Famous Escapes
It was interesting to find that Wireless Weekly presented a pictorial account of some of the 'Famous Escapes'.
These were included in the September, 1938 issues of Wireless Weekly.
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-09 The Escape of Lieut Sunderland
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-16 The Escape of Colonel Blood
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-23 The Escape of King Alfred
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-30 The Relief of Lucknow
Suddenly they stopped.
Many series were associated with comic strips, but this is the only graphical series of this kind that I can think of.
Certainly the sponsor 'Nyal' made use of the association with this series.
Famous Escapes - BSA Production - Written by William Power
Nationally sponsored by Nyal Commenced 16th January 1938.
Cast: Leonard Bennett, Ronald Morse, Peter Finch, Lou Vernon, Betty Suttor, Barbara Smith, Harold B. Meade, Frank Bradley, Leslie Victor, Harvey Adams and Mary McGregor.
A complete log has so far been difficult. Going through the program guides in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, I found that the series was broadcast out of order in every state.
Collectors with Transcriptions indicate no titles were displayed on the labels and no indication was given in the introduction of each episode. This has meant that names allocated by collectors differ.
Artransa rereleased the series in the 1940's and it looks like they also changed the order of episodes. They exported the series to the U.S. and again may well have changed the order or naming.
For the reasons I have mentioned, I decided to base the main log on the original scripts. Some scripts listed on NFSA database do not have names allocated and those I have since received advice from NFSA with names after they pulled the scripts for me.
Because the episodes were broadcast in a different order from the scripts from day one, I have also added a log taken from the order in the program guides for Australia.
It is worth noting that Wireless Weekly magazines in September 1938 contained full page drawings and captions telling the story of that weeks episode of Famous Escapes.
To my way of thinking, for documentation purposes, we should name and number the surviving episodes in the order of the scripts but note the broadcast order in the documentation as well. Strangest log I have had to work on so far.
ep01 The Man They Couldn't Hang
ep02 The Escape of Catherine the Great
ep03 Mr Poulton (title from script. not listed in program guides)
ep04 The Escape of The Kelly Gang.
ep05 The Escape of Diana Traill
ep06 The Escape of Casanova
ep07 The Escape of Hendrik Dorskopf
ep08 The Escape of Flight-Lieutenants Tracey and Pearce
ep09 The Escape of The Countess Rachendoff
ep10 The Escape of Thomas Buckley
ep11 The Escape of Lord Nithsdale
ep12 The Escape of Elizabeth Barrett
ep13 The Escape of Captain John Smith (With the help of Pocohontas)
ep14 The Escape of Mary Queen of Scots
ep15 The Escape of John Whitehead
ep16 The Escape of Alfred Dreyfus
ep17 The Escape of Napoleon from Elba
ep18 The Escape of Harvey Jones
ep19 The Escape of Robert Bruce
ep20 The Escape of Hans Gunther and Wilhelm von Mucke
ep21 The Escape of Dr. Livingstone
ep22 The Escape of Charles the Second after Worcester
ep23 The Escape of Bonnie Prince Charles
ep24 The Escape of The French Aristocrat
ep25 The Escape of Monte Cristo
ep26 The Escape of Edward III before Calais
ep27 Penelope Escapes Her Suitors
ep28 The Escape of Lieutenant Bligh
ep29 The Escape of Richard the Lion Heart
ep30 The Escape of Jack Sheppard
ep31 The Escape of Lord Cochrane
ep32 The Escape of Lenin
ep33 A Royal Escape
ep34 The Escape of Queen Elizabeth
ep35 The Escape of Peter Downes
ep36 The Escape of Lieutenant Sunderland
ep37 The Escape of Colonel Blood
ep38 The Escape of King Alfred
ep39 The Relief of Lucknow
ep40 The Escape of Sir John Cochrane
ep41 The Escape of The House of Commons and James I
ep42 The Escape of John Foxe
ep43 The Escape of Owen Brown
ep44 The Escape of Hubert Lockyer
ep45 The Retreat from Moscow. The Escape of Marshal Ney
In the above log based on the scripts, there are a couple of items that need explanation:
ep03 Mr Poulton. There is no record in the program guides or newspaper articles of this episode being broadcast. A staff member from NFSA wrote the following description from her reading of the script.
