Four Star Playhouse
This show featured four rotating stars, Charles Boyer, David Niven, Ida Lupino, and Dick Powell in individual episodes consisting of everything from comedy to drama.
- 1952-1956
- 4 seasons
- CBS
- Comedy, Suspense, Drama
This show featured four rotating stars, Charles Boyer, David Niven, Ida Lupino, and Dick Powell in individual episodes consisting of everything from comedy to drama.
Season 4 Episode Guide
41 Episodes 1955 - 1956
Episode 1
The Firing Squad
Thu, Oct 6, 1955 30 mins
In the Australian Army in North Africa in WW2, a military deserter is ordered executed, for a murder he probably did not commit. Disgraced Captain Adams is ordered to lead the firing squad, in exchange for restoration of his own honor. Adams struggles with his detestable assignment.
Episode 2
Face of Danger
Thu, Oct 13, 1955 30 mins
A reporter meets with a 100-year-old woman to ask about her life in the Old West. Her family keeps insisting she lived an upright and charming life in those frontier days, but she remembers the torrid affair she had with notorious outlaw Laramie Cole.
Episode 3
Let the Chips Fall
Thu, Oct 20, 1955 25 mins
A reformed card sharp is recruited to unmask a suspected poker cheat among a group of wealthy gamblers. He finds it difficult to be impartial when the suspect enthusiastically befriends him.
Episode 4
Full Circle
Thu, Oct 27, 1955 30 mins
A particularly bad review causes a Broadway actress to scheme to humiliate the drama critic.
Episode 5
A Spray of Bullets
Thu, Nov 3, 1955 30 mins
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 glasses. Also in town is a punk gunfighter who wants to make a name for himself. Knowing Sonnett has vision problems, he challenges the lawman to a duel.
Episode 6
The Devil to Pay
Thu, Nov 10, 1955 30 mins
In Hell, the administrating office is hopelessly out of date and incompetent, so Satan enlists the help of an exceptionally aggressive and heartless businessman to modernize the place. He installs an IBM system and soon it's the picture of efficiency, much, it turns out, to the businessman's regret.
Episode 7
Here Comes the Suit
Thu, Nov 17, 1955 30 mins
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 a shady tailor into getting a shockingly garish suit, he's whistled at by woman and mistaken for a gangster. His newly found self-confidence fits him well.
Episode 8
Looking Glass House
Thu, Nov 24, 1955 30 mins
Ann marries wealthy Richard and moves into his family mansion. Richard accidentally killed his first wife in a marital conflict, and Ann's presence in the mansion confuses him and causes flashbacks.
Episode 9
Something Very Special
Thu, Dec 1, 1955 25 mins
Alan moves to America when his wife dies, leaving his young daughter with her grandmother in Paris. When he returns after five years, his daughter has difficulty believing that he loves her.
Episode 10
A Place Full of Strangers
Thu, Dec 8, 1955 30 mins
A businessman is about to snap from overwork and stress. He runs away, hopping on a bus to someplace -- anyplace -- where he knows no one and has no ties to anybody. He finds himself in a bizarre bus station in Meadbrook, where the people are strangers but look familiar.
Episode 11
One Way Out
Thu, Dec 15, 1955 30 mins
Diana finally leaves her playboy husband and moves to an apartment in New York. Soon after arriving at her new place, she finds herself locked in with no electricity and very little food. Gradually Diana becomes unhinged which is the goal of the husband and his girlfriend who booby-trapped the place to send her over the edge.
Episode 12
Dark Meeting
Thu, Jan 5, 1956 30 mins
Billie hires an odd man as the new pin boy at her bowling alley, but quickly fire him because of his violent outbursts. Only then does she learn he's a murderous psycho who escaped from prison. That's why she's so terrified when he shows up at the alley one night when she's all alone.
Episode 13
Magic Night
Thu, Jan 12, 1956 30 mins
Upset that his 25 years of service for the company are unappreciated, Henri treats himself to an expensive night on the town, on the company's dime. He then comes to his senses, distraught that his embezzlement will be discovered.
Episode 14
Tunnel of Fear
Thu, Jan 19, 1956 30 mins
While traveling alone in a train compartment, an elderly, wealthy, wheelchair-bound man (Cedric Hardwicke) is confronted by a younger man (David Niven), he double-crossed over twenty years ago. The younger man, now bent on revenge, tells the elderly man that he intends to kill him when the train passes through an upcoming tunnel. A battle of wits ensues.
Episode 15
High Stakes
Thu, Jan 26, 1956 30 mins
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 shoots him in self defense, but Willie is framed when Mr. Raymond's gun disappears.
Episode 16
The Listener
Thu, Feb 2, 1956 30 mins
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 invalid father, but it's no concern because he can't speak or write. Sheila doesn't realize he is able to communicate with his nurse through his eyes.
Episode 17
Safe Keeping
Thu, Feb 9, 1956 30 mins
The chancellor of a foreign university gives newspaperman Frank Carstairs a document to smuggle out of the country. He anticipates being charged with treason by the totalitarian government and he wants the free world to know he did not willingly join their side. Meanwhile, Frank carries on an affair with a sexy foreign spy who seems to be playing both sides of the fence.
Episode 18
No Limit
Thu, Feb 16, 1956 30 mins
Suave restaurateur-gambler Willie Dante rebuffs the attempt of racketeers to cash in on his gambling activities. He appears to change his mind, however, due to the influence of a beautiful woman.
