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61-684: 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 for the program was that Charles Boyer , Dick Powell , Rosalind Russell , and Joel McCrea would rotate as stars of episodes. By the time it debuted, David Niven and Ida Lupino had replaced McCrea and Russell. In addition to those four stars, other performers, including Ronald Colman , Joan Fontaine , Frank Lovejoy , Merle Oberon , and Teresa Wright occasionally had leading roles. Powell portrayed

122-416: A Winchester Model 1892 rifle (a historical anachronism , as the show was set in the 1880s) which had been customized to allow repeated firing by cycling its lever action. He demonstrated this technique in the opening credits, as well as a second modification that allowed him to cycle the action with one hand using a technique known as "spin-cocking". The series centers on Lucas McCain, a Union veteran of

183-577: A homesteader , McCain buys a ranch "about three miles" outside the fictitious town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory, in the pilot episode. His son Mark and he had come from Enid, Oklahoma , following the death of his wife, Margaret (née Gibbs), when his son was six years old. The series was set during the 1880s; a wooden plaque next to the McCain home states that the home was rebuilt by Lucas McCain and his son Mark in August 1881. A common thread in

244-422: A Hollywood veteran of twenty years in 1952, longed to produce and direct. While he did have some opportunities to do so, such as RKO Radio Pictures ' The Conqueror (1956) with John Wayne , Powell saw greater opportunities offered by the then-infant medium of television . Powell came up with an idea for an anthology series, with a rotation of established stars every week, four stars in all. The stars would own

305-456: A Spanish-made Gárate y Anitúa " El Tigre " lever action, a near-copy of the Model 1892, was modified for use as a knockabout gun. The El Tigre is seen in scenes where the rifle is in a saddle scabbard and is not drawn, and in stunts where the rifle was thrown to the ground, used as a club, or in any stunt where a possibility of damage to the original Winchester 1892s existed. These three rifles were

366-493: A Young Gun". MPI Home Video has released The Rifleman on DVD in Region 1 in a number of versions. It has released single-disc DVDs with five episodes; from 2002 to 2006 it released six sets, each with 20 episodes. The releases are random collections of episodes, rather than the original broadcast order. These releases are out of print, since MPI Home Video no longer owns the rights to the series. Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions,

427-428: A cast and crew of 220 people, 91 contracted various forms of organ cancers by 1981, including stars John Wayne , Susan Hayward and Agnes Moorehead . An ad executive named Thomas McDermott was brought in to run the studio for Niven, Boyer, and Powell's family. But without Powell's vision, the studio went into a period of decline. Within two years after Powell's death, Four Star had decreased to only five programs on

488-657: A gunslinger turned doctor; and "Which Way'd They Go?" (April 1, 1963), a comedy-western with Peter Whitney. Chuck Connors briefly played the same character again in 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw , which featured a number of 1950s and 1960s television Western series leads reprising their roles in quick cameo appearances ( Gene Barry as Bat Masterson , Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp , Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick , Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie , Brian Keith as The Westerner , David Carradine as Kung Fu ' s Caine). In late 2011, CBS announced plans to remake

549-520: A new holding company called Four Star Television, and began publicly trading on the American Stock Exchange on January 12, 1959. After Powell's death in 1963, Four Star was led by Thomas McDermott, followed by Aaron Spelling . It was then purchased and developed for global film and television markets by David Charnay, and subsequently was sold to Ron Perelman ; Perelman sold it to 20th Century Fox Television in 1996. Dick Powell,

610-512: A pact with Color Systems Technology to do a colorized version of Wanted Dead or Alive , which led to a lawsuit from Compact Video and Four Star against CST. By 1987, David Charnay had sold Four Star to Robert Seidenglanz's Compact Video Systems, which was then majority-owned by Ronald Perelman . After Compact Video shut down, its remaining assets, including Four Star, were folded into Perelman's MacAndrews and Forbes Incorporated . In 1989, Perelman acquired New World Entertainment and Four Star

