Four Star Playhouse
This dramatic anthology series ran on CBS from 1952 to 1956. Four stars alternated weeks starring: Dick Powell, Ida Lupino, Charles Boyer and David Niven. Other movie stars were featured: Ronald Colman, Merle Oberon, Joan Fontaine, Teresa Wright and Frank Lovejoy.
A few episodes are from the similar anthology series Stage 7 (1954-'55). Both Four Star Playhouse and Stage 7 were syndicated together under the title Star Performance. Available as Mpeg2 or Mpeg4 Digital files.
Starring Dick Powell
The House Always Wins
Over the four season run of Four Star Playhouse, Dick Powell made eight episodes as Willie Dante, owner of a swank restaurant with illegal gambling in the back room.
April 28, 1955. One evening, Willie sees an old flame with a man and another couple, The woman, still caring for Willie, tells him that the people she's with are planning to rob his casino.
Stacked Deck
June 28, 1956. With Dick Powell. Willie Dante, owner of a gaming house, is threatened by blackmailers. They want to use his place for a payoff.
High Stakes
Jan. 26, 1956.
Dick Powell as Willie Dante, wily gambler-restaurateur, becomes a target for murder
because of his latest romantic interest.
The Hard Way 11/19/1953
Dick Powell. Another adventure of Dante written by Blake Edwards and directed by Robert Aldrich.
The Squeeze Oct. 1, 1953. Dick Powell as Willie Dante. Stan, the son of the DA, is a secret gambler.
He loses big in Willie's joint and pays by check. Deras, a gangster up before the Grand Jury, wants to get hold of Stan's check to blackmail the DA.
The Contest
Nov. 4, 1954. With Dick Powell. A detective gets involved in a case of murder where his brother and his brother's wife are the chief suspects.
Detective’s Holiday
March 4, 1954 With Dick Powell, Dick Foran. Directed by Blake Edwards. A detective must decide whether to arrest a young woman wanted for questioning by the police or to forget he ever saw her.
A Fair Trial 4/29/1954.
Dick Powell. A TV Newsman goes to a small town to cover a lynching. He has anything but an open
mind about the details of the story until he meets a girl who tries to explain things to him.
The Girl on The Bridge
March 31, 1955.
With Dick Powell, Coleen Gray. An artist searches for the beautiful girl that he once sketched.
The Gun 2/11/1954
Dick Powell. After his gun is stolen from his home, an off-duty police detective desperately tries to prevent a tragedy
One Forty-Two 5/24/1956
Dick Powell. A priest is called in to stand by a tyrant dictator threatened with assassination.
The entire population of his small country, through mass “thought transmission,” wills his death.
The Room 12/10/1953.
Dick Powell. A doctor visits a primitive Cuban village and discovers that for hundreds
of years the people have lived in dread of a voodoo king.
A Spray of Bullets
11/3/1955
With Dick Powell. A sheriff tries to keep his failing eyesight a secret, but a vicious outlaw learns the truth and challenges the lawman to a gun battle.
A Study in Panic
April 8, 1954. With Dick Powell. After a newspaper columnist is threatened he investigates further to get the real story.
Watch the Sunset
June 7, 1956 With Dick Powell, Joanne Woodward. After five years in a mental institution, a man’s wife returns home to resume a normal life. His problem is complicated by the fact that he has fallen in love with his secretary.
The Witness Oct. 22, 1953. Dick Powell, Charles Bronson. A defense attorney idles in a swank restaurant while his client's on trial for murder.
The attorney's PIs search for a female witness who can get the defendant off, so the attorney avoids court to keep delaying the trial.
Starring Charles Boyer
The Devil to Pay 11/10/1955.
Charles Boyer. A successful businessman accepts a deal with the devil to modernize the
administration of hell. Methods prove too efficient for his own good.
Doctor and the Countess 4/29/1954.
Charles Boyer. A famous plastic surgeon meets a beautiful countess on an Atlantic liner.
She pretends she loves him to get him to perform a strange operation.
The Executioner 6/9/1955
Charles Boyer. An army major in the service of a totalitarian government is ordered
to assassinate an American physician.
The Gift
Dec. 24, 1953.
With Charles Boyer, Ann Doran. A businessman becomes moody and antagonistic each year at Christmas because it reminds him of his estranged son, who chose to become a geologist instead of following in his father's footsteps.
The Last Voyage 4/23/1953.
Charles Boyer. A sea captain en route to the Orient discovers that a time bomb has been planted on his ship.
Madeira, Madeira
April 14, 1955.
