Nestor Paiva

Acting

Nestor Paiva

Born — Died

1905-06-30 — 1966-09-09

Place of birth

Fresno, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

100 titles

Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 - September 9, 1966) was a prolific American actor of Portuguese descent who portrayed the innkeeper on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro by ABC and its feature film The Sign of Zorro which was shot in Burbank's Walt Disney Studios. Nestor appeared in motion pictures and television shows from the 1930s to the 1960s such as Get Smart, Bonanza, I Spy, Family Affair, Gunsmoke, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Addams Family. In 1943, he played the Italian Major in the 20th Century Fox wartime movie Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas. He played the part of Lucas (the boat captain) in the 1954 horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon starring Ben C…

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 6 titles

Can-Can poster
6.7

A Parisian nightclub owner known for her performances of the can-can attracts the ire of a self-righteous judge. He hatches a plot to photograph her in the act but ends up falling for her — much to the chagrin of her lawyer boyfriend.

Can-Can

1960

Atlantis: The Lost Continent poster
5.2

A Greek Fisherman brings an Atlantean Princess back to her homeland which is the mythical city of Atlantis. He is enslaved for his trouble. The King is being manipulated by an evil sorcerer who is bent on using a natural resource of Atlantis to take over the world. The Atlanteans, or rather the slaves of Atlantis, are forced to mine a crystalline material which absorbs the suns rays. These crystals can then be used for warmth. The misuse of science has created weapons out of the crystals that can fire a heat ray to destroy whatever it touches.

Atlantis: The Lost Continent

1961

Gold of the Seven Saints poster
7.2

Fur-trapping partners stumble across a cache of gold, but their discovery quickly attracts every greedy villain in the territory.

Gold of the Seven Saints

1961

The Spirit Is Willing poster
5.5

When Ben and Kate Powell rent a haunted New England house by the sea, their son Steve gets blamed for the destruction caused by three unruly ghosts.

The Spirit Is Willing

1967

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse poster
6.0

In Argentina, one daughter of patriarch Madariaga is married to a Frenchman while the other is married to a German thus leading to a crisis when Nazi Germany occupies France and some Madariaga family members fight on opposite sides.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1962

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter poster
4.3

Dr. Frankenstein's Granddaughter Maria, and her brother assistant Rudolph, moved to the old west because the lightning storms there are more frequent and intense, which allows them to work on the experiments of their grandfather. But the experiments are failing and Rudolph's been secretly killing the corpses afterwards. Meanwhile, the Lopez family leaves the town because of the evil going on there

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter

1966

1950s · 25 titles

Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
6.8

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

1954

Viva Zapata! poster
6.8

The story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of president Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.

Viva Zapata!

1952

Alias Jesse James poster
6.1

Insurance salesman Milford Farnsworth sells a man a life policy only to discover that the man in question is the outlaw Jesse James. Milford is sent to buy back the policy, but is robbed by Jesse. And when Jesse learns that Milford's boss is on the way out with more cash, he plans to rob him too and have Milford get killed in the robbery while dressed as Jesse, and collect on the policy.

Alias Jesse James

1959

The Great Caruso poster
5.9

Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.

The Great Caruso

1951

The Left Handed Gun poster
6.0

When a crooked sheriff murders his employer, William "Billy the Kid" Bonney decides to avenge the death by killing the man responsible, throwing the lives of everyone around him into turmoil, and endangering the General Amnesty set up by Governor Wallace to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory.

The Left Handed Gun

1958

Double Dynamite poster
6.5

An innocent bank teller, suspected of embezzlement, is aided by an eccentric, wisecracking waiter.

Double Dynamite

1951

Tarantula poster
6.5

A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.

Tarantula

1955

Comanche poster
5.2

Common efforts of the U.S. government and the Comanche nation to negotiate a peace treaty are sabotaged by renegade Indians and by the short-sighted Indian Commissioner.

Comanche

1956

Phone Call from a Stranger poster
6.4

Four strangers board a plane and become fast friends, but a catastrophic crash leaves only one survivor. He then sets off on a journey to discover who these people were, but ultimately discovers the devastating truth about himself.

Phone Call from a Stranger

1952

All That Heaven Allows poster
7.3

Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.

All That Heaven Allows

1955

Young Man with a Horn poster
6.4

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

Young Man with a Horn

1950

The Mole People poster
5.2

A party of archaeologists discovers the remnants of a five millennia-old mutant Sumerian civilization living beneath a glacier atop a mountain in Mesopatamia.

