Really Surprised!

A Disappointing Continuation

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I was surprised when I saw this film was made in the 1950's. I would have guessed the 40's or sooner. It is a real treasure. These stories are, of course, the very epitome of irony. Every story has a "surprise" ending, although, with this writer, we are anticipating a surprise. Some are part of Americana and are ingrained in our memories. The two best, in my estimation, are "The Last Leaf," about a dying girl who is giving up hope. The other, perhaps his most famous story, is the Christmas story "The Gift of the Magi." A young woman and her husband are just beginning their lives and have no money for Christmas presents. They go to great sacrifices to do an act of kindness. The ending is so charming and loving, we should all see it. The quality of each episode is excellent.

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.

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.

O'Henry's short stories are a joy to read. This master of the genre left behind a number of small gems that never seem to go out of style, as they are timeless. The author had an incredible eye to spot situations in which human beings are shown at a moment of crisis only to have fate intervene with ironic twists."O'Henry's Full House" offers five of his best works directed by five distinguished directors. Howard Hawks, Henry Hathaway, Henry Koster, Henry King and Jean Negulesco do an excellent job in bringing the five stories to the screen adapted by some of Hollywood's best writers of the time in which they were filmed. John Steinbeck does the introductions.The first story, "The Cop and the Anthem" presents us with Soapy, brilliantly played by Charles Laughton, as a poor homeless person in the middle of a crude winter in New York who wants to be taken to jail in the worst way. He goes to extremes to have him sent to prison, without much luck. David Wayne plays his pal Horace and Marilyn Monroe is seen briefly at the end.The second installment, "The Clarion Call" shows a police detective, Barney, and his adversary, Johnny, a man to whom he is tied by a loan that stands between them. Dale Robertson is Barney and an annoying Richard Widmark plays the bad guy. Unfortunaly, Mr. Widmark's performance full of silly laughter and tics ruined the story for this viewer.The third tale is "The Last Leaf". We have two sisters in the middle of a blizzard in Manhattan. Joanna, played by the fine Anne Baxter, who we see after an apparent breakup with her boyfriend, gets pneumonia as a result of her exposure to the elements. Her good sister Susan goes crazy trying to nurse Joanna to health. Enter the painter Behrman, who is the upstairs neighbor to the rescue. Behrman sells his painting in order to buy medicine and when Joanna in her feverish state believes the tree across the street full of dry leaves is an omen, because as the leaves keep falling, so are the chances for her to get well. Thanks to the caring painter, Joanna survives. Jean Peters plays the kind sister and the wonderful Ratoff is the painter.The fourth segment is the weakest. "The Ransosm of Red Chief" presents us two con men in Alabama kidnapping a young boy who is wiser and acts much older than what the two con men thought. Fred Allen and Oscar Levant play the kidnappers.The last, and perhaps the best realized story of the O'Henry's stories is the unforgettable "The Gift of the Magi", which is the equivalent to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". As directed by Henry King and played wonderfully by a beautiful Jeanne Crain and the handsome Farley Granger, this is a story about love and sacrifice under the worst possible circumstances. Della and Jim, with their youth, are penniless, yet, they sacrifice whatever little each one has in order to give the other partner a small token as proof of their love.This is an immensely endearing film thanks to the legacy of O'Henry.