With Charles Boyer, Angela Lansbury. Jacques Goudet visits the Portuguese island of Madeira seeking the widow of his closest friend. He has reason to believe she is involved in her husband's mysterious death.
Man in the Cellar 9/30/1954
Charles Boyer. A psychiatrist commits a man to an asylum on grounds he has homicidal tendencies.
Nightmare at Lark Cottage March 24, 1955.
Charles Boyer, Beverly Garland. A mysterious stranger comes to the home of a young woman whose husband has just escaped from prison.
The Officer and the Lady 12/18/1952.
Charles Boyer. An incurably ill child's desire to see his father brings about a great
transformation in the character of a knavish pickpocket.
A Place of His Own
Oct. 8, 1953.
With Charles Boyer. The Commander, a mildly brain injured war hero, lives with his greedy family. All he wants is his own house, while all they want is to preserve their failing wealth, at all costs.
Second Dawn 2/4/1954.
Charles Boyer. A man born without sight is told that an operation may give him vision.
He hesitates, fearing that the world he has created in his imagination may be false.
Something Very Special Dec. 1, 1955.
Charles Boyer. A man, grieved at his wife's death, leaves his daughter with her grandmother in Paris. Five years later he returns for her, but the girl does not believe he really wants her.
Stuffed Shirt
Jan. 13, 1955
With Charles Boyer. A botanist finds that his wife is just a beautiful adventuress interested in his money and other men.
The Wallet 4/23/1953.
Charles Boyer. Andre, a headwaiter, finds a customer's wallet containing a large sum of money.
Wall of Bamboo 4/19/1956
Charles Boyer. An American intelligence officer falls into the brutal hands of a derelict
white man now risen to power in Red China.
The Wild Bunch Feb. 17, 1955.
With Charles Boyer, Natalie Wood. After a charmer sweeps a pretty widow off her feet and marries her in haste, she confesses that she has money and three children.
Starring David Niven
The Bomb
Feb. 18, 1954.
With David Niven, Margaret Sullivan. A man returns home to find that his neglected girlfriend is now engaged to someone else. In his effort to win back his girl, Richard conceives a plan which leads the three of them into danger.
The Book 4/29/1954.
David Niven. An author whose curiosity about a piece of paper found in
a library book leads him to a gang of spies.
Breakfast in Bed 1/20/1955
David Niven. A successful commercial artist is happy with his life until a beautiful model
insists he should be painting “great works.”
Broken Journey Oct. 1, 1953.
David Niven. A sharp-witted safecracker is placed in a small-town jail for temporary confinement. While his captors are absent, he devises a unique method of escape.
Collar 4/7/1955
David Niven. During the Indian wars of the 1870’s, a priest is captured by the Indians.
After two years of torturous captivity, he is put to the test: can he forgive his tormentors?
Firing Squad 10/6/1955.
David Niven. A WWII captain must oversee an execution he doesn’t want to happen.
For Art's Sake 11/26/1953
David Niven. A playboy decides that the way to get a pretty young painter to concentrate
on him is to discourage her interest in art.
Henry and the Psychopathic Horse 4/23/1953.
David Niven. While visiting a western ranch, a psychiatrist tries to use applied
psychology to break a wild horse.
Here Comes the Suit 11/17/1956
David Niven. Because of his thrift, a very conservative and proper young man finds himself forced
into wearing a rather garish suit. As a result, his personality undergoes a remarkable change.
The Island 12/4/1952
David Niven. A dramatic saga of a rebellious physician on an island in the South Pacific.
Man of the World 2/4/1954.
David Niven. A bored husband looks for romance with a girl he meets on a train.
Matter of Advice 10/29/1953
David Niven. A pediatrician who advises mothers on raising their children finds
himself in difficulties with his own brood.
Night Ride 5/7/1953.
David Niven. Five people, one a murderer, are trapped on a subway.
No Identity 3/12/1953.
David Niven. A young boy fights to win his foster mother’s love.
Operation in Money
March 11, 1954.
With David Niven. A bank teller has his application for a raise refused. To press his point he robs the bank and arranges a parley.
Red Wine 3/8/1956
David Niven. On the trail of a murderer, a detective goes undercover to gain access to a remote island where he believes the killer has fled.
Safe Keeping 2/9/1956
David Niven. An American newspaperman is given an important letter to smuggle out of a foreign country. He then becomes involved romantically with a beautiful spy who also wants the letter
Second Chance 6/14/1956
David Niven, Beverly Garland. A Hollywood screenwriter, in love with an ambitious actress, finds she is using him to further her career.