The Mole People

1956

April in Paris poster
4.9

A series of misunderstandings leads to a chorus girl traveling to Paris to represent the American theater, where she falls in love with a befuddled bureaucrat.

April in Paris

1952

The Guns of Fort Petticoat poster
6.3

Opposing his commanding officer's decision to attack a group of innocent Indians and wipe them out, Lt. Frank Hewitt leaves his post and heads home to Texas. He knows that the attack will send all of the tribes on the warpath and he wants to forewarn everyone. He gets a chilly reception back home however. With most of the men away having enlisted in the Confederate army Frank, a Union officer, is seen by the local women as a traitor. He convinces them of the danger that lies ahead and trains them to repel the attack that will eventually come.

The Guns of Fort Petticoat

1957

Casanova's Big Night poster
6.1

Italy 1757, Pippo Popolino, a lowly tailor, disguises himself as the great Casanova in order to romance the attractive widow Francesca. He little suspects what awaits him... Locked into the incongruous role by the desperation of the real Casanova's creditors, Pippo must journey to Venice on a delicate mission far beyond his capabilities.

Casanova's Big Night

1954

Revenge of the Creature poster
5.6

In a tributary of the Amazon, a monster – half-man, half-fish – is captured and placed in a reservoir in a Florida national park to be observed by scientists.

Revenge of the Creature

1955

Four Guns to the Border poster
5.0

A group of outlaws plan and execute a robbery in a small town. However, things go awry as the team attempt a getaway, when a couple of the locals attempting to follow them, are ambushed by marauding natives.

Four Guns to the Border

1954

I, the Jury poster
5.9

After his best friend and war buddy is mysteriously gunned down, Mike Hammer will stop at nothing to settle the score for the man who sacrificed a limb to save his own life during combat. Along the way, Hammer rides a fine line between gumshoe and a one-man jury, staying two-steps ahead of the law—and trying not to get bumped off in the process.

I, the Jury

1953

Ten Thousand Bedrooms poster
5.6

In this musical-comedy, Dean Martin plays an American hotel mogul who becomes smitten with a young Italian woman (Anna Maria Alberghetti) when buying a hotel in Rome. To marry this gal, he has to get her three older sisters married off.

Ten Thousand Bedrooms

1957

Jim Thorpe – All-American poster
6.5

The triumph and tragedy of Native American Jim Thorpe, who, after winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in the same Olympics, is stripped of his medals on a technicality.

Jim Thorpe – All-American

1951

Hell on Frisco Bay poster
5.3

A cop framed for a murder he did not commit hunts the San Francisco waterfront for the Mob racketeers who are responsible.

Hell on Frisco Bay

1955

The Bandits of Corsica poster
6.4

Siamese twins separated at birth retain a psychic link; each feels the other's pain and happiness.

The Bandits of Corsica

1953

The Deep Six poster
5.7

The conflict between duty and conscience is explored in the WWII drama The Deep Six. Alan Ladd stars as Naval gunnery officer Alec Austin, a Quaker whose sincere pacifist sentiments do not sit well with his crew members. When he refuses to fire upon an unidentified plane, the word spreads that Austin cannot be relied upon in battle (never mind that the plane turns out to be one of ours). To prove that he's worthy of command, Austin volunteers for a dangerous mission: the rescue of a group of US pilots on a Japanese-held island. The ubiquitous William Bendix costars as Frenchy Shapiro (!), Austin's Jewish petty officer and severest critic. If the film has a villain, it is Keenan Wynn as ambitious Lt. Commander Edge, who seems to despise anyone who isn't a mainline WASP.

The Deep Six

1958

The Desert Hawk poster
5.4

A desert guerilla, with flashing scimitar, opposes a tyrannical prince and marries the caliph's daughter.

The Desert Hawk

1950

The First Texan poster
6.7

After arriving in Texas to escape a scandal back east, lawyer Sam Houston just wants to hang out his shingle, keep a low profile, and stay out of any political intrigue. However, when President Jackson personally orders him to lead the fight for Texan independence, he overcomes his reluctance to become involved and leads his compatriots to a string of victories over the Mexican army.

