''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

made by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry. The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with different authors. The music score was composed by Alfred Newman. The film is narrated by author

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

, who made his only on-camera appearance to introduce each story.

Plot

Prologue

A prologue presented by narrator John Steinbeck introduces biographic background on O. Henry and mentions several of his other stories not included, notably the story of reformed safecracker Jimmy Valentine in '' A Retrieved Reformation''.

" The Cop and the Anthem"

Directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

, from a screenplay by

Lamar Trotti Lamar Jefferson Trotti (October 18, 1900 – August 28, 1952) was an American screenwriter, producer, and motion picture executive. Early life and education Trotti was born in Atlanta, US. He became the first graduate of the Henry W. Grady Co ...

, it stars

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (; 1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play wi ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

and David Wayne. As winter approaches, a vagrant decides it's time for his annual winter spell in prison. But no matter how hard he tries, he cannot get himself arrested.

"The Clarion Call"

Directed by

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

, from a screenplay by Richard Breen, it stars Dale Robertson and

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death (1947 film ...

. A detective feels he cannot arrest a murderer he knows from his past due to his honor involving an outstanding financial debt to the criminal. Once a newspaper offers a reward, after being mocked by the criminal, the detective arrests the criminal and collects the reward to repay the debt. This vignette reunited Henry Hathaway and Richard Widmark who'd worked together on the noir classic ''Kiss of Death'' (1947). Widmark's character in ''The Clarion Call'', "Johnny Kernan", is actually a reprise of his Oscar-nominated character "Tommy Udo" from ''Kiss of Death''. Widmark's Udo/Kernan character was inspired by his love of ''Batman'' comics' "The Joker". The Tommy Udo performance in turn influenced

Frank Gorshin Frank John Gorshin Jr. (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on television variety and talk shows, including '' The Ed Sullivan Show'', '' Tonight Starring Steve Allen' ...

in preparation for his "Riddler" character on the ''Batman'' TV series in the 1960s.

" The Last Leaf"

Directed by Jean Negulescu, from a screenplay by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, it stars

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway theatre, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe, and t ...

, Jean Peters, and

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (195 ...

. The story is set in Greenwich Village during the depths of winter. A poor old painter saves the life of a young woman, dying of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, by giving her the will to live. From her bed the patient can see an ivy vine through the window gradually losing its leaves in the intense cold. She has taken it into her head that she will die when the vine loses its last leaf. Seemingly, the last leaf never falls, and the young woman survives. In reality, the vine lost all its leaves during the cold night. The leaf she thought she had seen was just the image of a leaf painted on the wall with perfect realism, by the old artist, who died of exposure in the cold shortly after finishing the painted leaf.

" The Ransom of Red Chief"

Directed by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

, from a screenplay by

Nunnally Johnson Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He a ...

, rewritten by

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...

and Charles Lederer (none of whom were credited), it stars

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...

, Lee Aaker,

Irving Bacon Irving Ernest Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar West Bacon (who was a teenager) and Myrtle Vane. He was born ...

, and

Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost i ...

. Two con men kidnap a child in order to collect a substantial ransom, but the child proves to be too much for them. Nunnally Johnson wrote the original screenplay for Clifton Webb as "Slick" and

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 28, 1983) was an American actor, known especially for his supporting roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and as Uncle Charley in the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' from 1965-72. Demares ...

as "William", but when Fred Allen and Oscar Levant were cast, Hawks asked Hecht and Lederer to do a rewrite. Johnson was unhappy with the result and asked to have his name removed from the film.

"
The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ...
"

Directed by Henry King, from a screenplay by Walter Bullock and Philip Dunne (who was uncredited), it stars

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky (film), Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Da ...

and Farley Granger. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

, with little money, Della sells her hair to buy her husband Jim a watch fob. Jim has sold his watch to buy her a pair of ornamental combs. When they exchange these now useless gifts, they realize how deep is their love for one another.

Cast

;The Cop and the Anthem *

as Soapy *

as Streetwalker * David Wayne as Horace ;The Clarion Call * Dale Robertson as Barney Woods *

as Johnny Kernan * Richard Rober as Chief of Detectives * House Peters as Dave Bascom ;The Last Leaf *

as Joanna Goodwin * Jean Peters as Susan Goodwin *

as Behrman * Richard Garrick as Doctor ;The Ransom of Red Chief *

as Samuel Brown *

as William Smith * Lee Aaker as J.B. Dorset *

as Ebenezer Dorset *

as Mrs. Dorset ;The Gift of the Magi *

as Della Young * Farley Granger as Jim Young *

Fred Kelsey Frederick Alvin Kelsey (August 20, 1884 – September 2, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films betw ...

as Mr. Schultz / Santa Claus

"The Ransom of Red Chief"

When the film was first premiered in September 1952 in Los Angeles, it consisted of five parts, including Howard Hawks' "The Ransom of Red Chief". The Hawks short was so poorly received that the studio removed it before the film opened in New York that October, leading some outlets to describe the film as ''O'Henry's Four of a Kind''. Eventually, "The Ransom of Red Chief" was reinstated, and is included on the DVD release.

Plot

Prologue

" The Cop and the Anthem"

"The Clarion Call"

" The Last Leaf"

" The Ransom of Red Chief"

"
The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ...
"

Cast

"The Ransom of Red Chief"

See also

References

External links

Plot

Prologue

" The Cop and the Anthem"

"The Clarion Call"

" The Last Leaf"

" The Ransom of Red Chief"

"The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ..."

Cast

"The Ransom of Red Chief"

See also

References

External links

"
The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ...
"