Four Star Playhouse (1952)

Comedy · Crime · Drama

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.

IMDb rating: 7.5 (295 votes)
Episode average: 6.9 -0.6 vs IMDb
Seasons: 4
Language: EN
Type: TV series

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 4 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (1952)

6.85 avg 19 episodes 7.5 → 6.8 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	My Wife Geraldine	7.5	84
2	Dante's Inferno	6.7	67
3	The Lost Silk Hat	5.4	68
4	Backstage	7.6	61
5	Welcome Home	7.3	45
6	The Island	6.5	58
7	The Officer and the Lady	7.0	57
8	Knockout	7.2	56
9	The Man on the Train	7.4	90
10	Trail's End	6.5	13
11	Sound Off, My Love	7.3	75
12	Man in the Box	6.8	40
13	No Identity	7.0	57
14	The Man Who Walked Out on Himself	5.7	48
15	The Last Voyage	7.2	50
16	Night Ride	7.1	63
17	Ladies on His Mind	5.3	59
18	To Whom It May Concern	7.9	57
19	Shadowed	6.8	45

Season 2 (1953)

6.91 avg 31 episodes 7.3 → 6.2 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Finale	7.3	48
2	The Squeeze	7.4	66
3	A Place of His Own	7.4	52
4	Love at Sea	6.4	39
5	The Witness	7.0	70
6	A Matter of Advice	6.0	34
7	Search in the Night	7.0	48
8	Moorings	7.9	50
9	The Hard Way	6.8	37
10	For Art's Sake	6.9	35
11	The Girl on the Park Bench	6.9	67
12	The Room	6.4	37
13	A Man of the World	6.8	36
14	The Gift	7.0	76
15	House for Sale	7.6	67
16	The Test	5.9	25
17	The Bad Streak	6.7	30
18	A String of Beads	7.2	80
19	Indian Taker	5.3	12
20	Second Dawn	7.0	28
21	The Gun	6.9	61
22	The Bomb	7.7	58
23	Meet McGraw	7.3	68
24	Detective's Holiday	7.4	42
25	An Operation in Money	7.5	37
26	Lady of the Orchids	6.9	35
27	The Book	7.5	38
28	A Study in Panic	6.8	50
29	Masquerade	6.7	44
30	Village in the City	6.5	36
31	The Doctor and the Countess	6.2	37

Season 3 (1954)

6.81 avg 37 episodes 6.9 → 7.1 30 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Man in the Cellar	6.9	42
2	Never Explain	6.9	30
3	Interlude	7.6	45
4	The Wallet	6.4	33
5	The Adolescent	6.5	39
6	The Contest	6.4	58
7	Vote of Confidence	6.9	41
8	My Own Dear Dragon	6.5	33
9	Marked Down	6.6	33
10	Meet a Lonely Man	7.3	40
11	Bourbon Street	7.5	22
12	A Championship Affair	6.9	34
13	The Answer	7.2	81
14	Go Ahead and Jump	7.6	42
16	Stuffed Shirt	6.9	28
17	Breakfast in Bed	6.8	39
18	The Good Sister	6.5	17
19	A Kiss for Mr. Lincoln	6.0	23
20	Fair Trial	6.1	36
21	The Wild Bunch	6.7	50
22	Tusitala	6.2	36
23	The Returning	7.1	32
24	Eddie's Place	6.9	44
25	Henry and the Psychopathic Horse	6.0	32
26	Night at Lark Cottage	6.7	46
27	The Girl on the Bridge	6.9	40
28	The Collar	6.8	34
29	Madeira, Madeira	7.1	37
30	With All My Heart	6.6	34
31	The House Always Wins	7.0	59
32	Uncle Fred Flits By	6.6	39
33	Alias Mr. Hepp	7.3	31
34	Trudy	7.3	51
35	Broken Journey	7.0	36
36	The Executioner	6.6	28
37	The Frightened Woman	6.4	37
38	Award	7.1	38

Season 4 (1955)

6.93 avg 38 episodes 6.3 → 7.8 30 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Firing Squad	6.3	33
2	Face of Danger	6.8	37
3	Let the Chips Fall	7.1	31
4	Full Circle	6.9	36
5	A Spray of Bullets	7.1	43
6	The Devil to Pay	6.1	31
7	Here Comes the Suit	6.6	35
8	Looking Glass House	6.1	31
9	Something Very Special	7.3	25
10	A Place Full of Strangers	7.0	53
11	One Way Out	7.7	50
12	Dark Meeting	7.1	50
13	Magic Night	7.8	22
14	Tunnel of Fear	7.9	71
15	High Stakes	6.6	41
16	The Listener	7.1	45
17	Safe Keeping	6.8	21
18	No Limit	6.4	18
20	Once to Every Woman	6.2	32
21	Red Wine	6.4	28
22	To Die at Midnight	7.9	22
23	Desert Encounter	6.9	28
24	The Story of Emily Cameron	6.6	34
25	The Rites of Spring	5.8	27
26	Autumn Carousel	7.4	18
27	Wall of Bamboo	8.0	12
28	Touch and Go	7.5	23
29	A Long Way from Texas	6.0	27
30	That Woman	6.8	27
31	The Other Room	7.2	19
32	One Forty Two	6.4	22
34	Watch the Sunset	7.0	36
35	Second Chance	6.6	22
36	Woman Afraid	7.6	19
37	The Stacked Deck	6.6	35
38	Distinguished Service	7.8	24
39	Yellowbelly	6.2	24
40	The Stand-In	7.8	32

Four Star Playhouse (1952)

Seasons

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