O. Henry's Full House (1952)

Directors:

Henry Hathaway
Howard Hawks

Writers:

Richard L. Breen (segment)
Walter Bullock (segment)

Release Date:

21 November 1952 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A dozen top stars - five famed directors bring you the best stories of O. Henry!

Plot:

John Steinbeck introduces a quintet of five of O. Henry's most celebrated stories from his New York Period (1902-1910) in this anthology film.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Winter | Murder | Christmas | Christmas Gift

Cast

Fred Allen	...	Sam 'Slick' Brown (The Ransom of Red Chief)
Anne Baxter	...	Joanna Goodwin (The Last Leaf)
Jeanne Crain	...	Della (The Gift of the Magi)
Farley Granger	...	Jim (The Gift of the Magi)
Charles Laughton	...	Soapy (The Cop and the Anthem)
Oscar Levant	...	Bill Peoria (The Ransom of Red Chief)
Marilyn Monroe	...	Streetwalker (The Cop and the Anthem)
Jean Peters	...	Susan Goodwin (The Last Leaf)
Gregory Ratoff	...	Behrman (The Last Leaf)
Dale Robertson	...	Barney Woods (The Clarion Call)
David Wayne	...	Horace (The Cop and the Anthem)
Richard Widmark	...	Johnny Kernan (The Clarion Call)
Joyce Mackenzie	...	Hazel Woods
Lee Aaker	...	J. B. Dorset aka Red Chief (The Ransom of Red Chief)
Richard Rober	...	Chief of Detectives (The Clarion Call)

Also Known As:

Baghdad on the Subway (USA) (working title)
Full House (UK)

Runtime:

117 min | West Germany:95 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-8 | USA:Approved (PCA #16007) | Sweden:15

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After the popular and critical success of two British anthology films based on W. Somerset Maugham short stories, Quartet (1948) and Trio (1950), with different casts and crews for each episode, 20th Century-Fox felt that the time was right for an American version of this format.

Quotes:

Johnny Kernan: Once they make you walk up an alley, you never use a front door again.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Kaiserwalzer, Op. 437 (Emperor Waltz)

Every segment a winner

I first saw this movie on TV as a child in the 1960s, and never watched it again until now (2005), but it's strange how many characters and even specific shots lingered in my mind all those years. This is a gem that has something for everyone: sentimentality, humor, pathos, and loads of good performances. "The Cop and the Anthem" is probably the most tightly written of them all, with subtle touches of humor throughout (besides the most obvious gags). If I had to single out one performer who delighted me the most it would be David Wayne, doing a twitchy down-and-outer playing off of Laughton's haughty tramp (especially just having seen him play a totally different character in ADAM'S RIB just a week ago).

As an old thespian friend of mine would say, "The Last Leaf" could bring a tear to a glass eye. And in "Red Chief," Fred Allen and Oscar Levant make a strange but fun team.

Not having seen Richard Widmark in the other movie mentioned in reviewer's comments, I could only think how much he reminded me of Frank Gorshin in various roles he played in the 60s. Watch this segment again and think "Frank."

Your whole family will like this movie. Why doesn't someone bring it out nice and crispy clean on DVD?