"Looking at the Mr Poulton episode, he is an accountant and only has a couple of lines. I think the title is wrong. The main story is around Jim and Arthur who own a garage. Mr Poulton recommends they need investment of 500 pounds to make improvements. Jim wants to marry Betty Poulton, the daughter of Mr Poulton. He knows his friend Hubert Collins has just come into some money and asks him if he wants to invest. Hubert agrees on the proviso they all take out life insurance premiums. Hubert asks Betty to marry him and Betty agrees. Profits increase but Jim and Arthur start to resent having to split the profits three ways instead of two. They discuss possible ways Hubert could have an "accident" in the garage. They hit Hubert in the head and place him near the exhaust of a running car, hoping the carbon dioxide will kill him. Betty comes to meet Hubert for dinner and discovers him before it is too late. Once Hubert recovers he doesn't report them to the police, just removes his initial investment and he and Betty live happily ever after in another part of England.....And so concludes the escape of Hubert Collins."
Mr Poulton or Hubert Collins, no matter the name, we do not have this episode nor is there an episode in the program guides that is not covered by the titles in the series. Its a mystery at this stage.
ep14 Escape of Mary Queen of Scots. The scripts for episodes 14, 18, 24 are missing and I have placed Mary Queen of Scots in this position only as a guess. But the three could possibly exchange episode numbers, we will not know until one, two or all three scripts are found.
ep18 The Escape of Harvey Jones. As above explanation.
ep24 The French aristocrat. As above explanation.
ep31 The Escape of Lord Cochrane. The script title was incomplete and missed the name of the subject, however Amanda McCormack read the script and Lord Cochrane was named, as was confirmed by the performance itself.
Australian Broadcast details
1938-01-23 French Aristocrats
1938-01-39
1938-02-06
1938-02-13
1938-02-20 The Escape of Catherine the Great
1938-02-27 The Escape of John Smith
1938-03-06 The Escape of Mary Queen of Scots
1938-03-13 The escape of Diana Trail
1938-03-20 The Escape of Casanova
1938-03-27 The Escape of Hendrick Dorskopf
1938-04-03 The Escape From Holzminden
1938-04-10 The Escape of the Russian Aristocrats
1938-04-17 The Escape of Thomas Buckley
1938-04-24 The Escape of Lord Nithsdale
1938-05-01 The Escape of Elizabeth Barrett
1938-05-08 The Escape of Harvey Jones
1938-05-15 The Escape of Dan Kelly
1938-05-22 The Escape of the Whitehead Family
1938-05-29 The Escape of Dreyfus
1938-06-05 The Escape of Napoleon from Elbe
1938-06-12 The Escape from the Turkish Prison
1938-06-19
1938-06-26 The escape of Von Mucke
1938-07-03 The Escape of David Livingston
1938-07-10 The Escape
1938-07-17 The Escape of James I
1938-07-24 The Escape of John Foxe
1938-07-31 The Escape of Owen Brown
1938-08-07 The Escape from the Mahdi
1938-08-14 The Escape of Marshall Ney
1938-08-21 Penelopes Escape from her Suitors
1938-08-28 The Escape of Captain Bligh
1938-09-04
1938-09-11 The Escape of Jack Shepperd
1938-09-18 The Escape of Lord Cochrane
1938-09-25 The Escape of Lenin
1938-10-02 A Royal Escape
1938-10-09 England Escapes the Armada
1938-10-16 The Escape of Peter Downes
1938-10-23 The Escape of Lt. Sunderland
1938-10-30 The Escape of Colonel Blood
1938-11-06 The Escape of King edward
1938-11-13 The Relief of Lucknow
1938-11-20 Escape Through A Daughters Devotion
Log completed by Ian Grieve using NFSA script listing, newspapers and magazines in my collection containing articles, program guides as well as advertisements for individual episodes and the series as a whole, as well as those available online. Assistance from NFSA was greatly appreciated.
These were included in the September, 1938 issues of Wireless Weekly.
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-09 The Escape of Lieut Sunderland
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-16 The Escape of Colonel Blood
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-23 The Escape of King Alfred
Wireless Weekly 1938-09-30 The Relief of Lucknow
Suddenly they stopped.
Many series were associated with comic strips, but this is the only graphical series of this kind that I can think of.
Certainly the sponsor 'Nyal' made use of the association with this series.
Famous Escapes - BSA Production - Written by William Power
Nationally sponsored by Nyal Commenced 16th January 1938.
Cast: Leonard Bennett, Ronald Morse, Peter Finch, Lou Vernon, Betty Suttor, Barbara Smith, Harold B. Meade, Frank Bradley, Leslie Victor, Harvey Adams and Mary McGregor.
A complete log has so far been difficult. Going through the program guides in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, I found that the series was broadcast out of order in every state.
Collectors with Transcriptions indicate no titles were displayed on the labels and no indication was given in the introduction of each episode. This has meant that names allocated by collectors differ.
Artransa rereleased the series in the 1940's and it looks like they also changed the order of episodes. They exported the series to the U.S. and again may well have changed the order or naming.
For the reasons I have mentioned, I decided to base the main log on the original scripts. Some scripts listed on NFSA database do not have names allocated and those I have since received advice from NFSA with names after they pulled the scripts for me.
Because the episodes were broadcast in a different order from the scripts from day one, I have also added a log taken from the order in the program guides for Australia.
It is worth noting that Wireless Weekly magazines in September 1938 contained full page drawings and captions telling the story of that weeks episode of Famous Escapes.
To my way of thinking, for documentation purposes, we should name and number the surviving episodes in the order of the scripts but note the broadcast order in the documentation as well. Strangest log I have had to work on so far.
ep01 The Man They Couldn't Hang
ep02 The Escape of Catherine the Great
ep03 Mr Poulton (title from script. not listed in program guides)
ep04 The Escape of The Kelly Gang.
ep05 The Escape of Diana Traill
ep06 The Escape of Casanova
ep07 The Escape of Hendrik Dorskopf
ep08 The Escape of Flight-Lieutenants Tracey and Pearce
ep09 The Escape of The Countess Rachendoff
ep10 The Escape of Thomas Buckley
ep11 The Escape of Lord Nithsdale
ep12 The Escape of Elizabeth Barrett
ep13 The Escape of Captain John Smith (With the help of Pocohontas)
ep14 The Escape of Mary Queen of Scots
ep15 The Escape of John Whitehead
ep16 The Escape of Alfred Dreyfus
ep17 The Escape of Napoleon from Elba
ep18 The Escape of Harvey Jones
ep19 The Escape of Robert Bruce
ep20 The Escape of Hans Gunther and Wilhelm von Mucke
ep21 The Escape of Dr. Livingstone
ep22 The Escape of Charles the Second after Worcester
ep23 The Escape of Bonnie Prince Charles
ep24 The Escape of The French Aristocrat
ep25 The Escape of Monte Cristo
ep26 The Escape of Edward III before Calais
ep27 Penelope Escapes Her Suitors
ep28 The Escape of Lieutenant Bligh
ep29 The Escape of Richard the Lion Heart
ep30 The Escape of Jack Sheppard
ep31 The Escape of Lord Cochrane
ep32 The Escape of Lenin
ep33 A Royal Escape
ep34 The Escape of Queen Elizabeth
ep35 The Escape of Peter Downes
ep36 The Escape of Lieutenant Sunderland
ep37 The Escape of Colonel Blood
ep38 The Escape of King Alfred
ep39 The Relief of Lucknow
ep40 The Escape of Sir John Cochrane
ep41 The Escape of The House of Commons and James I
ep42 The Escape of John Foxe
ep43 The Escape of Owen Brown
ep44 The Escape of Hubert Lockyer
ep45 The Retreat from Moscow. The Escape of Marshal Ney
In the above log based on the scripts, there are a couple of items that need explanation:
ep03 Mr Poulton. There is no record in the program guides or newspaper articles of this episode being broadcast. A staff member from NFSA wrote the following description from her reading of the script.
