Four Star Playhouse
Synopsis
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.
Season 4 Episodes
EP 1
A WWII captain must oversee an execution he doesn't want to happen.
EP 2
A 100-year-old woman who recalls her romance with a desperado during the days of the old West.
EP 3
A reformed card sharp is recruited to unmask a suspected poker cheat among a group of wealthy gamblers. He finds it difficult to be imparti…
EP 4
A particularly bad review causes a Broadway actress to scheme to humiliate the drama critic.
EP 5
A former sheriff, Will Sonnett, known for his fast draw shows up in Mesa to see an optometrist; he's become nearsighted and badly needs gla…
EP 6
In Hell, the administrating office is hopelessly out of date and incompetent, so Satan enlists the help of an exceptionally aggressive and …
EP 7
A milquetoast employee at a novelty company is overlooked by everyone from his boss to the woman he crushes on. But after being suckered by…
EP 8
A woman is surprised when her fiancé turns out to have been married before.
EP 9
Alan moves to America when his wife dies, leaving his young daughter with her grandmother in Paris. When he returns after five years, his d…
EP 10
Industrialist Fleet Mason, a workaholic who doesn't realize how many lives he effects with his stressed-out working habits. When he thinks …
EP 11
A wealthy woman separates from her fortune-hunting husband. She rents a swanky New York penthouse in a building so new that she is the onl…
EP 12
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 an escape…
EP 13
Upset that his 25 years of service for the company are unappreciated, Henri treats himself to an expensive night on the town, on the compan…
EP 14
While traveling alone in a train compartment, an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bound man (Cedric Hardwicke) is confronted by a younger man (…
EP 15
An employee catches attractive Mrs. Raymond making a pass at Willie, then Mr. Raymond comes to the club with a gun to get even. Willie shoo…
EP 16
Sheila and her brother engineer a gas leak to kill her husband so they can split the insurance money. Overhearing the plot is the husband's…
EP 17
The chancellor of a foreign university gives newspaperman Frank Carstairs a document to smuggle out of the country. He anticipates being ch…
EP 18
Suave restaurateur-gambler Willie Dante rebuffs the attempt of racketeers to cash in on his gambling activities. He appears to change his m…
EP 19
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 at a tim…
EP 20
At a particularly vulnerable time in her life, Carol is wooed by charming David. They fall in love, but Carol then learns that David is mar…
EP 21
A police detective travels to Borneo looking for an American who murdered his wife for a huge insurance payoff. There are only three Americ…
EP 22
The conflict of a prison warden who discovers exculpatory evidence on the eve of an execution.
EP 23
A famous author gets embroiled in an unusual situation when he offers to drive a young Mexican girl to her ranch.
EP 24
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 that he ha…
EP 25
An older husband tests the marital fidelity of his amorous young wife by anonymously sending her flowers from "a secret admirer".
EP 26
A TV writer finds inspiration from a little girl travelling to Los Angeles.
EP 27
An undercover agent is dispatched to the anti-communist underground to search for an important contact. But when he's caught by the red Chi…
EP 28
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 overheard …
EP 29
Two con men target a naive young oilman from Texas. They visit Willie's gambling hall, and the con men threaten Willie. He decides to get r…
EP 30
A young widow, who is in denial that her husband has died, moves in with her brother-in-law's family down on the farm. Her city ways and ma…
EP 31
A teacher wanting to leave his unfulfilling job needs money to write the book he's dreamed of. A stranger enters and makes an unusual offer…
EP 32
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 that day.
EP 33
In an effort to escape her past, a woman takes a job in a plant.
EP 34
Philip Benton is entertaining thoughts of moving on from his wife, who has been in a sanitarium for five years. Just as he is starting a ne…
EP 35
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 his caree…
EP 36
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 hand that s…
EP 37
Fresh out of prison, blackmailer Gus Anderson intends to use Willie's casino to launder his victims' money. To insure his cooperation, Gus'…
EP 38
More interested in his career than in his duty as a physician, a noted doctor intentionally misdiagnoses a patient in an Asian city so he c…
EP 39
A military hero becomes circumspect as his wife expects their first child. In battle, he jumps into a protective hole instead of forging to…
EP 40
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. Her amb…
EP 41
A man is assigned to force a small-town newspaper out of existence.