671-459: A pilot for Wanted: Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen ), The Westerner with Brian Keith , Black Saddle with Peter Breck and Russell Johnson and The Rifleman , starring Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford and Paul Fix. While not given a production byline, when Joel McCrea and Walter Mirisch developed the 1959–1960 NBC series Wichita Town , adapted from the 1955 film Wichita in which McCrea starred as Wyatt Earp, Four Star provided

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732-468: A ranch. His insistence on violent realism and complex characterizations, as well as his refusal to sugarcoat the lessons he felt the Rifleman's son needed to learn about life, put him at odds with the show's producers at Four Star. Peckinpah left the show and created a short-lived series, The Westerner . The opening theme at the beginning of each episode depicted McCain walking down the street of

793-529: A result of the buyout between Rupert Murdoch and Ron Perelman in 1996. With the subsequent sale of New World to 20th Century Fox (now owned by The Walt Disney Company ) in 1997, the Four Star catalogue is now owned by Disney Platform Distribution , with a few exceptions: The Rifleman The Rifleman is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain . It

854-589: A sizable inventory of programs for syndication, including The Rifleman , Wanted: Dead or Alive , The Rogues , Zane Grey Theatre and The Big Valley . While it did get a hit of sorts in producing a show called Thrill Seekers (a sort of proto- reality TV program, and the first reality show in the United States ), the studio's primary niche was in its successful syndication to global film and television audiences. In 1985, Four Star renewed its ties with Charnay himself. During his tenure, they made

915-421: A town while rapid-firing his Winchester 44-40 1892 model rifle that had been modified at the trigger and lever. The rifle's modification allowed McCain to fire the rifle only by hand pumping the lever, which had a setscrew imbedded in it to trip the weapon's trigger. At various points during the series, episodes would show McCain deftly handling and shooting the rifle ambidextrously. When Connors auditioned for

976-609: A year earlier. McCrea left soon after its founding to continue in films, television and radio, and was replaced by Ida Lupino as the fourth star—although Lupino did not own stock in the company. Four Star produced several popular programs in the early days of television, including Four Star Playhouse (its first series), Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre , Stagecoach West , The June Allyson Show (also known as The DuPont Show Starring June Allyson ), The Dick Powell Show , Burke's Law , The Rogues and The Big Valley . Despite its stars sharing equal billing, Powell played

1037-418: Is why the rifle sounded so different from the other gunshots on the show. The 1892 Winchester is a top-eject rifle (opening the action by pushing the finger-lever forward moves the bolt rearward and thereby opens the top of the receiver). Loaded rounds or empty cases from the chamber eject straight up when the lever is pushed fully open (forward). When Connors cycled the action by spinning the rifle to his side,

1098-542: The American Civil War and widower. McCain had been a lieutenant in the 11th Indiana Infantry Regiment , and he had received a battlefield commission at the Battle of Five Forks just before the end of the war. (This conflicts with episode 3/25, "The Prisoner", in which a former Confederate cavalry major states that he was Lieutenant McCain's prisoner after the Battle of Fort Donelson . ) Having previously been

1159-703: The Indian Territory of Oklahoma, where he first acquired the nickname "the Rifleman". Eight actors played the town doctor during the series (usually known as "Doc Burrage"): Paul Fix (first episode only; he returned to the cast as Micah), Edgar Buchanan , Fay Roope , Rhys Williams , Jack Kruschen , Robert Burton, Ralph Moody and Bert Stevens . In addition to Joe Higgins, several actors also played blacksmith Nels (sometimes credited as Nils ) Swenson, including Richard Alexander , John Dierkes , Henry Rowland and Karl Swenson . More than 500 actors made guest appearances in more than 970 credited roles during

1220-454: The air. After another two years, all but one had gone off the air; The Big Valley was the only show left. Aaron Spelling began his career at Four Star Television as a staff writer and after a number of hits began producing television shows for Four Star. Spelling left the studio in 1966 to form his own production company with Danny Thomas, Thomas Spelling Productions. For a brief time, Four Star Television owned Valiant Records , but sold

