On This Day, September 4: Saturday Night Theatre and Gladys Swarthout
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…
September 4 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 September 4 across five decades of BBC drama on Saturday Night Theatre adapting Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair (1954), Aimée Stuart's Jeannie (1965), Colin Finbow's Brazen Prison (1971), Michael Brett's At Your Service (1976), and Nick Fisher's Ripples (1993), alongside Gladys Swarthout singing Franz Lehár's The Count of Luxembourg on Palmolive Beauty Box Theater for Palmolive Soap, Gladys Swarthout (1934), Josephine Tey (1954), and Aimée Stuart (1934–1993):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Franchise Affair with BBC Home Service" | BBC Home Service 1954-09-04 9:15 PM BST |
Sustaining British Mystery |
BBC Repertory Players | Josephine Tey (Author) | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Saturday Night Theatre", "Josephine Tey", "BBC"] |
A country solicitor defends two respectable village women accused of falsely imprisoning and brutalizing a deceitful teenage girl. |
| "Jeannie with BBC Home Service" | BBC Home Service 1965-09-04 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Romantic Drama |
BBC Drama Players | Aimée Stuart (Author) | ["Drama", "Romance", "Saturday Night Theatre", "Aimee Stuart", "BBC"] |
A modest Scottish spinster inherits a modest bequest and embarks on a whirlwind holiday to Vienna where she falls in love with an engineer. |
| "Brazen Prison with BBC Radio 4" | BBC Radio 4 1971-09-04 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Drama |
BBC Dramatic Troupe | Colin Finbow (Writer) | ["Drama", "Mystery", "Saturday Night Theatre", "Colin Finbow", "BBC Radio 4"] |
An introspective playwright rents an isolated Victorian rectory to finish his masterpiece, only to be haunted by bizarre manifestations. |
| "At Your Service with BBC Radio 4" | BBC Radio 4 1976-09-04 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining British Comedy-Drama |
BBC Repertory Ensemble | Michael Brett (Writer) | ["Drama", "Comedy", "Saturday Night Theatre", "Michael Brett", "BBC Radio 4"] |
A loyal retired butler takes a domestic post with a chaotic aristocratic family, subtly orchestrating their financial turnaround. |
| "Ripples with BBC Radio 4" | BBC Radio 4 1993-09-04 7:50 PM BST |
Sustaining British Radio Drama |
BBC Drama Repertory | Nick Fisher (Writer) | ["Drama", "Thriller", "Saturday Night Theatre", "Nick Fisher", "BBC Radio 4"] |
A seaside fishing community is torn apart when a submerged trawler wreckage yields evidence of an insurance sabotage conspiracy. |
| "The Count of Luxembourg with Gladys Swarthout" | NBC Red (WEAF) 1934-09-04 10:00 PM EDST |
Colgate-Palmolive Palmolive Soap & Shave |
Gladys Swarthout & Barclay | Nathaniel Shilkret & Lehar | ["Operetta", "Music", "Palmolive Beauty Box Theater", "Gladys Swarthout", "Franz Lehar"] |
An impoverished bohemian nobleman agrees to marry a veiled opera diva for money, only to genuinely fall in love with her unrecognized identity. |