FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE – CLASSIC TV SERIES VOL 1

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. IMDB Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as “The Man on the Train”, to light comedies, such as “The Lost Silk Hat”. 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. The show was 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 (both sponsors’ names alternated as part of the show’s title in its initial broadcasts). While it never made the Nielsen Top 30, the ratings were sufficient to keep it on the air for four seasons. In 1954, Billboard voted it the second-best filmed network television drama series. (Wikipedia) Episodes: The Adolescent (starring Ida Lupino, 1954) A Place of His Own (starring Charles Boyer, 1952) The House Always Wins (starring Dick Powell, 1955) The Island (starring David Niven, 1952) The Returning (starring Dick Powell, 1955) Tusitala (starring David Niven, 1955) The Wild Bunch (starring Charles Boyer, 1955) With All My Heart (starring Ida Lupino, 1955)

Bonus Episode: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars – “Storm Swept” aka “Swim By Your Man” (starring Angela Lansbury, 1953)