1281-609: The bartender ( Bill Quinn ), and a half-dozen other residents of North Fork (played by Hope Summers , Joan Taylor , Patricia Blair , John Harmon , and Harlan Warde ). Fifty-one episodes of the series were directed by Joseph H. Lewis (director of 1950's Gun Crazy and known for his film noir style). Ida Lupino directed one episode, "The Assault". Connors wrote several episodes. Robert Culp (star of CBS's Trackdown , another Four Star production), wrote one two-part episode, and Frank D. Gilroy (creator of ABC's Burke's Law , another Four Star production), wrote "End of

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1342-530: The biggest role in the company's early success and growth. Powell became President of Four Star within a few years of its formation and, in 1955, Four Star Films, Inc. was formed as an affiliate which produced such hit shows as The Rifleman ; Trackdown ; Wanted Dead or Alive ; Richard Diamond, Private Detective and The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor . There were also failed series, including Jeannie Carson 's Hey, Jeannie! In late 1958, Four Star Productions and Four Star Films were merged into

1403-441: The bolt and receiver when the gun fires. Winchester originally produced this gun from 1892 to 1941; total production was slightly over 1,000,000; 27 variations in five chamberings were made over the course of production, but the basic design was largely unaltered. As with the earlier Model 1873, the light and handy Model 1892 was chambered for handgun cartridges, favored by many Westerners to simplify ammunition supply problems by using

1464-413: The cartridge in the action could fall out. Therefore, the rifle was modified with a plunger, which would hold the round in place. The Winchester Model 1892 rifle was designed by John Moses Browning , and other than general appearance, it has nothing in common with earlier lever-action rifles using the same class of cartridges. The significant improvement was the addition of vertical lugs that securely lock

1525-683: The company Four Star International . For more than two decades, he served as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Four Star. He directed the company, employing his only son, John Charnay as Director of Public Relations, as well as employing many of Hollywood's leading producers, stars, and executives of the late 20th and early 21st century, including Deke Heyward , Morey Amsterdam , Dick Colbert, Tony Thomopoulos , and collaborating with Aaron Spelling and George Spota for continued film and television projects, as well as many Hollywood stars and starlets before many producers advanced to create their own companies. Four Star amassed

1586-437: The company. Following the cancellation of Four Star Playhouse , two new programs came on CBS: a comedy called Hey, Jeannie! which starred Jeannie Carson , and a western anthology show Zane Grey Theater , more formally named Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater . Carson's show ran for just a season, but Zane Grey Theater ran for four. It hosted the pilot episodes for Trackdown starring Robert Culp (which in turn hosted

1647-428: The competition, and Niven took second place in that category. Four Star Television Four Star Television , also called Four Star International , was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell , David Niven , Charles Boyer and Joel McCrea , it was inspired by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz founding Desilu Productions

1708-431: The episode "The Indian", Buckhart comes to North Fork to look for Indians suspected of murdering a Texas Ranger and his family. He subsequently reappeared in "The Raid". Three episodes of "The Rifleman" served as pilots for Westerns that never became a series. These were: "The Lariat" (March 29, 1960) starring Richard Anderson as a gambler and sharpshooter; "Death Trap" (May 9, 1961) featuring Phil Carey as Simon Battle,

1769-440: The fall of 1952. While it ran on alternate weeks during its first season (the program it alternated with was the television version of Amos 'n' Andy ), it was successful enough to be renewed and become a weekly program beginning with the second season and until the end of its run in 1956. Actress/director Ida Lupino was brought on board as the pro forma fourth star, though unlike Powell, Boyer, and Niven, she owned no stock in

1830-469: The five-year run of the series. Guest stars included veteran actors: John Anderson , Richard Anderson , Lyle Bettger , Whit Bissell , Harry Carey Jr. , John Carradine , Lon Chaney Jr. , Ellen Corby , Royal Dano , John Dehner , Jack Elam , Med Flory , Dabbs Greer , Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. , John Milford , Agnes Moorehead , Denver Pyle , Lee Van Cleef , and Adam West , most appearing multiple times in different roles. Several then-newcomers appeared in

