FredCDobbs Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 8 PM Eastern time A wonderful classic film with several episodes of short stories. D: Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco. Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Ratoff, Jeanne Crain, Oscar Levant, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Farley Granger. Five varying stories by O. Henry, introduced by John Steinbeck; cast better than script. "The Clarion Call,'' "Last Leaf,'' "Ransom of Red Chief,'' "Gift of the Magi,'' and "Cop and the Anthem.'' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverrocks Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I can't remember if I have seen this movie or not. I will watch it though on Monday night with pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 I saw this in a theater as a kid in 1952, but I didn't get much out of it at the time. However, years later I saw it on TV as an adult and I loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamradio Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Glad to see a title "Full House" with no Olsen twin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 O. Henry lovers think little of this movie. Indeed, a couple of Henry's classic stories aren't done too well. But a good yarn is a good yarn, and this movie might STILL spark interest in O. Henry's written work, and help it live even longer. I've read these stories years before I ever saw the movie, and seeing them played out is always a bit of fun. But READING O. Henry is even more interesting. There is even one story, I forget which, that takes place at a garden party somewhere in "uppercrust" Connecticut, attended by upper middle class teenagers. At one point of the story, which was written sometime before 1911, one upper class teen-age boy explains to an upper-class girl that he's combing his hair in effort "to look FLY"! Everything old IS new again! Sepiatone PS: For a short time, I even nicknamed my younger daughter "Red Chief" for obvious reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dabb Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 >..sometime before 1911, one upper class teen-age boy explains to an >upper-class girl that he's combing his hair in effort "to look FLY"! > >Everything old IS new again! Fly, or super fly, was used heavily in the 70s. Is it back again!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldenIsHere Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Glad to see a title "Full House" with no Olsen twin. Awww, you mean no Uncle Jessie in this story? Seriously though, I am looking forward to this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 One of two famous anthology films within a year featuring Fred Allen. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Charles Laughton's performance is the stand out here. "The Last Leaf" may be the best story (I love Jean Peters in this), Fred Allen and Oscar Levant are a good comic pairing (and watch for Kathleen Freeman in that one), "the Gift of the Magi" is probably the best known story (redone in many, many variations). I'm afraid that "The Clarion Call " is the weak link, I'm as big a Richard Widmark fan as there is but I think he over does it in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roverrocks Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Just finished watching. A wonderful movie I can now say I have finally watched. Time well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Widmark's cackling is virtually the same as in KISS OF DEATH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaney7 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I love the little twists at the end of the stories. I think I'll read a few too. It's not often you see an actor try to typecast himself but I suppose that's what they were looking for in Widmark. I can see him doing the same sthick as Wilmer the gunsel in Maltese Falcon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yes, Widmark was willing to typecast himself but that ended after the racial movie No Way Out. From there he took on many different type of roles and was very good in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I have no doubt that Richard Widmark's character in "O'Henry's Full House" was meant to be spoofing his Tommy Udo character from "Kiss Of Death" . Since Widmark had been working hard to distance himself from the typecasting of the Udo character I have to guess that he was having some fun in temporarily reviving that same character. He really was hamming it up , I just wish he had not overdone it so much. He really was in sharp contrast to that "wooden" Dale Robertson character. Widmark should have played it more like the "Skip McCoy" he would soon do so well in "Pickup On South Street". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 > Fly, or super fly, was used heavily in the 70s. Is it back again!? "Super Fly" in the '70's was a referrence to a high quality cocaine. The usage of "fly" in popular vernacular emerged in the '90's largely among African-American youth to mean positive re-enforcement. Such as, "He's lookin' FLY" to mean he's exceptionally sharply well dressed or groomed. Consequently, it meant the same thing to the rich white kids 100 years ago in O. Henry's story. I just think that's funny. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts