O. Henry's Full House (1952)

September 18, 1952 (US) • Comedy, Drama • 117m

Overview

Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".

Directors

Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco

Writers

Lamar Trotti, Richard L. Breen, Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts, Walter Bullock

Top Billed

Fred Allen

Keywords

anthology bum based on short story

Where to watch

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Fred Allen

Sam "Slick" Brown (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief")

Anne Baxter

Joanna Goodwin (segment "The Last Leaf")

Jeanne Crain

Della (segment "The Gift of the Magi")

Farley Granger

Jim (segment "The Gift of the Magi")

Charles Laughton

Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")

Oscar Levant

William Smith (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief")

Marilyn Monroe

Streetwalker (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")

Jean Peters

Susan Goodwin (segment "The Last Leaf")

Gregory Ratoff

Behrman (segment "The Last Leaf")

Dale Robertson

Barney Woods (segment "The Clarion Call")

David Wayne

Horace (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")

Richard Widmark

Johnny Kernan (segment "The Clarion Call")

Joyce Mackenzie

Lee Aaker

J.B. Dorset (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief")

Richard Rober

Chief of Detectives (segment "The Clarion Call")

Fred Kelsey

Mr. Schultz (segment "The Gift of the Magi")

Richard Garrick

Doctor (segment "The Last Leaf")

John Steinbeck

Narrator

Kathleen Freeman

Mrs. Dorset (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

Irving Bacon

Ebeneezer Dorset (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

William Vedder

Judge (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Will Wright

Hotel Desk Clerk (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Thomas Browne Henry

Café Manager (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Steven Geray

Boris Radolf (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Warren Stevens

Druggist (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Robert Easton

Yokel (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

Carl Betz

Jimmy Valentine (segment "Prologue") (uncredited)

Herb Vigran

Poker Player (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Harry Hayden

A.J. Crump (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Fritz Feld

Maurice (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Sig Ruman

Menkie (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Frank Jaquet

Butcher (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

House Peters

Dave Bascom (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Bert Stevens

Street Extra/Roominghouse Extra/Office Worker at Crump's

Marjorie Holliday

Cashier (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Pat Flaherty

Irish Cop (Prologue) (uncredited)

Robert Foulk

Cop (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Everett Glass

Desk Clerk (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Norman Leavitt

Yokel (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

Jack Mather

Cop (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Frank Mills

Man Being Booked (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Martha Wentworth

Mrs. O'Brien (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Ava Norring

Girl (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Gloria Gordon

Ellie Mae (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

A. Cameron Grant

Poker Player (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Tom Greenway

Cop (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Thomas Browne Henry

Manager (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Bert Hicks

Sheldon Sidney (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Jimmie Horan

Bookkeeper (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Richard Hylton

Bill (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Richard Karlan

Headwaiter (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Don Kohler

Secretary (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Ann Kunde

Yokel (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

Nick Lekaj

Owner (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

David McMahon

Cop (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Tyler McVey

O. Henry (Prologue) (uncredited)

Alfred Mizner

Storekeeper (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

William J. O'Brien

Hotel Clerk (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Stuart Randall

Detective (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Henry Slate

Poker Player (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Bert Stevens

Street Extra / Roominghouse Extra / Office Worker (uncredited)

Harry Tenbrook

Bar Customer (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

Beverly Thompson

Girl (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Philip Tonge

Umbrella Man (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Phil Tully

Guard (Prologue) (uncredited)

Ernö Verebes

Waiter (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Ruth Warren

Neighbor (segment "The Last Leaf") (uncredited)

Billy Wayne

Bystander (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Will Wright

Manager (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

May Wynn

Mother (Prologue) (uncredited)

Richard Allan

Pete (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)

Phil Arnold

Convict (Prologue) (uncredited)

Warner Baxter

Cisco Kid ((Prologue) (archive footage)) (uncredited)

Carl Betz

Jimmie Valentine (Prologue) (uncredited)

Harry Carter

Cop in Park (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Robert Cherry

Yokel (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief") (uncredited)

Abe Dinovitch

Barney (segment "The Clarion Call") (uncredited)

James Flavin

Cop (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited)

Crew

Henry Hathaway

Director

Howard Hawks

Director

Henry King

Director

Henry Koster

Director

Jean Negulesco

Director

Lamar Trotti

Screenplay

Richard L. Breen

Screenplay

Ivan Goff

Screenplay

Ben Roberts

Screenplay

Walter Bullock

Screenplay

André Hakim

Producer

Alfred Newman

Original Music Composer

Lloyd Ahern Sr.

Director of Photography

Lucien Ballard

Director of Photography

Milton Krasner

Director of Photography

Joseph MacDonald

Director of Photography

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

November 3, 2024

A compendium of five stories from the acclaimed US writer that are all quite entertaining. It starts off with a story about "Soapy" - a wily vagrant who decides that with winter coming, it's time to get himself snuggly incarcerated for the harsh weather. Who else but Charles Laughton could get that character up and running with an avuncular amiability and mischief to him, especially when he alights on the down on her luck lady of the night (Marilyn Monroe). Sadly for him, though, it seems it wasn't just Sam Goldwyn who couldn't get arrested in Hollywood. Next the "Clarion Call" sees a detective (Dale Robertson) attempt to prove whether or not his childhood friend (Richard Widmark) is guilty of killing a man when a robbery goes wrong. "The Last Leaf" has a rather sad premiss to it as a young girl (Anne Baxter) is saddened by a break-up and wanders out into the snow where she promptly catches pneumonia. Despite the best care of her sister (Jean Peters) it looks like her dwindling life-force is attached to the leaves on a tree that are gradually being blown away by a violent storm. Perhaps only the painter who lives upstairs (Gregory Ratoff) and earns a meagre living selling his paintings for a few dollars here and there might be able to help? The fourth short story was my favourite. Two hustlers - Oscar Levant and Peter Allan are trying to flog some dodgy goldmine share certificates, but decide they have to scrape together some cash to buy some actual gold that can plausibly have been dug up in the mine. To that end, they decide to kidnap the ten year old "J.B." (Lee Aaker) and ransom him to his folks. Little do they realise that this youngster is way more than a match for these two bumpkins, and soon the tables are well and truly turned. Finally, there is a festive theme as a young couple, expecting a baby, struggle with balancing the books and getting something nice for the other for Christmas. Jeanne Crain and Farley Granger deliver quite a sensitive story about the sacrifices that both are prepared to make to give the other just that little extra joy as they anticipate their dinner of meatloaf and milk that's chilled in box on the window sill. Each of these stories have simple morals underpinning them, but they are presented in a fashion that allows the characters to tell us the story without labouring any message. Laughton is in his element, so too is the understated Ratoff and there's plenty of fun to be had at the hands of the young Aaker too. A soupçon of human nature, faith and buffoonery that I rather enjoyed.

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O. Henry's Full House (1952)

Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco

Lamar Trotti, Richard L. Breen, Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts, Walter Bullock

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

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Status

Original Language

Budget

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