O. Henry's Full House

Plot

This anthology film assembles five respected directors and a top-notch cast to bring a handful of stories by the great American author O. Henry to the screen. In The Cop and the Anthem, a tramp named Soapy (Charles Laughton) tries to get arrested so that he can spend the winter in jail, only to find that is not as easy as it used to be. Marilyn Monroe appears in this episode as a streetwalker. The Clarion Call features Dale Robertson as Barney, a cop forced to arrest an old friend, Johnny (Richard Widmark). Anne Baxter stars in The Last Leaf as Joanna, an elderly woman who sees her own illness reflected in the fall of the autumn leaves; she's convinced that when the last leaf drops from the tree outside her window, her life will go with it. The Ransom of Red Chief concerns Sam (Fred Allen) and Bill (Oscar Levant), two novice kidnappers who kidnap a child, only to discover that his parents don't want him back -- and after a few hours with the brat, they find out why. And The Gift of the Magi tells the story of a pair of cash-strapped newlyweds, Della (Jeanne Craine) and Jim (Farley Granger), who struggle to get each other the perfect Christmas gift, with unexpected results. John Steinbeck narrates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast

• Charles Laughton - Soapy, The Cop and the Anthem
• Marilyn Monroe - Streetwalker, The Cop and the Anthem
• David Wayne - Horace, The Cop and the Anthem
• Richard Widmark - Johnny Kernan, The Clarion Call
• Anne Baxter - Joanna, The Last Leaf
• Dale Robertson - Barney Woods, The Clarion Call
• Fred Allen - Sam, The Ransom of the Red Chief

Jeanne Crain - Della, The Gift of the Magi; Joyce MacKenzie - Hazel; Richard Rober - Chief of Detectives, The Clarion Call; Jean Peters - Susan, The Last Leaf; Gregory Ratoff - Behrman, The Last Leaf; Richard Garrick - Doctor, The Last Leaf; Oscar Levant - Bill, The Ransom of the Red Chief; Lee Aaker - J.B.; Farley Granger - Jim, The Gift of the Magi; Fred Kelsey - Santa Claus, The Gift of the Magi; Irving Bacon - Mr. Dorset; Robert Cherry; Frank Cusack - Waiter; Abe Dinovitch - Bartender; Robert Easton - Yokel; Fritz Feld - Maurice; James Flavin - Cop; Kathleen Freeman - Mrs. Dorset (uncredited); Steven Geray - Radolf; Gloria Gordon - Ellie Mae; Harry Hayden - Mr. Crump; Bert Hicks - Sheldon Sidney; Marjorie Holliday - Cashier; Richard Hylton - Bill; Frank Jaquet - Butcher; Richard Karlan - Headwaiter; Norman Leavitt - Yokel; Nico Lek - Owner; Tyler McVey - O. Henry; Alfred Mizner - Storekeeper (uncredited); House Peters, Jr. - Bascom; Stuart Randall - Detective; Sig Rumann - Menkie; John Steinbeck - Narrator; Beverly Thompson - Girl; Philip Tonge - Man with Umbrella; Phil Tully - Guard; William Vedder - Judge; Erno Verebes - Waiter; Ruth Warren - Neighbor; Billy Wayne - Bystander; Martha Wentworth - Mrs. O'Brien; Will Wright - Manager; Hal Smith - Dandy; Warren Stevens - Druggist; Tom Browne Henry - Manager; Richard Allen - Pete [uncredited]

Credit

Chester Gore - Art Director, Addison Hehr - Art Director, Richard Irvine - Art Director, Lyle Wheeler - Art Director, Joseph C. Wright - Art Director, Henry Hathaway - Director, Howard Hawks - Director, Henry King - Director, Henry Koster - Director, Jean Negulesco - Director, Nick De Maggio - Editor, Barbara McLean - Editor, William B. Murphy - Editor, Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score), Lucien Ballard - Cinematographer, Milton Krasner - Cinematographer, Joe MacDonald - Cinematographer, Lloyd Ahern Sr. - Cinematographer, André Hakim - Producer, Claude E. Carpenter - Set Designer, Thomas K. Little - Set Designer, Bruce MacDonald - Set Designer, Fred J. Rode - Set Designer, Richard L. Breen - Screenwriter, Walter Bullock - Screenwriter, Ivan Goff - Screenwriter, Nunnally Johnson - Screenwriter, Ben Roberts - Screenwriter, Lamar Trotti - Screenwriter, Lamar Johnson - Screenwriter, O. Henry - Short Story Author

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