"Looking at the Mr Poulton episode, he is an accountant and only has a couple of lines. I think the title is wrong. The main story is around Jim and Arthur who own a garage. Mr Poulton recommends they need investment of 500 pounds to make improvements. Jim wants to marry Betty Poulton, the daughter of Mr Poulton. He knows his friend Hubert Collins has just come into some money and asks him if he wants to invest. Hubert agrees on the proviso they all take out life insurance premiums. Hubert asks Betty to marry him and Betty agrees. Profits increase but Jim and Arthur start to resent having to split the profits three ways instead of two. They discuss possible ways Hubert could have an "accident" in the garage. They hit Hubert in the head and place him near the exhaust of a running car, hoping the carbon dioxide will kill him. Betty comes to meet Hubert for dinner and discovers him before it is too late. Once Hubert recovers he doesn't report them to the police, just removes his initial investment and he and Betty live happily ever after in another part of England.....And so concludes the escape of Hubert Collins."
Mr Poulton or Hubert Collins, no matter the name, we do not have this episode nor is there an episode in the program guides that is not covered by the titles in the series. Its a mystery at this stage.
ep14 Escape of Mary Queen of Scots. The scripts for episodes 14, 18, 24 are missing and I have placed Mary Queen of Scots in this position only as a guess. But the three could possibly exchange episode numbers, we will not know until one, two or all three scripts are found.
ep18 The Escape of Harvey Jones. As above explanation.
ep24 The French aristocrat. As above explanation.
ep31 The Escape of Lord Cochrane. The script title was incomplete and missed the name of the subject, however Amanda McCormack read the script and Lord Cochrane was named, as was confirmed by the performance itself.
Australian Broadcast details
1938-01-23 French Aristocrats
1938-01-39
1938-02-06
1938-02-13
1938-02-20 The Escape of Catherine the Great
1938-02-27 The Escape of John Smith
1938-03-06 The Escape of Mary Queen of Scots
1938-03-13 The escape of Diana Trail
1938-03-20 The Escape of Casanova
1938-03-27 The Escape of Hendrick Dorskopf
1938-04-03 The Escape From Holzminden
1938-04-10 The Escape of the Russian Aristocrats
1938-04-17 The Escape of Thomas Buckley
1938-04-24 The Escape of Lord Nithsdale
1938-05-01 The Escape of Elizabeth Barrett
1938-05-08 The Escape of Harvey Jones
1938-05-15 The Escape of Dan Kelly
1938-05-22 The Escape of the Whitehead Family
1938-05-29 The Escape of Dreyfus
1938-06-05 The Escape of Napoleon from Elbe
1938-06-12 The Escape from the Turkish Prison
1938-06-19
1938-06-26 The escape of Von Mucke
1938-07-03 The Escape of David Livingston
1938-07-10 The Escape
1938-07-17 The Escape of James I
1938-07-24 The Escape of John Foxe
1938-07-31 The Escape of Owen Brown
1938-08-07 The Escape from the Mahdi
1938-08-14 The Escape of Marshall Ney
1938-08-21 Penelopes Escape from her Suitors
1938-08-28 The Escape of Captain Bligh
1938-09-04
1938-09-11 The Escape of Jack Shepperd
1938-09-18 The Escape of Lord Cochrane
1938-09-25 The Escape of Lenin
1938-10-02 A Royal Escape
1938-10-09 England Escapes the Armada
1938-10-16 The Escape of Peter Downes
1938-10-23 The Escape of Lt. Sunderland
1938-10-30 The Escape of Colonel Blood
1938-11-06 The Escape of King edward
1938-11-13 The Relief of Lucknow
1938-11-20 Escape Through A Daughters Devotion
Log completed by Ian Grieve using NFSA script listing, newspapers and magazines in my collection containing articles, program guides as well as advertisements for individual episodes and the series as a whole, as well as those available online. Assistance from NFSA was greatly appreciated.