Episode 19
Command
Thu, Feb 23, 1956 30 mins
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 time when the ship is in danger, the first mate sees his chance to command.
Episode 20
Once to Every Woman
Thu, Mar 1, 1956 30 mins
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 married. He says that he will get divorced for her, but Carol is visited by David's wife.
Episode 21
Red Wine
Thu, Mar 8, 1956 30 mins
A police detective travels to Borneo looking for an American who murdered his wife for a huge insurance payoff. There are only three Americans there, all on a rubber plantation, but none fits the physical description. Once his cover is blown, the detective comes clean and tells the men he thinks none of them are his man. But he knows the killer is a wine connoisseur and he uses that to set a trap.
Episode 22
To Die at Midnight
Thu, Mar 15, 1956 30 mins
A prison warden desperately tries to prove that a man scheduled for execution is innocent.
Episode 23
Desert Encounter
Thu, Mar 22, 1956 30 mins
A playwright driving to Los Angeles gives a lift to a young woman heading to her father's ranch. Upon arriving, he's locked up and expected to marry the girl or be killed. The writer's unwittingly being used as a stand-in for the man she's being fooling around with.
Episode 24
The Story of Emily Cameron
Thu, Mar 29, 1956 30 mins
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 has for her. He, on the other hand, resents the opportunities that he's missed because of Emily.
Episode 25
The Rites of Spring
Thu, Apr 5, 1956 30 mins
An older husband tests the marital fidelity of his amorous young wife by anonymously sending her flowers from "a secret admirer".
Episode 26
Autumn Carousel
Thu, Apr 12, 1956 30 mins
Steve's the successful writer of a couple of junky TV Westerns. On a train trip back to Los Angeles, he bonds with the young girl seated beside him. The lonely child's honest talk makes him realize that he's sold out his integrity for money, but it's not too late to get his life back on track.
Episode 27
Wall of Bamboo
Thu, Apr 19, 1956 30 mins
An undercover agent is dispatched to the anti-communist underground to search for an important contact. But when he's caught by the red Chinese, he's tortured in various ways for important information by a mysterious renegade white man who leads them known by the nom de guerre "Sampan Joe".
Episode 28
Touch and Go
Thu, Apr 26, 1956 30 mins
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 their conversation. Ted needs to find this woman and keep her from telling the police anything.
Episode 29
A Long Way from Texas
Thu, May 3, 1956 30 mins
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 revenge, and teach a lesson to the oilman.
Episode 30
That Woman
Thu, May 10, 1956 30 mins
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 manners clash with the simple, pious life of the farmers.
Episode 31
The Other Room
Thu, May 17, 1956 30 mins
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: $10,000 to take a physical for a dying man so he can get life insurance to take care of his widow when he passes on.
Episode 32
One Forty Two
Thu, May 24, 1956 30 mins
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.
Episode 33
Beneath the Surface
Thu, May 31, 1956 30 mins
In an effort to escape her past, a woman takes a job in a plant.
Episode 34
Watch the Sunset
Thu, Jun 7, 1956 30 mins
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 new relationship with his secretary, he receives news that his wife is better and will be released.
Episode 35
Second Chance
Thu, Jun 14, 1956 30 mins
A once-successful writer in a creative slump finds new inspiration when he learns about the dramatic experiences of an old friend who recently escaped from a communist prison camp. As he works on a script based on her life, his relationship with his much younger girlfriend, an aspiring actress, begins to complicate matters. The girlfriend, eager to break into acting, becomes frustrated when she is denied a key role in the project. Tensions rise as her ambition clashes with the writer's protective instincts, leading to conflicts over love, career, and their future together. The story explores themes of sacrifice, ambition, and the delicate balance between personal and professional success.
Episode 36
Woman Afraid
Thu, Jun 21, 1956 30 mins
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 she calls for is the burglar - and he's also a murderer.
Episode 37
The Stacked Deck
Thu, Jun 28, 1956 30 mins
Fresh out of prison, blackmailer Gus Anderson intends to use Willie's casino to launder his victims' money. To insure his cooperation, Gus' thugs are holding one of Willie's waiters hostage. Glamorous singer Betty Maxwell shows up at Dante's, as scheduled, to lose at blackjack and avoid having a risqué photo of her mailed to the tabloids. Knowing that Lt. Waldo will but his casino yet again, Willie invites to cop over to watch Gus violate his parole.
Episode 38
Distinguished Service
Thu, Jul 5, 1956 30 mins
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 could get back to the U.S. and accept a major award. When his wife realizes that he abandoned a town needing his help to fight a Plague outbreak, she demands a divorce.
Episode 39
Yellowbelly
Thu, Jul 12, 1956 30 mins
An officer in the Korean War is considered a coward by his men after ducking into a manhole during a charge. His solders don't realize what a hero he was during WWII, or that his expectant wife is about to give birth. The new battalion commander relieves him of his duty, but he doesn't accept the decision.
Episode 40
The Stand-In
Thu, Jul 19, 1956 30 mins
Actress Grace Markham's job consists of being the stand-in for movie star Marion Clayton. Unable to accept that she's supremely untalented, Grace instead becomes embittered and blames the leading lady's popularity for her own dead-end show business career.
Episode 41
Success Story
Thu, Jul 26, 1956 30 mins
A man is assigned to force a small-town newspaper out of existence.