Tunnel of Fear
1/19/1956. While traveling alone in a train compartment, an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bound man (Cedric Hardwicke) is confronted by a younger man (David Niven), whom he had double-crossed over twenty years ago.
To Whom It May Concern 12/18/1952.
David Niven. A timid and conscientious bank employee devotes his spare time to the study of
stocks and bonds until the cruel hand of fate enters his life.
Touch and Go 4/26/1956.
David Niven, Beverly Garland. A scuffle between two friends brings sudden and accidental death
to one of them. The survivor, believing he will be accused of murder, has
only four hours to find the only person who can testify that the death
was accidental-the dead man’s fiancée.
Uncle Fred Flits By 5/5/1955
David Niven. An erratic practical joker pays a visit to his childhood home in London.
He encounters a straitlaced family that is trying to put an end to the
daughter’s engagement to a man they consider beneath their position.
Village in the City
April 22, 1954.
With David Niven. A beautiful model is murdered in an artist’s apartment. The mystery is complicated by the fact that several men were in love with the model, each with a motive for killing.
Vote of Confidence
Nov. 11, 1954.
With David Niven. A swindler sets up a fund for the underprivileged.
Starring Ida Lupino
The Adolescent Oct. 28, 1954.
With Ida Lupino, Hugh Beaumont. A school teacher on the disciplinery board, finds herself investigating her nephew's misconduct.
Eddie's Place 3/10/1955
Ida Lupino stars as a parolee, Ellen, whose efforts to keep out of
trouble only involve her in a murder.
Face of Danger 10/13/1955
Ida Lupino, Dick Foran. A 100-year-old woman recalls her romance with a desperado
during the days of the old West.
A House for Sale
Dec. 31, 1953.
With Ida Lupino. A woman looks for a house for her returning war hero husband and encounters a dangerous criminal inhabiting the house.
The Listener 2/2/1956
Ida Lupino. A woman plots to murder her husband in order to collect his insurance.
Her plans are overheard by her father-in-law.
Looking Glass House 11/24/1955
Ida Lupino. A woman is surprised when her fiancé turns out to have been married before.
Masquerade 4/15/1954
Ida Lupino. A costume ball during the New Orleans Mardi Gras turns sour when the family
hosting the festivities discovers that their cousin has escaped from jail.
With All My Heart 4/21/1955
Ida Lupino. An overweight woman watches her doctor boyfriend marry someone else.
Other Stars
Ladies On His Mind May 21, 1953.
With Ronald Colman, Benita Hume. A psychiatrist has difficulty in remaining detached when treating beautiful women.
Search in the Night 11/5/1953.
Frank Lovejoy. A reporter becomes very curious when a beautiful woman
hires a diver to recover her purse from the bottom of the river.
Kiss for Mr. Lincoln 2/3/1955
Joanne Dru, Dick Foran. A young woman teaches her timid husband some things about love when he tries to
show her the importance of supporting Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency.
Once to Every Woman 3/1/1956.
Phyllis Coates, Teresa Wright. A lonely spinster falls in love for the first time in her life.
But unknown to her, the man is married.
Lady of the Orchids 3/18/1954.
Lili Palmer, John Howard. An architect's wife endangers his career when she is involved in a car accident by flirting with the driver.
Knockout
Jan. 1, 1953.
With Broderick Crawford. A young middleweight boxer finds at the height of his career that his championship fight has been fixed.
Meet McGraw
Feb. 25, 1954.
With Frank Lovejoy. A private detective is hired by a beautiful woman as her bodyguard when she claims that her gangster husband is jealous and planning to kill her.
Love At Sea
Oct. 15, 1953.
With Merle Oberon. A journalist's wife who, while alone on a sea voyage, becomes the center of male attention.
Sound Off My Love
Feb. 12, 1953.
With Merle Oberon. A woman buys a hearing aid, just in time to hear her husband plot her murder.
The Good Sister 1/27/1955
Teresa Wright. An American nun in Germany plays Cupid for a Czech orphan girl and an American soldier.
Yellowbelly 12/18/1952.
Frank Lovejoy. After serving and being wounded in World War 2, a captain is
recalled to duty in Korea. Because of his resentment, he is branded a
coward by his company and faces removal from his command.
The Frightened Woman June 23, 1955.
A woman's loneliness leads her to re-experience her long repressed (20-year old) pain-associated memories (albeit benign themselves). The mystery: is she (Merle Oberon) insane?
