Watch The Barbara Stanwyck Show

Name: The Barbara Stanwyck Show
Genre: Drama
Released: 1960-10-31
Cast: Barbara StanwyckAnna May WongArthur Gould-Porter

1960
1 Season
7.5 (219)

The Barbara Stanwyck Show was an anthology drama series that aired from 1960 to 1961. Each episode was a self-contained story, with Barbara Stanwyck starring as the lead in every episode. The series was produced by Proven Entertainment and was notable for its strong writing, impressive acting performances, and varied storytelling.

One of the unique features of The Barbara Stanwyck Show was the fact that the stories were sourced from a wide range of genres. Some episodes were light-hearted and comedic, while others were serious and dramatic. The show tackled issues such as poverty, racism, and gender inequality, often with a nuanced and thoughtful approach. Regardless of the content of each episode, however, the performances of the show's actors were uniformly excellent.

Barbara Stanwyck herself was a consummate performer, bringing a depth and sensitivity to every role she played. Her onscreen chemistry with her co-stars was often electric, and she had a particular knack for playing complex and nuanced characters. In one episode, she plays a woman who masquerades as a psychiatrist to try and help someone in need, while in another she plays an ex-convict struggling to rebuild her life. Stanwyck's range and depth as an actor were on full display throughout the series, and her performances are undoubtedly one of the main reasons the show remains well-regarded to this day.

Another notable aspect of The Barbara Stanwyck Show was the show's commitment to representation. In an era where many television shows were dominated by white male actors, this series bucked the trend by prominently featuring actors of color in its cast. James Hong made multiple appearances throughout the series, delivering standout performances as a Chinese-American character. Weaver Levy, another actor of color, also had several memorable roles in the series. The show also featured a number of female directors, which was a rarity at the time.

Overall, The Barbara Stanwyck Show was an impressive and groundbreaking series for its time. Its combination of compelling storytelling, excellent acting, and social conscience made it a trailblazer in the television landscape of the 1960s. While the series only ran for one season, its impact is still felt today, and it remains a testament to the power of great storytelling and outstanding performances.

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Seasons

27. A Man's Game

July 3, 1961

In a semi-comedic tale of frontier times, a woman named "Chris Mathews" is sworn in as a pro tempore sheriff, but she decides she'll run for the office in an upcoming election. The men of the town decide to show her up with a fake robbery, but the robber double crosses them.

26. Big Jake

June 5, 1961

A craggy old police detective and a young reporter investigate a safe cracking. They suspect an old ex-con offender, now living with his daughter's family. He turns himself in, confessing everything, though the detective smells a rat. Meanwhile, the actual perpetrators plan another job.

25. The Hitch-Hiker

May 19, 1961

A lady lawyer and her author husband encounter a starving young woman and her baby, and take them in. Soon they discover she's a Czech refugee that is hiding from a local rich woman she worked for as a maid, and who wants to take away the child. The lawyer takes up the case and discovers secrets about the vindictive matron.

24. The Assasin

May 15, 1961

After her boss dies, Louise Forest is accused of embezzlement by Mr. Carlisle, one of the partners. After admitting it, she leaves to think over her options, then meets Joe who has been sent to cause her harm.

23. Little Big Mouth

May 8, 1961

Famous newspaper woman Nelly Bly goes to a far western Indian reservation looking for a story, and finds a doctor in charge, one that seems to start fights more than solve problems. She threatens to write a damning story on him, but has a change of heart after talking to his niece and accompanying him on an errand of mercy.

22. Yanqui Go Home

May 1, 1961

Just ahead of vicious revolutionaries, an American engineer and his wife escape from their home, a jungle oil field. Soon, they are hijacked by counter revolutionaries, and get caught in a gunfight and chase. They join one in his quest to keep religious items from falling into the wrong hands, and along the way the man reveals intimate secrets about his past to his wife.

21. Frightened Doll

April 24, 1961

Hazel Wexley, a downcast woman, is befriended by a mobster who makes her happy. But after his unexpected death she is left with a mysterious briefcase.

20. The Choice

April 17, 1961

Past closing time at an out of the way nightclub, the woman that runs it waits for the last customer to leave, then hears on the radio of an escaped killer mental patient is in the area. When another man shows up, she enlists his help-but then realizes HE might actually be the wanted man.

19. Sign of the Zodiac

April 3, 1961

After the death of her husband, Madge Terry goes to a psychic accompanied by her sister-in-law Helene. Pierre claims to be in touch with the deceased's spirit, which Madge fears will reveal something she wants kept secret.