The First Texan

1956

1940s · 24 titles

The Flying Jalopy poster
6.6

Donald Duck buys a rattletrap used airplane from devious proprietor Ben Buzzard, who tricks the unsuspecting duck into making Ben the beneficiary in case of an accident. Ben then leads Donald on a reckless flight, trying to make the plane crash so that he collect a fortune from Donald's misfortune.

The Flying Jalopy

1943

The Paleface poster
6.1

Bob Hope stars in this laugh-packed wild west spoof co-starring Jane Russell as a sexy Calamity Jane, Hope is a meek frontier dentist, "Painless" Peter Potter, who finds himself gunslinging alongside the fearless Calamity as she fights off outlaws and Indians.

The Paleface

1948

The Sea Hawk poster
7.2

Dashing pirate Geoffrey Thorpe plunders Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I and falls in love with Dona Maria, a beautiful Spanish royal he captures.

The Sea Hawk

1940

The Southerner poster
6.6

Sam Tucker, a cotton picker, in search of a better future for his family, decides to grow his own cotton crop. In the first year, the Tuckers battle disease, a flood, and a jealous neighbor. Can they make it as farmers?

The Southerner

1945

Mighty Joe Young poster
6.4

A young woman, Jill Young, grew up on her father's ranch in Africa, raising a large gorilla named Joe from an infant. Years later, she brings him to Hollywood to become a star.

Mighty Joe Young

1949

Humoresque poster
7.0

A classical musician from a working class background is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.

Humoresque

1947

Hold Back the Dawn poster
6.7

Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he decides to marry an American, then desert her and join his old partner Anita, who's done likewise. But after sweeping teacher Emmy Brown off her feet, he finds her so sweet that love and jealousy endanger his plans.

Hold Back the Dawn

1941

Background to Danger poster
6.7

An American gets caught up in wartime action in Turkey.

Background to Danger

1943

Primrose Path poster
6.7

Ellie Mae lives on Primrose Hill with her good-hearted and fancy free mother, her drunken father, her younger sister and a mean-spirited grandmother. The Hill is not a good part of town, however. When she meets and falls for a hard-working man, they marry and she hides her past from him. When he discovers the truth it jeopardizes their marriage.

Primrose Path

1940

Santa Fe Trail poster
5.8

As a penalty for fighting fellow classmates days before graduating from West Point, J.E.B. Stuart, George Armstrong Custer and four friends are assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth. While there they aid in the capture and execution of the abolitionist, John Brown following the Battle of Harper's Ferry.

Santa Fe Trail

1940

Road to Morocco poster
6.9

Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.

Road to Morocco

1942

Badman's Territory poster
6.3

After some gun play with a posse, the James Gang head for Quinto in a section of land which is not a part of America. Anyone there is beyond the law so the town is populated with outlaws. Next to arrive is Sheriff Rowley, following his brother whom the Gang have brought in injured. Rowley has no authority and gets on well enough with the James boys but is soon involved in other local goings-on, including a move to vote for annexation with Oklahoma which would allow the law well and truly in.

Badman's Territory

1946

A Thousand and One Nights poster
6.1

On the run after being found sweet-talking the Sultan's daughter, Aladdin comes upon a lamp which, when rubbed, summons up Babs the genie. He uses it to return as a visiting prince asking for the princess's hand. Unfortunately for him, the sultan's wicked twin brother has secretly usurped the throne, someone else is after the lamp for his own ends, and Babs has taken a shine to Aladdin herself and is bent on wrecking his endeavours.

A Thousand and One Nights

1945

The Inspector General poster
6.6

An illiterate stooge in a traveling medicine show wanders into a strange town and is picked up on a vagrancy charge. The town's corrupt officials mistake him for the inspector general whom they think is traveling in disguise. Fearing he will discover they've been pocketing tax money, they make several bungled attempts to kill him.

The Inspector General

1949

The Dancing Masters poster
6.3

The Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film. The plot involves the team running a ballet school, and getting involved with an inventor. A young Robert Mitchum has an uncredited cameo role as a fraudulent insurance salesman.

The Dancing Masters

1943

The Green Hornet Strikes Again! poster
6.8

Second serial featuring The Green Hornet and Kato.

The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

1940

Joan of Arc poster
6.2

In the 15th Century, France is a defeated and ruined nation after the One Hundred Years War against England. The fourteen-year-old farm girl Joan of Arc claims to hear voices from Heaven asking her to lead God's Army against Orleans and crowning the weak Dauphin Charles VII as King of France. Joan gathers the people with her faith, forms an army, and conquers Orleans.

