O. Henry's Full House (1952)

the audience applauded

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

If you like compilations of short stories, like Trio, Quartet, or Charade, your collection won't be complete until you rent O. Henry's Full House. O. Henry wrote such famous classic as "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Last Leaf", both of which are featured in the film. Each of the five segments are directed by a different Hollywood great: Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, and Jean Negulesco. As for the all-star cast, just read on. . .Marilyn Monroe, playing a streetwalker, is picked up by homeless, hopeless Charles Laughton. The famous, "He called me a lady!" line comes from this movie, and a heartwarming storyline gives the audience a clue what to expect for the rest of the film. Next up, Richard Widmark, as handsome, sassy, and bad as ever, is wanted for murder. "The Last Leaf" is acted out by Anne Baxter and Jean Peters, and it's my favorite. A sick girl looks out the window and sees a tree losing its leaves; she believes she'll die when the last leaf falls. The funny and ironic tale of a kidnapping gone wrong includes Oscar Levant, Lee Aaker, and Fred Allen. And finally, the well-known "The Gift of the Magi" stars Jeanne Crain and Farley Granger.What I like about these types of movies is there's always something or someone you like in it. You don't normally like all the vignettes, but they're entertaining and you're usually pretty excited to see the large cast of movie stars together. Give this one a try and see which one you like!

"O. Henry's Full House" is a film divided in five segments telling five wonderful tales in the beginning of the Twentieth Century.1) "The Cop and the Anthem": the winter is coming and the homeless drifter Soapy (Charles Laughton) wants to go to jail for three months to get shelter and food. His partner Horace (David Wayne) suggests they look for shelter with the Salvation Army, but Soapy refuses. He forces many situations to be arrested but he is always forgiven. When he goes to the church, there is a miracle and Soapy decides to seek a job position. Will he succeed?Directed by Henry Koster, this segment tells an ironic story of a bum with top-notch performance of Charles Laughton and a cameo of Marilyn Monroe.2) "The Clarion Call": when a thief kills a man, the police investigators do not have any lead to follow. Police Sergeant Barney Woods (Dale Robertson) sees a pen that was found in the crime scene and he seeks out a man called Johnny Kernan (Richard Widmark). He finds Johnny that invites Barney to drink with him and they go to his hotel room. Johnny recalls their youth, when they were friends but Barney tells that he must arrest him since he recognized the pen that belonged to Johnny. However the criminal recalls that Barney owes him $ 1,000 that Barney lost in a card game. Barney unsuccessfully tries to raise the money to quit the debt. He decides to tell to the Chief of Police but out of the blue, he sees the spotlight on "The Clarion Call" and and runs to the newspaper. What did he see?Directed by Henry Hathaway, this segment tells the story of an honest policeman that has a debt with a criminal that is wanted by the police. Richard Widmark is excellent in the usual role of a felon.3) "The Last Leaf": When the lover of the twenty-one year-old Joanna Goodwin (Anne Baxter) breaks up with her, she wanders on the snow and gets pneumonia. Her older sister Susan Goodwin (Jean Peters) finds that Joanna does not want to live anymore and is following the leaves that keep falling from a tree. Their upstairs neighbor, the painter Behrman (Gregory Ratoff), tries to help the girls the best he can. Will he be able to save Joanna?Directed by Jean Negulesco, this is the most sensitive and touching segment, with a heartbreaking conclusion. Anne Baxter is very beautiful in the role of a young woman with broken heart.4) "The Ransom of Red Chief": the con men Sam 'Slick' Brown (Fred Allen) and Bill Peoria (Oscar Levant) flee to the countryside in their car and plot to kidnap the boy J.B. Dorset (Lee Aaker) to ask for ransom to his parents. But soon they find that the boy is a little devil.Directed by Howarks, the segment is a funny comedy about two confidence men that make a wrong move kidnapping an evil boy. Lee Aaker's character seems to be Dennis, the Menace, created in 1951.5) "The Gift of the Magi": In Christmas Eve, Della (Jeanne Crain) and her beloved husband Jim (Farley Granger) are penniless and in love with each other. Jim dreams on giving a tiara to Della since she has a wonderful hair and Della wants to give a chain to the pocket watch of Jim. On the Christmas night, they find a way to buy the gifts.Directed by Henry King, this segment is a delightful love story with an ironic and funny conclusion. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Páginas da Vida" ("Pages of the Life")

