Four Star Playhouse

4,30

1952

6.7 / 10

Episodes

EP 1: The Firing Squad

A WWII captain must oversee an execution he doesn't want to happen....

EP 2: The Face of Danger

A 100-year-old woman who recalls her romance with a desperado during the days of the old West....

EP 3: Let the Chips Fall

A reformed card sharp is recruited to unmask a suspected poker cheat among a group of wealthy gamblers. He finds it difficult to b...

EP 4: Full Circle

A particularly bad review causes a Broadway actress to scheme to humiliate the drama critic....

EP 5: A Spray of Bullets

A former sheriff, Will Sonnett, known for his fast draw shows up in Mesa to see an optometrist; he's become nearsighted and badly ...

EP 6: The Devil to Pay

In Hell, the administrating office is hopelessly out of date and incompetent, so Satan enlists the help of an exceptionally aggres...

EP 7: Here Comes the Suit

A milquetoast employee at a novelty company is overlooked by everyone from his boss to the woman he crushes on. But after being su...

EP 8: Looking Glass House

A woman is surprised when her fiancé turns out to have been married before....

EP 9: Something Very Special

Alan moves to America when his wife dies, leaving his young daughter with her grandmother in Paris. When he returns after five yea...

EP 10: A Place Full of Strangers

Industrialist Fleet Mason, a workaholic who doesn't realize how many lives he effects with his stressed-out working habits. When h...

EP 11: One Way Out

A wealthy woman separates from her fortune-hunting husband. She rents a swanky New York penthouse in a building so new that she i...

EP 12: Dark Meeting

When her long-time pin-boy retires, bowling proprietress hires the one guy who answers her want-ad right away. He turns out to be ...

EP 13: Magic Night

Upset that his 25 years of service for the company are unappreciated, Henri treats himself to an expensive night on the town, on t...

EP 14: Tunnel of Fear

While traveling alone in a train compartment, an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bound man (Cedric Hardwicke) is confronted by a youn...

EP 15: High Stakes

An employee catches attractive Mrs. Raymond making a pass at Willie, then Mr. Raymond comes to the club with a gun to get even. Wi...

EP 16: The Listener

Sheila and her brother engineer a gas leak to kill her husband so they can split the insurance money. Overhearing the plot is the ...

EP 17: Safe Keeping

The chancellor of a foreign university gives newspaperman Frank Carstairs a document to smuggle out of the country. He anticipates...

EP 18: No Limit

Suave restaurateur-gambler Willie Dante rebuffs the attempt of racketeers to cash in on his gambling activities. He appears to cha...

EP 19: Command

The first mate on a merchant ship has been waiting for years to take command of the ship. When the elderly captain makes a mistake...

EP 20: Once to Every Woman

At a particularly vulnerable time in her life, Carol is wooed by charming David. They fall in love, but Carol then learns that Dav...

EP 21: Red Wine

A police detective travels to Borneo looking for an American who murdered his wife for a huge insurance payoff. There are only thr...

EP 22: To Die at Midnight

The conflict of a prison warden who discovers exculpatory evidence on the eve of an execution....

EP 23: Desert Encounter

A famous author gets embroiled in an unusual situation when he offers to drive a young Mexican girl to her ranch....

EP 24: The Case of Emily Cameron

Emily is an invalid who needs a caretaker. Her husband leaves her home alone one day, and she begins to stew over the low regard t...

EP 25: The Rites of Spring

An older husband tests the marital fidelity of his amorous young wife by anonymously sending her flowers from "a secret admirer"....

EP 26: Autumn Carousel

A TV writer finds inspiration from a little girl travelling to Los Angeles....

EP 27: Wall of Bamboo

An undercover agent is dispatched to the anti-communist underground to search for an important contact. But when he's caught by th...

EP 28: Touch and Go

Ted attacks old enemy Walter in a fit of rage. Stunned at the realization that Walter is dead, he hears a woman on the phone who o...

EP 29: A Long Way From Texas

Two con men target a naive young oilman from Texas. They visit Willie's gambling hall, and the con men threaten Willie. He decides...

EP 31: The Other Room

A teacher wanting to leave his unfulfilling job needs money to write the book he's dreamed of. A stranger enters and makes an unus...

EP 32: One Forty-Two

Ruthless dictator Mendoza summons a priest when 300,000 people in his country announce that they will pray for him to die at 1:42 ...

EP 33: Beneath the Surface

In an effort to escape her past, a woman takes a job in a plant....

EP 34: Watch the Sunset

Philip Benton is entertaining thoughts of moving on from his wife, who has been in a sanitarium for five years. Just as he is star...

EP 35: Second Chance

An experienced writer is in the middle of a professional slump when he is inspired by the story of an old long lost friend. While ...

EP 36: Woman Afraid

While her husband is laid up in a farm house with a broken leg, Nina sees a prowling burglar. She calls for help, but the hired ha...

EP 37: The Stacked Deck

Fresh out of prison, blackmailer Gus Anderson intends to use Willie's casino to launder his victims' money. To insure his cooperat...