18. High Tension

March 27, 1961

Escaping a cruel husband, socialite Fran Elick and her deaf son take a bus in the rural countryside during a stormy night. An accident throws the boy out of the bus and leaves a power line spitting a deadly electric current on it's metal frame, lethal if touched.

17. Adventure on Hapiness Street

March 20, 1961

As countless old and sick people are forced to leave Red China, they seek medical help from a small free clinic run by an American in Hong Kong. He's running out of needed medicine, but a wealthy friend secures some through her black market contact, but he double crosses them when the bottles are switched.

16. The Golden Acres

March 13, 1961

In a small Midwestern town in 1905, a scheming woman dominates her two weak- willed brothers. She has her deceased father's will forged to give her control over the family fortune and risks it all on a plot of land she believes will be needed for a factory that will be built.

15. Shock

March 6, 1961

After the sudden death of her little girl, a nervous woman goes into a trance-like catatonic state. Her friends and family debate what to do with her. After friends and doctors are stumped, the solution is found in the form of a Hawaiian doll.

14. Along the Barbary Coast

February 17, 1961

In 1890's San Francisco, saloon keeper Trixie is reunited with an old lover, a returning prisoner of war. She finds his ardor cooled when he finds her partners with a notorious hijacker. After shooting a detective, the crook hides in Trixie's house-but will she protect him?

13. Confession

February 20, 1961

Her overbearing and jealous husband drives a woman to leave him and seek a divorce with a sleazy lawyer. They begin an affair and the plan grows into a plot to frame the husband for her murder as the illicit couple skip the country with valuable documents.

12. Big Career

February 13, 1961

Harriet Melvane is a successful business woman, choosing work over time with her husband. After his tragic death she has regrets until a discussion with her mother-in-law.

11. The Sisters

February 6, 1961

When her sister's little boy becomes serious ill and must go into hospital for a dangerous operation, she visits the estranged father while pretending to be a wealthy eccentric. The hard part is that he has no idea he is a father, the fact kept from him by a spiteful spouse.

10. Dragon by the Tail

January 30, 1961

Josephine Little, an expatriate American importer-exporter of sometimes unscrupulous dealings, is recruited by Central Intelligence Agency operatives in Hong Kong to help recover an American born scientist away from the communists, holding him in North Vietnam. She goes through with the dangerous mission, in hopes of securing a scrap metal deal with the U.S. government.

9. Dear Charlie

January 23, 1961

Two wealthy old spinster sisters put an ad in the paper for a man to board with them, and it's answered by a grifter named Charlie. They fall for him, and soon are jealously vying for his attentions. He plays them off one another until both are ready to poison the other.

8. Size 10

January 16, 1961

In the high-pressure world of the garment industry, one woman runs a successful company of her own, yet her best designs suddenly appear being produced by her competitors, as her boyfriend keeps trying to get her to leave the business and marry him.

7. Night Visitor

January 9, 1961

Through with her marriage to a doctor, a self-centered woman prepares to close up her beachfront home and fly off to Paris. She leaves the last details to her butler. A woman is let in who claims to be her husband's paramour, but turns out to be in cahoots with the butler, and plan to kill the woman and take her money and valuables.

6. Out of the Shadows

December 19, 1960

A lady psychiatrist is assigned to evaluate a scruffy horn player with a violent streak. Though much younger than the doctor, he becomes obsessed with her and humiliating her. His psychotic fixation leads to stalking her to her apartment.Trouble is she can't get the other doctors to believe her.

5. Ironbark's Bride

November 28, 1960

Crusty old farmer and wealthiest man in town, Ironbank, sends for a bride and draws a middle aged woman and teen aged son. The boy gives him cool reception, and repeatedly displeases him. Soon his real father, a gunman, whom was assumed dead all along, shows up looking to blackmail his wife.

4. The Secret of Mrs. Randall

November 21, 1960

A conservative oil drilling company is run by a lady president, the widow of the man who started it. She upsets her board of executives by insisting that a former employee who was sent to prison for embezzling the company's payroll be paroled, but refuses to explain why.

3. The Miraculous Journey of Tadpole Chan

November 14, 1960

Josephine Little stays busy with her business in post war Hong Kong but falls for the charms of a young boy Tadpole, who is homeless. She works to get him stateside clashing with government official Dobson in the process.

2. House in Order

November 7, 1960

Elizabeth Mowry is told by her doctor to prepare her family and arrange her affairs, as she needs an emergency heart operation. Her daughter Susan though is resentful and is prepared to elope with her beau Jed.

1. The Key to the Killer

October 31, 1960

Stella fills in for her sheriff husband with herself and deputy Homer transporting a killer Leroy. He gets the upper hand and escapes but with Stella handcuffed to him.

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