Joan of Arc

1948

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House poster
7.0

An advertising executive dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems.

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

1948

North West Mounted Police poster
6.4

Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers ("Isn't that a contradiction in terms?", another character asks him) travels to Canada in the 1880s in search of Jacques Corbeau, who is wanted for murder. He wanders into the midst of the Riel Rebellion, in which Métis (people of French and Native heritage) and Natives want a separate nation. Dusty falls for nurse April Logan, who is also loved by Mountie Jim Brett. April's brother is involved with Courbeau's daughter Louvette, which leads to trouble during the battles between the rebels and the Mounties. Through it all Dusty is determined to bring Corbeau back to Texas (and April, too, if he can manage it.)

North West Mounted Police

1940

Hold That Ghost poster
6.8

Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. Their trip to claim their fortune is sidetracked when they are stranded in a haunted house along with several other strangers.

Hold That Ghost

1941

Johnny Eager poster
6.2

A charming racketeer seduces the DA's stepdaughter for revenge, then falls in love.

Johnny Eager

1941

Alias Nick Beal poster
6.8

After straight-arrow district attorney Joseph Foster says in frustration that he would sell his soul to bring down a local mob boss, a smooth-talking stranger named Nick Beal shows up with enough evidence to seal a conviction. When that success leads Foster to run for governor, Beal's unearthly hold on him turns the previously honest man corrupt, much to the displeasure of his wife and his steadfast minister.

Alias Nick Beal

1949

Boom Town poster
7.0

Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.

Boom Town

1940

Arise, My Love poster
6.5

A dashing pilot and a vivacious reporter have romantic and dramatic adventures in Europe as World War II begins.

Arise, My Love

1940

1930s · 5 titles

The Hunchback of Notre Dame poster
7.3

Paris, France, 1482. Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, gets infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protege and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he is involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the devil's work.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1939

Union Pacific poster
6.7

One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?

Union Pacific

1939

Beau Geste poster
7.0

Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.

Beau Geste

1939

Unseen Guardians poster
6.5

The "unseen guardians" of the title are the Postal Inspection Service, which investigates mail order racketeering; the Underwriters' Laboratories, which are shown testing electrical equipment, fire extinguishers, and large floor safes; and those who run orphanages, who assure that the children in their care are placed in proper adoptive homes.

Unseen Guardians

1939

Another Thin Man poster
7.1

Nick and Nora Charles are back - and this time, they have a baby, a wealthy new client, and another murder to solve! Retired detective Nick is enjoying family life with Nora and their young son, Nick Jr., when eccentric industrialist Colonel MacFay asks for protection after receiving threatening messages. When MacFay is found dead at his isolated estate, Nick and Nora spring into action, questioning a houseful of suspicious guests and uncovering greed, blackmail, family secrets, and a dangerous inheritance plot. With their trademark wit and sophistication, the glamorous couple balances parenthood, parties, and peril as they race to expose the killer.

Another Thin Man

1939

Series credits

Perry Mason poster
7.7

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.

Perry Mason

1957

Bonanza poster
7.5

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

Bonanza

1959

Bonanza poster
7.5

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.

Bonanza

1959

The Andy Griffith Show poster
7.6

Andy Taylor is the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life.

The Andy Griffith Show

1960

Lassie poster
6.3

Lassie is the pet of Jeff Miller, an 11-year-old farm boy. The two become best friends and enjoy family adventures in the American countryside, teaching each other about love, nature and commitment.

Lassie

1954

Get Smart poster
8.0

Maxwell Smart, a hilariously inept and maladroit secret agent for CONTROL, battles the nefarious—though equally incompetent—KAOS.

Get Smart

1965

The Virginian poster
6.5

The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.

The Virginian

1962

Have Gun, Will Travel poster
7.3

Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.

Have Gun, Will Travel

1957

Maverick poster
7.0

The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than messing up their fine clothing with actual work. Sly and clever, none of the Mavericks are much for acts of derring do, but they can be courageous when the situation calls for it. Most often, however, they live by their wits and considerable charm.

Maverick

1957

The Beverly Hillbillies poster
6.9

Jed Clampett's swamp is loaded with oil. When a wildcatter discovers the huge pool, Jed sells his land to the O.K. Oil Company and at the urging of cousin Pearl, moves his family to a 35-room mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

The Beverly Hillbillies

1962

The Red Skelton Show poster
7.4

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.