EP 38: Distinguished Service

More interested in his career than in his duty as a physician, a noted doctor intentionally misdiagnoses a patient in an Asian cit...

EP 39: Yellowbelly

A military hero becomes circumspect as his wife expects their first child. In battle, he jumps into a protective hole instead of f...

EP 40: The Stand-In

An aspiring actress has spent 20 years in Hollywood, not gaining fame as she had hoped, but as a stand-in for a well-known actress...

EP 41: Success Story

A man is assigned to force a small-town newspaper out of existence....

Overview

Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.

  • en
  • Drama, Comedy,

Episodes >>

The Firing Squad

Episode 1

A WWII captain must oversee an execution he doesn't want to happen....

The Face of Danger

Episode 2

A 100-year-old woman who recalls her romance with a desperado during the days ...

Let the Chips Fall

Episode 3

A reformed card sharp is recruited to unmask a suspected poker cheat among a gro...

Full Circle

Episode 4

A particularly bad review causes a Broadway actress to scheme to humiliate the d...

A Spray of Bullets

Episode 5

A former sheriff, Will Sonnett, known for his fast draw shows up in Mesa to see ...

The Devil to Pay

Episode 6

In Hell, the administrating office is hopelessly out of date and incompetent, so...

Here Comes the Suit

Episode 7

A milquetoast employee at a novelty company is overlooked by everyone from his b...

Looking Glass House

Episode 8

A woman is surprised when her fiancé turns out to have been married before....

Something Very Special

Episode 9

Alan moves to America when his wife dies, leaving his young daughter with her gr...

A Place Full of Strangers

Episode 10

Industrialist Fleet Mason, a workaholic who doesn't realize how many lives he ef...

One Way Out

Episode 11

A wealthy woman separates from her fortune-hunting husband. She rents a swanky ...

Dark Meeting

Episode 12

When her long-time pin-boy retires, bowling proprietress hires the one guy who a...

Magic Night

Episode 13

Upset that his 25 years of service for the company are unappreciated, Henri trea...

Tunnel of Fear

Episode 14

While traveling alone in a train compartment, an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bo...

High Stakes

Episode 15

An employee catches attractive Mrs. Raymond making a pass at Willie, then Mr. Ra...

The Listener

Episode 16

Sheila and her brother engineer a gas leak to kill her husband so they can split...

Safe Keeping

Episode 17

The chancellor of a foreign university gives newspaperman Frank Carstairs a docu...

No Limit

Episode 18

Suave restaurateur-gambler Willie Dante rebuffs the attempt of racketeers to cas...

Command

Episode 19

The first mate on a merchant ship has been waiting for years to take command of ...

Once to Every Woman

Episode 20

At a particularly vulnerable time in her life, Carol is wooed by charming David....

Red Wine

Episode 21

A police detective travels to Borneo looking for an American who murdered his wi...

To Die at Midnight

Episode 22

The conflict of a prison warden who discovers exculpatory evidence on the eve of...

Desert Encounter

Episode 23

A famous author gets embroiled in an unusual situation when he offers to drive a...

The Case of Emily Cameron

Episode 24

Emily is an invalid who needs a caretaker. Her husband leaves her home alone one...

The Rites of Spring

Episode 25

An older husband tests the marital fidelity of his amorous young wife by anonymo...

Autumn Carousel

Episode 26

A TV writer finds inspiration from a little girl travelling to Los Angeles....

Wall of Bamboo

Episode 27

An undercover agent is dispatched to the anti-communist underground to search fo...

Touch and Go

Episode 28

Ted attacks old enemy Walter in a fit of rage. Stunned at the realization that W...

A Long Way From Texas

Episode 29

Two con men target a naive young oilman from Texas. They visit Willie's gambling...

That Woman

Episode 30

now-playing-animation

The Other Room

Episode 31

A teacher wanting to leave his unfulfilling job needs money to write the book he...

One Forty-Two

Episode 32

Ruthless dictator Mendoza summons a priest when 300,000 people in his country an...

Beneath the Surface

Episode 33

In an effort to escape her past, a woman takes a job in a plant....

Watch the Sunset

Episode 34

Philip Benton is entertaining thoughts of moving on from his wife, who has been ...

Second Chance

Episode 35

An experienced writer is in the middle of a professional slump when he is inspir...

Woman Afraid

Episode 36

While her husband is laid up in a farm house with a broken leg, Nina sees a prow...

The Stacked Deck

Episode 37

Fresh out of prison, blackmailer Gus Anderson intends to use Willie's casino to ...

Distinguished Service

Episode 38

More interested in his career than in his duty as a physician, a noted doctor in...

Yellowbelly

Episode 39

A military hero becomes circumspect as his wife expects their first child. In ba...

The Stand-In

Episode 40

An aspiring actress has spent 20 years in Hollywood, not gaining fame as she had...

Success Story

Episode 41

A man is assigned to force a small-town newspaper out of existence....