Given the amount of talent the results are disappointing. Actually, the amount may be the problem since no one need feel responsible for the overall result. The episodes themselves remind me of tepid half-hours of early TV. Like any anthology, some are better than others, but none are memorable, though each has a mildly O Henry twist ending. Trouble is each is overridden by a prevailing sentimentality, with the possible exception of Clarion Call. But even that cop-gangster episode is compromised by Widmark's delirious parody of Kiss of Death('s) psychotic Tommy Udo. I do confess a soft spot for The Last Leaf, maybe because the usually over-emoting Ann Baxter gives an affecting performance. Red Chief, however, may be one of the worst acted narratives I've seen. Hard to believe Howard Hawks had something to do with it. In fact, the episode bears none of his trademark stamps, which suggests the entire 120-minute production was under the careful control of studio higher-ups. That wouldn't be surprising since the anthology format was new and therefore a financial risk. Note, for example, how the flat visual style doesn't vary from one entry to the next, which suggests the directors were limited in their individual approaches. I hope they were paid well for lending their names if not their well-known artistry.Anyway, I'm not surprised the format failed to catch on. Then too, TV was beginning to offer for free what this movie did not. Still, it is a chance to see and hear one of our great novelists of then and now, John Steinbeck.

I noticed that one reviewer said this film is not on DVD. Perhaps that was true back in 2002, but it is available now and that's how I saw it. The film is an anthology piece of short stories written by O. Henry (the pen name for William Sidney Porter) and it seems like an American answer to the popular British films based on Somerset Maugham stories--such as "Quartet" (1948). Interestingly, the film is introduced by John Steinbeck! They consist of the following stories--each directed by a famous director:THE COP AND THE ANTHEM--Charles Laughton plays a man without money--though he's dressed and behaves like a very successful man. Again and again, however, he tries to get himself arrested because he is without means--and again and again, things happen and the cops don't arrest him. It is a bit funny seeing just how hard it is to get pinched! I don't want to say what's coming next--but it's the sort of irony for which O. Henry was famous for in his stories. Marilyn Monroe appears for about one minute and utters a line or two--so naturally, 20th Century-Fox marketed it as a Monroe film! Despite this dishonestly, it's clever and worth seeing. I'd give this one a 7.THE CLARION CALL--Dale Robertson and Richard Widmark star in this one. Robertson is a cop and Widmark is an old associate--a VERY obnoxious and nasty one. They meet in a bar after many years and soon Robertson realizes the man wanted for a murder is his old 'friend'. He's about to arrest him and bring him in, but there is a twist. As far as Widmark goes, his character is a lot like the one that made him famous in "Kiss of Death"--all laughs and a heart as black as coal. Why he kept calling people 'Clam Head' was beyond me! Not a great segment, but the ending was satisfying. I'd give this one a 6.THE LAST LEAF--Anne Baxter and Jean Peters star in this one. Baxter has a broken heart and pneumonia. Despite her sister's best efforts, she keeps slipping away. She also has this weird obsession with a vine growing outside the window--counting all the leaves as they fall and she believes she'll die when the last leaf hits the ground. How does a failed artist save the day? Tune in. I'd give this one a 5. It's pretty predictable.THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF--This is one of O. Henry's most famous stories and one that the filmmakers removed from the original release--as they saw it as pretty weak. It has a great cast--with two amazingly funny 1950s raconteurs in the leads--Oscar Levant and Fred Allen. While pretty much forgotten today, these men were both brilliant conversationalists--guys who had a gift with the English language. These two knuckleheads are ex-cons who need money, so they kidnap a completely obnoxious monster of a child. The boy is like an evil version of Dennis the Menace and after a while you feel sorry for the two guys--he's THAT bad! And, although the two men are technically the stars, young Lee Aaker steals the show as the little maniac! All in all, enjoyable--mostly because even though this is a somewhat pedestrian version, it's still a great story. This one gets an 8.THE GIFT OF THE MAGI--Like RED CHIEF, among O. Henry's most famous stories and one frequently read around Christmas each year. This one stars Farley Granger and Jeanne Crain as a very, very poor young couple. They are desperately in love but have no money for Christmas presents. Where this all goes next you probably know, but in case you don't I will end it here. Unlike the others, which are mostly comedies, this one is an ironic and touching love story. Sweet and probably the best of the lot--even if the tale is familiar today. This one gets a 10--and they saved the best for last.Overall, while not all the segments are great, the overall film is quite enjoyable and worth seeing. Very good acting, production values and stories make this one worth seeing.