Archival Dispatch: August 24 Calendar Walk — Saturday Night Theatre (5 Decades) and Imagination Theater
Date:
Author: radio index
Reading: 4 min
Tags: August 24, Calendar Walk, Saturday Night Theatre, BBC Home Service, BBC Radio 4, Philip Levene, Patrick Barr, John Rowan Wilson, John Carson, Martin Jarvis, Napoleonic Wars, Ted Willis, Bryan Pringle, Ben Travers, Ian Carmichael, Derek Nimmo, Aldwych Farce, Imagination Theater, Jim French, Alternate Titles, Original Filenames
August 24 Exhaustive Archival Metadata Enrichment (Increment 60)
This archival dispatch documents the comprehensive provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, serial multi-part narrative arcs, and story synopses for historical broadcasts transmitting on August 24 across five decades of British BBC Saturday Night Theatre drama and American modern audio drama history (1957–1997):
1. August 24 Archival Inventory (Increment 60)
| Original Circulating Filename & Alternate Titles | Canonical Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story-First Plot Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday_Night_1957.mp3 Alt: Murder When Necessary, Philip Levene BBC |
"Murder When Necessary (Philip Levene — Patrick Barr — BBC)" | BBC Home 1957-08-24 9:15 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Drama Presentation |
Patrick Barr, Beryl Baxter, Hamilton Dyce | Philip Levene (Writer), Audrey Cameron (Producer) | ["Mystery", "Detective", "Thriller", "British", "Noir"] |
A tense psychological thriller written by Philip Levene, wherein an apparently flawless murder scheme conceived by a desperate blackmailer begins to unravel when an uninvited guest turns up at a secluded Surrey country estate on a stormy evening. |
Saturday_Night_1963.mp3 Alt: Means to an End, John Rowan Wilson BBC |
"Means to an End (John Rowan Wilson — John Carson — BBC)" | BBC Home 1963-08-24 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Drama Presentation |
John Carson, Mary Wimbush, Ralph Truman | John Rowan Wilson, John Wilson, Norman Wright | ["Drama", "Corporate", "Ethics", "British", "Thriller"] |
An intense corporate thriller chronicling an ambitious young executive who uncovers systemic bribery and international bribery kickbacks within a transatlantic industrial manufacturing conglomerate, forcing him to choose between corporate advancement and personal integrity. |
Saturday_Night_1968.mp3 Alt: French Prisoner, Martin Jarvis BBC 1968 |
"The French Prisoner (Martin Jarvis & Sean Barrett — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1968-08-24 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Drama Presentation |
Martin Jarvis, Sean Barrett, Ronald Herdman | John Elliot (Writer), David H. Godfrey (Producer) | ["Drama", "Historical", "Military", "Napoleonic", "British"] |
Set during the Napoleonic Wars on the windswept coast of Cornwall, a compassionate English physician shelters an escaped French naval prisoner of war, sparking fierce suspicion among local smugglers and coastal militia. |
Saturday_Night_1974.mp3 Alt: Soldier Poor Man, Ted Willis BBC 1974 |
"Soldier, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief (Ted Willis — Bryan Pringle — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1974-08-24 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Drama Presentation |
Bryan Pringle, Peter Vaughan, Liz Goulding | Lord Ted Willis (Writer), Joe Burroughs (Producer) | ["Drama", "Social", "Crime", "British", "Post-War"] |
A gritty post-war social drama by Ted Willis following a demobilized British army soldier struggling to find honest employment in London's East End, who finds himself drawn into an underworld safe-cracking gang by former wartime comrades. |
Saturday_Night_1985.mp3 Alt: Rookery Nook, Ian Carmichael Derek Nimmo |
"Rookery Nook (Ben Travers — Ian Carmichael & Derek Nimmo — BBC)" | BBC Radio 4 1985-08-24 8:00 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Comedy Farce |
Ian Carmichael, Derek Nimmo, Joan Sanderson | Ben Travers (Author), Peter Jones, Gerry Jones | ["Comedy", "Farce", "British", "Satire", "Theater"] |
Ben Travers' legendary Aldwych farce starring comedy masters Ian Carmichael and Derek Nimmo, following a newly married groom whose holiday cottage is invaded by a distressed young woman in pink silk pyjamas, sparking frantic cover-ups to deceive a ferocious daily housekeeper and suspicious in-laws. |
Imagination_Theater_1997.mp3 Alt: Crisis Star Light, Jim French Crisis Series |
"Crisis: Comedy in Three Acts & Star Light, Star Bright (Jim French — Imagination Theater)" | Syndicated 1997-08-24 8:00 PM PDT |
Sustaining Imagination Theater |
John Gilbert, Larry Albert, Pat French | Jim French (Writer/Dir.), Eric Aho (Composer) | ["Mystery", "Suspense", "Thriller", "Anthology", "Audio Drama"] |
Audio drama master Jim French presents two gripping suspense thrillers in the Crisis anthology series: a deadly stage farce in 'Comedy in Three Acts' and a tense psychological kidnapping mystery in 'Star Light, Star Bright'. |
2. Archival Verification Summary
- Target Calendar Day: August 24
- Broadcasts Resolved This Increment: 6
- Cumulative Resolved on August 24: 360
- Target Repositories Synchronized:
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