The Red Skelton Show

1951

Four Star Playhouse poster
6.8

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.

Four Star Playhouse

1952

Four Star Playhouse poster
6.8

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.

Four Star Playhouse

1952

Four Star Playhouse poster
6.8

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.

Four Star Playhouse

1952

Four Star Playhouse poster
6.8

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.

Four Star Playhouse

1952

Climax! poster
3.8

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Climax!

1954

Cheyenne poster
6.2

Cheyenne Bodie was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero. CHEYENNE is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.

Cheyenne

1955

No artwork available
5.9

No synopsis available yet.

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre

1963

Daniel Boone poster
7.0

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, for the first four seasons of the series. Albert Salmi portrayed Boone's companion Yadkin in season one only. Dallas McKennon portrayed innkeeper Cincinnatus. Country Western singer-actor Jimmy Dean was a featured actor as Josh Clements during the 1968–1970 seasons. Actor and former NFL football player Rosey Grier made regular appearances as Gabe Cooper in the 1969 to 1970 season. The show was broadcast "in living color" beginning in fall 1965, the second season, and was shot entirely in California and Kanab, Utah.

Daniel Boone

1964

Rawhide poster
7.3

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.

Rawhide

1959

Wanted: Dead or Alive poster
7.1

Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television. The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

1958

The Lucy Show poster
7.1

The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.

The Lucy Show

1962

The Colgate Comedy Hour poster
6.9

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

The Colgate Comedy Hour

1950

The Addams Family poster
8.0

A satirical inversion of the ideal of the perfect American nuclear family, they are an eccentric wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre, and are never really aware that people find them bizarre or frightening. In fact, they themselves are often terrified by "normal" people.

The Addams Family

1964

Lawman poster
6.0

Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.

Lawman

1958

Zorro poster
7.6

Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.

Zorro

1957

Zorro poster
7.6

Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.

Zorro

1957

Gunsmoke poster
6.7

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

Gunsmoke

1955

Burke's Law poster
6.2

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Burke's Law

1963

Burke's Law poster
6.2

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Burke's Law

1963

Sea Hunt poster
6.7

Sea Hunt is an American adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges as ex-Navy frogman Mike Nelson, and was produced by Ivan Tors.

Sea Hunt

1958

Family Affair poster
6.7

Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional English gentleman's gentleman, Mr. Giles French, also had adjustments to make as he became saddled with the responsibility of caring for 15-year-old Cissy and the 6-year-old twins, Jody and Buffy. The show ran for 138 episodes. Family Affair was created and produced by Don Fedderson, also known for My Three Sons and The Millionaire.

Family Affair

1966

The Texan poster
6.0

The Texan was a Western television series starring popular B movie actor Rory Calhoun, which aired on the CBS television network from 1958 to 1960.

The Texan

1958

December Bride poster
6.2

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.

December Bride

1954

Sugarfoot poster
5.1

Sugarfoot is an American western television series that aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961. The series stars Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster, an Easterner who comes to the Oklahoma Territory to become a lawyer. Jack Elam is cast in occasional episodes as sidekick Toothy Thompson. Brewster was a correspondence-school student whose apparent lack of cowboy skills earned him the nickname "Sugarfoot", a designation even below that of a tenderfoot.

Sugarfoot

1957

The Millionaire poster
5.8

An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better or for worse. It told the stories of people who were given one million dollars from a benefactor who insisted they never know him, with one exception.

The Millionaire

1955

Telephone Time poster
6.5

Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The series features plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons. The program was directed by Arthur Hiller.

Telephone Time

1956

The Barbara Stanwyck Show poster
6.4

An American anthology drama television series hosted by Barbara Stanwyck served.

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

1960

The Adventures of Jim Bowie poster
5.3

The Adventures of Jim Bowie is an American Western television series that aired on ABC from 1956 to 1958. Its setting was the 1830s-era Louisiana Territory. The series was an adaptation of the book Tempered Blade, by Monte Barrett. The series stars Scott Forbes as the real-life adventurer Jim Bowie. The series initially portrayed Jim Bowie as something of an outdoors-man, riding his horse through the wilderness near his home in Opelousas, where he would stumble across someone needing his assistance. He was aided by the Bowie Knife, his ever-present weapon. He designed it in the first episode, The Birth of the Blade.

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

1956

Richard Diamond, Private Detective poster
6.8

Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

1957