O. Henry's Full House (1952)

Directors:

Henry Hathaway
Howard Hawks

Writers:

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

Release Date:

16 October 1952 (USA)

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:

Young Marriage | Santa Costume | Winter | Rural | Ransom

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:

Marilyn Monroe was billed as the star of the film despite the fact that she's only on camera for about one minute.

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)

Santa Snafu?

When I first saw this film some 45 years ago, I recognized Francis Ford in the last episode, "The Gift of the Magi," as the street corner Santa whom Jeanne Crain addresses as Mr. Schultz and inquires about his lumbago. He appears in three scenes, and despite the fact that his face is partially hidden by his beard, his bloated eyes and deep bronchial voice with that trademark Maine accent seem unmistakeably Fordian. Ford, older brother of legendary director John Ford, appeared periodically for Fox during this time, and I chalked this up as another one of his uncredited roles.

Recently watching the film on DVD, I checked out IMDb's cast and saw perennial movie policeman Fred Kelsey credited as Santa. Kelsey, who made a career of playing cops, doesn't seem to be in the film in his traditional role in a movie that has numerous police parts.

If that isn't Kelsey as Santa, then why is he billed in the film's credits? I suspect he's not in the film at all. The film underwent severe cutting after previews and elements of the prologue and the entire "Ransom of Red Chief" episode were eliminated, not to be reinstated until the film's TV premiere in the early 60's.

I think there are problems with the film's opening credits. The first billed supporting player after the twelve stars is supposedly Joyce MacKenzie in the role of Hazel. I don't see MacKenzie or a character named Hazel in the film either.

One last point: Kelsey spent the 1940's and early 50's in Columbia shorts and in uncredited bits in Warner films. Please check out the three Santa Claus scenes and come to your own conclusions as to who's playing Santa.