About this season
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.
Episodes (19)
1. My Wife Geraldine
Aired 25 September 1952 • 30 min
Man invents a wife, then accused of murdering her.
2. Dante's Inferno
Aired 2 October 1952 • 30 min
Willie Dante owns a bar and gambling house called Dante's Inferno. One night, the wife of an acquaintance tells Willie that her husband has threatened her. Willie comforts her and sends her home, but she turns up dead the next day.
3. The Lost Silk Hat
Aired 23 October 1952 • 30 min
Englishman must retrieve his hat after visiting his love.
4. Backstage
Aired 6 November 1952 • 30 min
An actor named Paul is out on an evening stroll when he sees a young woman attempting to jump off a bridge. After a struggle, he discovers her name is Amy and she is homeless. Paul believes $5 could mean the difference between decency & despair so he pays for Amy to stay in a hotel for the night, agreeing to meet her the next day. Amy is nowhere to be found when Paul returns. He worries and begins the search for this mysterious woman.
5. Welcome Home
Aired 20 November 1952 • 30 min
A notorious criminal returns to his home town after 15 years away, and a young man wants to join him in notoriety and, probably, death at the hands of police.
6. The Island
Aired 4 December 1952 • 30 min
Rebellious physician on an island in the South Pacific.
7. The Officer and the Lady
Aired 18 December 1952 • 30 min
A reformed pickpocket in Paris obtains the purse of an attractive woman. He reads a letter telling about her dying son, and he decides to grant the boy's wish to meet his father.
8. Knockout
Aired 1 January 1953 • 30 min
Middleweight boxer finds his big bout has been fixed.
9. Man on a Train
Aired 15 January 1953 • 30 min
William encounters an old acquaintance, John Dwerrihouse, on a train with 75,000 pounds. Only later did William learn that Dwerrihouse had disappeared four months earlier after embezzling 75,000 pounds from the train company.
10. Trail's End
Aired 29 January 1953 • 30 min
A famous marshal of Dodge City sets out in search of the murderous Sonoma Kid and runs into a tragedy of the desert.
11. Sound Off, My Love
Aired 12 February 1953 • 30 min
Woman buys hearing aid and hears husband plot her murder.
12. The Man in the Box
Aired 26 February 1953 • 30 min
Boyer plays four roles in story of a director and his woes.
13. No Identity
Aired 12 March 1953 • 30 min
Young boy fights to win his foster mother's love.
14. The Man Who Walked Out On Himself
Aired 26 March 1953 • 30 min
After separating from his wife, a wealthy clubman is about to marry a much young woman -- whereupon his mirror image walks out on him in disgust.
15. The Last Voyage
Aired 23 April 1953 • 30 min
Sea captain discovers a time bomb is planted on his ship.
16. Night Ride
Aired 7 May 1953 • 30 min
Five people, one a murderer, are trapped on subway.
17. The Ladies On His Mind
Aired 21 May 1953 • 30 min
A psychiatrist listens to his female patients go on about their troubles. As they talk, he imagines himself within each of their stories.
18. To Whom It May Concern
Aired 4 June 1953 • 30 min
A bank employee mails a letter to his boss confessing to stealing $7000 and includes the stocks he bought with the money. As he puts a gun to his head, he sees in the paper that the stocks' worth have gone through the roof. Now he wants to live and goes on a frantic chase to get the letter back from the post office before it gets delivered.
19. Shadowed
Aired 18 June 1953 • 30 min
Past haunts politician running for Senator.