Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Unexpected

  • TV Series
  • 1952–
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
31
YOUR RATING
Drama

Herbert Marshall hosted this anthology series of fast paced thirty minute dramas. It was also known as "Times Square Playhouse."Herbert Marshall hosted this anthology series of fast paced thirty minute dramas. It was also known as "Times Square Playhouse."Herbert Marshall hosted this anthology series of fast paced thirty minute dramas. It was also known as "Times Square Playhouse."

  • Stars
    • Herbert Marshall
    • Paul Guilfoyle
    • David Colmans
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    31
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • Herbert Marshall
      • Paul Guilfoyle
      • David Colmans
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Episodes40

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1952

    Photos

    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Herbert Marshall
    Herbert Marshall
    • Self - Host
    Paul Guilfoyle
    Paul Guilfoyle
    • Charley Fowler…
    David Colmans
    • Boy
    Jane Nigh
    Jane Nigh
    • Girl…
    Veda Ann Borg
    Veda Ann Borg
    • Georgia
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • Doctor Alexander
    Hans Conried
    Hans Conried
    • Kingsley Roacher…
    John Kellogg
    John Kellogg
    • Truck Driver
    Lois Hall
    Lois Hall
    • Merle Fowler…
    Michael Whalen
    Michael Whalen
    • Capt. Jamie Jamison
    Lillian Bronson
    Lillian Bronson
    • Aunt Sue Martin
    Mira McKinney
    Mira McKinney
    • Fortune Teller…
    Emile Meyer
    Emile Meyer
    • Capt. Meyer
    Anthony Caruso
    Anthony Caruso
    • Paul…
    John Hamilton
    John Hamilton
    Russell Hicks
    Russell Hicks
    Forrest Taylor
    Forrest Taylor
    Chuck Hamilton
    Chuck Hamilton
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Underworld Story
    7.0
    The Underworld Story
    Between Midnight and Dawn
    6.5
    Between Midnight and Dawn

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This program was broadcast on NBC on Wednesday night between 10:30 and 11:00 PM Eastern Time.

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    For the Time A Good Thriller Theater
    It is very difficult to describe the true effect of this particular television program. It is far better to understand that one had to be curled up on a sofa, legs tucked under you, with a bag of potato chips or popcorn and a soft drink nearby.

    One has to also envisage that the room lights were incandescent, and the heavy baroque furniture and lamp shades (very few had ceiling lights back then) cast shadows over the room.

    The show opens with the faces of terribly frightening people looking out at you from a black & white television screen, with an image nowhere as clear as the one we have become used to today.

    Now the announcer's voice intones the opening of the show: "What are these people waiting for? They are all waiting for....the... Unexpected!"

    No, the 30 minute mini dramas on average never lived up in intensity to the famous opening, but from time to time they came across with one or two that stuck with you..right into your bedtime dreams. Like someone being buried alive, or a vindictive spouse coming back from the grave, or someone on the edge of going to the electric chair for a crime they did not commit.

    The show was presented in a 30 minute time frame (with the occasional commercial) and it had to be done reasonably well. No, they weren't as yet up to the quality of the as yet to come - Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but for the time and audience, for the most part, they were entertaining.

    Still,…. all in all, considering the crap offered to us on cable or satellite television today ... it was not bad!
    helpful•14
    0
    • sataft-2
    • Mar 6, 2011

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 5, 1952 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Lo inesperado
    • Production company
      • ZIV Television Programs
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Unexpected (1952) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit pageAdd episode

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.