1891-555: The label to Warner Bros. Records in 1966, shortly after pop group The Association released their first records for the label. Early copies of the album And Then... Along Comes the Association show the Four Star disclaimer blacked out at the bottom of the label. From 1967 to 1989, David Charnay was the leader of a buyout group that owned a controlling interest in Four Star Television and subsequently renamed

Four Star Playhouse - Misplaced Pages Continue

1952-490: The magazine can hold more of the blanks. The soundtrack contained a dubbed 13th shot, to allow the firing to end with a section of the theme music. The rifle was chambered for the .44-40 Winchester center fire cartridge, which was used in both revolvers and rifles. He could supposedly fire off his first round in three-tenths of a second, which certainly helped in a showdown. Gunsmith James S. Stembridge modified two Model 1892s for use in regular and close-up filming. In addition,

2013-417: The man has changed and become a doctor. It takes a gunfight (with Battles fighting alongside him) to make him admit he is wrong. In "Two Ounces of Tin", with Sammy Davis Jr. as Tip Corey (a former circus trick-shot artist turned gunman), McCain angrily orders him off the ranch when he finds him demonstrating his skills to Mark. Corey suggests he is a hypocrite, because McCain has an equally deadly reputation in

2074-405: The nation's wounds". Despite his status as the series' protagonist, Lucas McCain is not without fault; he has a tendency to be stubborn and bossy, he has a bit of an inflated ego, and he is extremely protective of his son Mark to the point of being over-protective at times. In "Death Trap", an episode with Philip Carey as former gunman (and old adversary) Simon Battles, he is unwilling to believe

2135-405: The only ones used by Connors during the run of the series. The now-defunct Stembridge Gun Rentals provided the rifles and ammunition. Ammunition was quarter-load 5-in-1 blank cartridges containing smokeless powder , which did not produce the thick clouds of smoke the genuine black powder cartridges of the 1880s did. Most (if not all) of the sound effects for the rifle shots were dubbed, which

2196-460: The original Rifleman series. Chris Columbus was slated to be the executive producer and direct, with Robert Levy , Steven Gardner, and Arthur Gardner (related to original producers Levy-Gardner-Laven ) as executive producers. The remake project was canceled a few months later, without a pilot episode being made. The TV show was also adapted into a comic book by Dan Spiegle , distributed by Dell Comics . American toymaker Hubley produced

2257-537: The original producer, is again the sole copyright owner of The Rifleman series. In late 2013, Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, Inc. announced it would be the only authorized outlet to offer for the first time all 168 episodes of The Rifleman , the original series, newly restored and assembled in DVD box sets. The episodes were to be released in sequential order, by season, in high-quality boxed sets with exclusive special features. The first boxed set of all Season 1 episodes

2318-881: The production facilities. In 1957 Four Star debuted the first of its many police/detective shows, Richard Diamond, Private Detective . The "Diamond" series was originally created for radio by Blake Edwards , and the character played by Powell, but Powell recast the character with the then-unknown Clark Gable -lookalike David Janssen . Don Taylor portrayed Richard Diamond in the pilot film. Other crime series produced by Four Star included Target: The Corruptors! with Stephen McNally and Robert Harland , The Detectives starring Robert Taylor , Adam West, Tige Andrews, Mark Goddard, Russell Thorson and Lee Farr and Burke's Law starring Gene Barry , Gary Conway, Russell Thorson and Leon Lontoc and Honey West starring Anne Francis and John Ericson . Another program, The Rogues , starred Boyer and Niven with Gig Young on NBC TV. This

2379-530: The radio drama Nightbeat (titled "Search in the Night", November 5, 1953). Directors who worked on the show include Writers who worked on the show include: Official Films syndicated reruns of Four Star Playhouse under the title Star Performance . In 1956 it was named the best syndicated dramatic show in Billboard's Fourth Annual Program and Talent Awards. Powell was named the best dramatic performer in

