Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) The House Always Wins (1955) User Reviews

Good cast in an okay installment.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 4 September 2020]

Dick Powell stars in this installment of "Four Star Playhouse". He's the manager of a restaurant that is a cover for his gambling business. However, when an old girlfriend shows up to warn him that some men are going to be robbing the place, he's forced to do something he didn't want to do...call the cops and report a robbery that's about to happen on his illegal gambling den! What's next?

In addition to Powell, family character actors Regis Toomey, Alan Mowbray and Herb Vigran are all on hand as well....and this helps an otherwise forgettable installment of the series.

Dante's complaint of the night is that he has a chimpanzee tending bar.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 3 February 2021]

That's after he complains about bartender Herb Vigran's coffee that he claims taste like the soapy water he should have used to wash the glasses. The wisecracks between Powell and Vigran continue throughout the episode, more so after Powell recognises an old flame (Jean Willes) from before the war who is having financial issues. Veteran character actor Alan Mowbray plays a down on his luck broke millionaire forced to work as a waiter

A cameo by a certain popular comic of the time adds more comedy to this episode which seems to focus more on humor than plot. Even Regis Toomey gets in on the sarcastic humor through a phonecall with Powell that makes you wonder why Blake Edwards wasn't involved in this episode as a writer since he could combine both humor and plot. This episode just seems really rushed out rather than thought out, making this a rather cool inferno.