Clevercell Very disappointing...

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

classicsoncall What better way to introduce a film consisting of a number of stories than to have a story writer do it. John Steinbeck is the narrator for this picture, having a few words to say as he brings each of these anthology pieces forward for the viewer. I think it would have helped if he lightened up a bit, he looked like a total curmudgeon doing it.A handful of other reviewers here have described the individual segments so no need to rehash them here. I guess what I'd like to do is comment on my favorite episode, that being 'The Last Leaf'. I managed to figure out the ending of the story, but that didn't make it any less poignant or meaningful. The three dollar abstract painter Behrman (Gregory Ratoff) performed a hero's response to the disheartened Joanna Goodwin (Anne Baxter) after being dumped by her lover (I would have said boyfriend but the guy looked like a creep). Joanna's sister Susan (Jean Peters) said she would explain her comment about Behrman (in my summary above) at a later time when she would be better able to handle it. In a way, Susan's comment was the best statement coming out of all five stories that might have described O. Henry himself.Overall I enjoyed all of the stories to varying degrees. I thought Richard Widmark went out of his way to build on the Tommy Udo character from "Kiss of Death', to the point of annoyance. At one point, his character Johnny Kernan makes one of the most belittling racist statements I've ever heard in a movie when he says to a black porter on a train, "There you go tar bucket". So at least the clam head got what was coming to him in a neat twist to 'The Clarion Call' segment. Actually, that was writer O. Henry's forte, providing neat twists to his stories in a way that surprised and amazed.As far as surprises here goes, having Marilyn Monroe show up in the opening segment with Charles Laughton was a neat touch. She might have been wistfully commenting on her own status as a Fifties pin-up girl when she noted to Horace (David Wayne) that "He called me a lady". Shortly after this film her brief film career took off.With some melancholy touches and personal flourishes, each of the guest directors did a nice job with their particular stories. Howard Hawks didn't particularly like the way "The Ransom of Red Chief" came out, but I didn't think it was all that bad. An interesting side note to the picture that wound up entirely coincidental, three of the directors happened to be named Henry!

AlanLinell 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.

duke1029 When I first saw this film some 45 years ago, I recognized Francis Ford in the last episode, "The Gift of the Magi," as the street corner Santa whom Jeanne Crain addresses as Mr. Schultz and inquires about his lumbago. He appears in three scenes, and despite the fact that his face is partially hidden by his beard, his bloated eyes and deep bronchial voice with that trademark Maine accent seem unmistakeably Fordian. Ford, older brother of legendary director John Ford, appeared periodically for Fox during this time, and I chalked this up as another one of his uncredited roles.Recently watching the film on DVD, I checked out IMDb's cast and saw perennial movie policeman Fred Kelsey credited as Santa. Kelsey, who made a career of playing cops, doesn't seem to be in the film in his traditional role in a movie that has numerous police parts.If that isn't Kelsey as Santa, then why is he billed in the film's credits? I suspect he's not in the film at all. The film underwent severe cutting after previews and elements of the prologue and the entire "Ransom of Red Chief" episode were eliminated, not to be reinstated until the film's TV premiere in the early 60's.I think there are problems with the film's opening credits. The first billed supporting player after the twelve stars is supposedly Joyce MacKenzie in the role of Hazel. Neither MacKenzie nor a character named Hazel appears in the current DVD version film either.One last point: Kelsey spent the 1940's and early 50's in Columbia shorts and is visible in uncredited bits in Warner films, not at Fox. Please check out the three Santa Claus scenes and come to your own conclusions as to who's playing Santa.

blue-7 The Fox DVD release of their 1952 "O. Henry' Full House" is a gem in every way. Not only do we get a beautifully restored rendition of five of O. Henry's finest short stories, but we also get a wonderful set of special features that enrich our appreciation and understanding of the author. It starts with the enclosed insert that gives some fascinating information on one of America's pure-eminent storytellers. This insert is very well written and tells a great deal about William Sidney Porter, who took up the pen name of O. Henry. And the "goodies" continue with the DVD. Both the featurette ("The Life and Writing of O. Henry) and the commentary are in the capable hands of Dr. Jenny Lind Porter, Ph.D. I don't know if the Porter's are related, but she certainly knows a great deal about O. Henry -- and loves her subject. She is a delight to learn from. The featurette of "The O. Henry Museum" in Texas, is also a treat. There are dozens and dozens of stills from the film and on the set, as well as a nice look at the original Press Book that theatres used in selling the film. The BIG "Extra" are two treasures from the vault when 20th Century Fox was known as the studio of William Fox. Most of the silent films of the William Fox period no longer survive, so it is very special to find (in very nice condition) two O. Henry short stories from the year 1927! One is called "Girls" and the other "Man About Town". Each run a little under 20 minutes. These are two of thirteen silent O. Henry short stories turned into films by Fox during the silent era. Saddly they haven't been scored, but they do come with tints and are in nice condition. This DVD is a true treasure that is well worth adding to your collection.