W2XBS Schedule, Week of November 26th, 1939

Here’s the schedule for NBC’s experimental station W2XBS in New York City for the week starting Sunday, November 26th, 1939, straight from the weekly television listings printed in The New York Times. For some reason, the station broadcast amateur boxing on Tuesday this week, when usually both Monday and Tuesday were dark. Other sporting events included a football game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers and boxing at Ridgewood Grove. Three full films were broadcast during the week, World Gone Mad (1933) on Sunday, November 26th, Mayerling (1936) on Thursday, November 30th and Harlem Rides the Range (1939) on Friday, December 1st. Additional short films were aired on Wednesday, November 29th and Thursday, November 30th. Another installment in the Wings Over the Nation was shown on Saturday, December 2nd.

A play entitled “Roosty,” written by Martin Berkeley, was shown on Friday, December 1st. And two variety hours on Wednesday, November 29th included body-building exercises, a fashion preview and something called “Facts and Fancies” with Alice Maslin.

Sunday, November 26th, 1939
2:15-4:45PM – Football: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, at Polo Grounds.
8:30-9:45PM – Film, “World Gone Mad,” with Pat O’Brien.

Tuesday, November 28th, 1939
9:30-10PM – Diamond Belt Semi-Finals, amateur boxing, at Ridgewood Grove.

Wednesday, November 29th, 1939
2:30-3:30PM – Louise Irwin, body-building exercises; films, “Ski Trails of New France,” “Russian Symphony” and “The West Indies”; Facts and Fancies, with Alice Maslin.
8:30-9:30PM – Fashion Preview; McClelland Barclay, artist, and Betty Goodwin; Rodeo Ramblers. Terry Harris, mistress of ceremonies.

Thursday, November 30th, 1939
2:30-3:30PM – Films, “A New Adventure” and “Atlantic Holiday.”
8:30-10PM – Film, “Mayerling,” with Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux.

Friday, December 1st, 1939
2:30-3:30PM – Film, “Harlem Rides the Range.”
8:30-9:45PM – Play, “Roosty,”” by Martin Berkeley.

Saturday, December 2nd, 1939
2:30-3:30PM – “Wings Over the Nation,” sixth in a series on aviation.
9-11PM – Boxing, at the Ridgewood Grove.

Sources:

“Telecasts.” New York Times. 26 Nov. 1939: 139.


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One Reply to “W2XBS Schedule, Week of November 26th, 1939”

  1. “Mayerling” was another “foreign import”, with French subtitles. And “Harlem Rides the Range” was a RARE all-black Western, initially released by a “fly-by-night” production outfit, “Hollywood Pictures Corporation”, the previous February- this was the film’s first TV exposure (although I suspect only a handful of New York viewers ever saw it, on December 1st). It featured singer/actor Herb Jeffries and Spencer Williams [who co-wrote the screenplay], later known as “George ‘Kingfish’ Stevens” on the TV version of “THE AMOS ‘N’ ANDY SHOW”, twelve years later.

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