret attic passage of the Randolph estate to solve the family curse. |
| "The Temple of Vampires (Part 6)" | CBS (WABC) 1944-08-29 7:00 PM EWT |
Procter & Gamble Ivory Bar / Oxydol |
Michael Raffetto, Doc Long | Carlton E. Morse (Author) | ["Adventure", "Mystery", "Serial", "Horror", "Jungle"] |
Jack Packard and Doc Long navigate treacherous subterranean tomb chambers in Nicaragua while surrounded by vampire bat swarms. |