Full House (1952)

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.

Directors:

Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks,

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay), Richard L. Breen (screenplay),

Stars:

Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Bill Peoria (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	...	Hazel Woods (segment "The Clarion Call") (scenes deleted) (as Joyce MacKenzie)
Lee Aaker	...	J.B. Dorset aka Red Chief (segment "The Ransom of Red Chief")
Richard Rober	...	Chief of Detectives (segment "The Clarion Call")

Storyline

Five O' Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critic's 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".

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Plot Keywords:

ransom | leaf | winter | murder | christmas gift | 

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Taglines:

A dozen top stars - five famed directors bring you the best stories of O. Henry!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1952 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Baghdad on the Subway

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 95 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the popular and critical success of two British anthology films based on W. Somerset Maugham short stories, Quartet and Trio, with different casts and crews for each episode, 20th Century-Fox felt that the time was right for an American version of this format.

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Quotes

Sam 'Slick' Brown: Pull yourself together, William! What's a confidence man without confidence?

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Liebestraum nach dem Balle, Intermezzo Op.356"
(uncredited)
Written by Alphons Czibulka

User Reviews

Memories

Saw this with a childhood friend of mine in the 50's on TV when we were 'sneaking' staying up very late. When it was done, we looked at each other, both having been touched deeply, though we couldn't have described how. Ever after, it has been one of our 'special' memories -- one of us says "remember that movie?" and the other understands perfectly! That's what movies should do! Did anyone else have that experience on first watching it? I remember being very affected by Hitchcock's Saboteur, also, after watching it late one night as a kid. It stirred the same response that later made me a 'movie fan' -- that magical sense of someone (the director) saying something to you in a way that seemed to make life 'bigger' than it had been before.