2440-459: The recurring character of illegal gambling-house operator Willie Dante. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff . Many actors appeared in different roles in more than one episode, including 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

2501-406: The rifle by spinning it around his hand. In addition, the screw could be positioned to depress the trigger every time he worked the lever, allowing for rapid fire, emptying the magazine in under six seconds during the opening credits on North Fork's main street. The trigger-trip screw pin was used in two configurations: with the screw head turned inside (close to the trigger), or more often, outside

Four Star Playhouse - Misplaced Pages Continue

2562-494: The rifle. It appeared with two different types of levers. The backwards, round-D-style loop was used in the early episodes. Sometimes, the rifle McCain uses has a saddle ring . The lever style later changed to a flatter lever (instead of the large loop) with no saddle ring. McCain fires 12 shots from his rifle during the opening credits - seven shots in the first close-up and five more as the camera switches to another view. The blank cartridges are shorter than standard cartridges, so

2623-541: The same cartridge in both a handgun and a rifle. The Model 1892 was replaced by the Browning-designed Model 1894 , which also had an impressive manufacturing history, with over 7,000,000 produced; it is still being produced to this day by a successor to Winchester. The Model 94's popularity and long production history may be related to its being the first Winchester to be designed for the then-new "smokeless" powder . The pilot episode, "The Sharpshooter",

2684-413: The second best filmed network television drama series. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series, making his debut as a director on the program in 1952. The pilot for Meet McGraw , starring Frank Lovejoy , aired here (under that title, February 25, 1954), as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from

2745-524: The series is that people deserve a second chance; Marshal Micah Torrance is a recovering alcoholic , and McCain gives a convict a job on his ranch in "The Marshal". Royal Dano appeared in "The Sheridan Story" as a former Confederate soldier who is given a job on the McCain ranch and encounters General William Sheridan, the man who cost him his arm in battle. Learning why the man wants him dead, Sheridan arranges for medical care for his wounded former foe, quoting Abraham Lincoln 's last orders to "... bind up

2806-438: The series, including Claude Akins , Dan Blocker , James Coburn , Mark Goddard , James Drury , Dennis Hopper , L.Q. Jones , Michael Landon , Warren Oates , Marian Seldes , Harry Dean Stanton , and Robert Vaughn . Other notable guest stars and character actors who made cameo appearances were Sammy Davis Jr. , future baseball Hall of Famers Duke Snider and Don Drysdale , comedian Buddy Hackett , Pernell Roberts (who

2867-448: The show's five-year run. Notably, McCain almost never carried a pistol, although he is a good shot with it, especially when he improvised a crude gunstock from a board, when facing a villain who had stolen his rifle. The rifle used on the set of The Rifleman , an 1892 Winchester caliber .44-40 carbine with a standard 20-inch barrel, was an historical anachronism, as the show was set in 1881, 12 years before John Browning had designed

2928-467: The show's title in its initial broadcasts). From September 1952 through September 1954 it was broadcast on Thursdays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. In October 1954, it was moved to 9:30 to 10 p.m. E. T. on Thursdays, remaining in that slot for the rest of its run. 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

2989-419: The show, the director suddenly threw a rifle at him; the former Major League Baseball player caught it and got the job. Westerns were popular when The Rifleman premiered, and producers tried to find gimmicks to distinguish one show from another. The Rifleman' s gimmick was a modified Winchester Model 1892 rifle, with a large ring lever drilled and tapped for a set screw. The lever design allowed him to cock

3050-482: The studio and the program, as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had done successfully with the Desilu studio. Powell had intended for the program to feature himself, Charles Boyer , Joel McCrea and Rosalind Russell ; however, Russell and McCrea backed out, and David Niven came on board as the "third star". The fourth star would be a guest star at first. CBS liked the idea, and Four Star Playhouse made its debut in

