On This Day, August 31: Duffy's Tavern and The Falcon
Also featured: Chick Carter.
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serialized juvenile adventure metadata, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across tavern sitcoms, studio telepathy demonstrations, juvenile pulp adventure serials, and hardboiled detective investigations, Ed Gardner as Archie in Duffy's Tavern (1950), Dunninger the Mentalist on ABC (1945), Bill Lipton as Chick Carter, Boy Detective (1943, 1944), and two preserved audio cuts of George Petrie in The Falcon (1943–1952):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres & Serial Arc | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Archie Hires a Mind Reader with Ed Gardner" | NBC (WNBC) 1950-08-31 9:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Summer Sitcom |
Ed Gardner, Cantor | Ed Gardner (Creator) | ["Comedy", "Sitcom", "Duffys Tavern", "Ed Gardner", "NBC"] |
Archie schemes to win neighborhood bets by hiring an eccentric carnival mentalist to divine racehorse winners at Duffy's Tavern. |
| "Reading Minds in the Studio Audience with Joseph Dunninger" | ABC (WJZ) 1945-08-31 9:00 PM EWT |
Sustaining Telepathy Show |
Joseph Dunninger, Slater | Joseph Dunninger | ["Magic", "Mentalism", "Mystery", "Dunninger", "ABC"] |
Joseph Dunninger demonstrates telepathic feats by reading sealed envelopes and social security numbers thought of by judges. |
| "Escape from the Smugglers' Cave (Episode 47) with Bill Lipton" | Mutual (WOR) 1943-08-31 5:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Street & Smith Serial |
Bill Lipton, Janney | Fritz Blocki (Director) | ["Adventure", "Juvenile", "Detective", "Chick Carter", "Mutual"]Arc: The Smugglers of Crescent Cove (Part 47) |
Chick Carter engineers a daring cave escape using rising ocean tide currents to evade armed diamond smugglers. |
| "The Black Dragon Sabotage (Episode 309) with Bill Lipton" | Mutual (WOR) 1944-08-31 5:30 PM EWT |
Sustaining Street & Smith Serial |
Bill Lipton, Mack | Fritz Blocki (Director) | ["Adventure", "Juvenile", "Detective", "Chick Carter", "Mutual"]Arc: The Black Dragon Sabotage (Part 309) |
Chick uncovers a covert sabotage ring attempting to plant incendiary detonators in an Atlantic naval munitions depot. |
| "The Case of the Careless Corpse with George Petrie (AFRS Broadcast)" | AFRS / Mutual 1952-08-31 4:30 PM EDT |
AFRS Military Network |
George Petrie, Lynch | Eugene Wang (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "The Falcon", "AFRS"] |
Mike Waring investigates a man who stages his own fatal accident to collect insurance, only to become a genuine murder victim. |
| "The Case of the Careless Corpse with George Petrie (Network Master)" | Mutual (WOR) 1952-08-31 4:30 PM EDT |
Kraft Foods Co. Kraft Dinner / Parkay |
George Petrie, Lynch | Eugene Wang (Writer) | ["Detective", "Mystery", "Hardboiled", "The Falcon", "Kraft"] |
The Falcon trails a crooked insurance investigator who blackmails a wealthy heiress over her husband's faked demise. |