3111-526: The trigger for each shot was not necessary, so he did not have to place his finger in harm's way. A close-up of the rifle's large looped lever and trigger-set screw can be seen in the third season episode "Miss Bertie." The rifle may have appeared in every episode, but it was not always fired; some plots did not require violent solutions (for example, one involving Mark's rigid new teacher). McCain attempts to solve as many problems as possible without resorting to shooting, yet still manages to kill 120 villains over

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3172-441: The trigger guard with a locknut on the outside (to secure its position). In some episodes, the screw was removed, when rapid-fire action was not required. When properly adjusted, the screw “squeezed” the trigger when the lever was fully closed. The rapid-fire mechanism was originally designed to keep Connors from puncturing his finger with the trigger as he quickly cycled the action of the rifle. With this modification, Connors pulling

3233-410: Was (after Four Star Playhouse ) the closest the studio's owners would come to appearing on the same program. The idea was for the three actors to alternate as the lead each week playing moral con-man cousins out to fleece reprehensible villains, often with one or two of the others turning up to play a small part in the caper (real ensemble episodes were rare). The schedule of who pulled leading man duty

3294-420: Was largely determined by the actors' movie commitments, thereby giving Niven, Boyer, and Young additional work between film roles. In any event, Young wound up helming most of the episodes since he usually had more spare time than Niven or Boyer, but even he had to be replaced by Larry Hagman as another cousin for two episodes when Young was too busy. The series lasted only through the 1964–65 season. The studio

3355-467: Was made available on December 4, 2013, for $ 69.95. The second season was released on November 28, 2014. Season 3 was released on December 2, 2015. Season 4 was released on December 4, 2016. Season 5 was released on November 27, 2017. The February 17, 1959 episode of The Rifleman was a pilot for an NBC series, Law of the Plainsman , starring Michael Ansara as Marshal Sam Buckhart. In

3416-468: Was merged into New World by April 1990. After Four Star International became part of New World, Four Star operated as in-name-only. In 1993, Four Star acquired 50% of Genesis Entertainment . As part of the acquisition, Genesis acquired television distribution rights to Four Star's 160 feature films and television series. Four Star International is now owned by The Walt Disney Company , with most of its library of programs controlled by 20th Television as

3477-661: Was on Bonanza at the time), Bobby Crawford Jr. (elder brother of series star Johnny Crawford; himself a star on Laramie from 1959 to 1960), and writer/director/producer Paul Mazursky . The Rifleman was partially filmed in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California. The series was created by Arnold Laven and developed by Sam Peckinpah , who became a director of Western movies. Peckinpah, who wrote and directed many early episodes, based many characters and plots on his own childhood on

3538-406: Was originally telecast on CBS as part of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre on March 7, 1958; it was repeated (in edited form) as the first episode of the series on ABC. The episode was written by Sam Peckinpah, and guest starred Dennis Hopper . Regulars on the program included Marshal Micah Torrance ( R. G. Armstrong was the original marshal for two episodes, the first and the fourth), Sweeney

3599-413: Was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory . The show was filmed in black and white, in half-hour episodes. The Rifleman aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, as a production of Four Star Television . It was one of the first primetime series on US television to show a single parent raising a child. The program was titled to reflect McCain's use of

3660-494: Was successful in the late 1950s as a result of the success of its programs. Four Star also helped bring some prominent names in television and movies to public attention including David Janssen , Steve McQueen , Robert Culp , Chuck Connors , Mary Tyler Moore , Linda Evans , Jeannie Carson , Lee Majors , The Smothers Brothers , Aaron Spelling , Dick Powell , David Niven , Joel McCrea , Charles Boyer , Ida Lupino , Richard Long , Peter Breck and Sam Peckinpah . The studio

3721-492: Was well known as being sympathetic to creative staff. Powell often battled with network executives on behalf of writers, directors, and actors. On January 2, 1963, a day after his last appearance on his program The Dick Powell Show aired, Dick Powell died of stomach cancer . The stomach cancer was likely a result of having directed Howard Hughes 's The Conqueror , amidst dust clouds of atomic test radiation in Utah. Out of

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