O. Henry's Full House (1952)

 

O. Henry's Full House - 1952

Coming up next is 1952's "O. Henry's Full House", an anthology film featuring five of the famous writer's best loved stories.  These all come from his New York period .

The film's cast includes Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain, Farley Granger, Charles Laughton, Oscar Levant, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Peters, Gregory Ratoff, Dale Robertson, David Wayne, Richard Widmark, Lee Aaker, Irving Bacon, Fritz Feld, Richard Hylton, Sig Ruman, Martha Wentworth, and John Steinbeck.

To begin things, beloved American author John Steinbeck introduces us to O. Henry and some of his works.  He appears throughout the film in between each segment.

The first story is taken from "The Cop And The Anthem" and features a transient named Soapy.  Winter is fast approaching in New York.  In search of somewhere warm to spend the cold months, Soapy intends on getting arrested so that he can have food and lodgings all taken care of.

Things don't go Soapy's way.  No matter what he does, he just can't seem to get arrested.  He ends up in a church with his friend Horace.  While listening to the music, Soapy's soul is stirred.

When Horace suggests that they go get a beer, Soapy says, "It isn’t beer that I need.  It’s hope, faith, the assurance that it’s still not too late to pull myself out of the mire, to make a man of myself again, to conquer the evil that’s taken possession of me!"

However, just as he is about to get his life together, Soapy is arrested and sentenced to ninety days in jail for vagrancy.

The next story is "The Clarion Call".  Here, we see a cop who has a lead on where a murderer is hiding out.  Sadly for him, the murderer is an old friend of his.

Due to extenuating circumstances, the cop is not able to arrest the murderer because he owes him a debt, which the bad guy is quick to point out.

Our faithful flatfoot is able to turn the tables on his old pal.  He finds a way to get the money together to pay him off and is then able to arrest him with a clear conscience.

Next, comes "The Last Leaf".  Here, a woman returns home in a blizzard after being spurned by her lover.

She develops pneumonia and loses the will to live.  No matter what her sister says or how she tries to help, nothing can convince the patient that she will recover.

She sees a vine outside her window.  The vine is fast losing its leaves in the blizzard.  The sick woman tells her sister that when the last leaf falls she will die.  Beside herself with worry, the sister tells her troubles to a struggling artist.

The artists goes out into the cold night and paints a leaf on the vine.  It comes at a cost.  He dies of a heart attack right afterwards.  Seeing that the "leaf" survived the night, the sick woman has hope and begins to get well.  Her sister tells her, "It hung on, Jo, right through the storm.  Isn’t that something?  And if one brave little leaf can do it, you can do it, too."

The next (and most hilarious) story is "The Ransom Of Red Chief".  Here, two men (Slick, on the left, and William, on the right) desperately in need of funds resort to kidnapping a child and holding him for ransom in order to raise the money that they need.

They end up kidnapping the mayor's son, J.B.  This kid gives them a real run for their money.  He actually terrifies them!

J.B. leads a bear to where Slick and William are camping.  Once they are safely away from the bear, William mentions that he thinks it's a cinnamon bear.  "I don't care what flavor he is," says Slick.  "He's more apt to taste me!"

The guys deliver J.B. back to his unconcerned parents and high-tail it out of town just as quick as they can.

The final story is "The Gift Of The Magi".  Here, we learn how the wise men began the fashion for giving Christmas presents.

Jim and Della are a newly married couple.  They are very poor, but very much in love.

While they are out walking one day, they see some things they like.  Jim has a very old pocket watch that belonged to his grandfather.  He sees a fob that would suit it perfectly.  Della has luxuriously long hair.  She sees some combs that she takes a fancy to.  Both realize how much the other wants these things.

To buy Della the combs, Jim sells his watch.  To buy Jim the fob, Della sells her hair.  The two of them realize just how much they love each other when they exchange presents.

They embrace as they listen at the window to carolers who are singing "Joy To The World" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing".

Cast rundown:

   Fred Allen..............................Slick Brown

   Anne Baxter............................Joanna Goodwin

   Jeanne Crain...........................Della Young

   Farley Granger.........................Jim Young

  Charles Laughton.....................Soapy

   Oscar Levant...........................William Smith

   Marilyn Monroe........................Streetwalker

   Jean Peters.............................Susan Goodwin

   Gregory Ratoff.........................Behrman

   Dale Robertson........................Barney Woods

   David Wayne...........................Horace

   Richard Widmark......................Johnny Kernan

   Lee Aaker................................J.B. Dorset

   Irving Bacon............................Ebenezer Dorset

   Fritz Feld.................................Maurice

   Richard Hylton.........................Bill

   Sig Ruman..............................Menkie

   Martha Wentworth...................Mrs. O'Brien

   John Steinbeck.........................Himself

And that's it for O. Henry's Full House.  During previews for the film, the segment "The Ransom Of Red Chief" was very poorly received.  Before it's release, the studio cut it, and the film was known as "O. Henry's Four Of A Kind".  It was restored when the film was released on television in the 1960s.  It's a shame that it was cut.  It's a very well-done scene and very funny.

Fun fact: Marilyn Monroe received top billing for this film, though she is only in it for about one minute.

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Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)

 

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood - 1976

Coming up next we have 1976's "Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood", a sort of spoof on the story of Rin Tin Tin.  In this film, a very smart dog becomes the biggest celebrity of all time and changes the fortunes of a young lady who wants to be an actress.

The film's cast includes Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Art Carney, Phil Silvers, Ron Leibman, Teri Garr, Augustus von Schumacher, Dorothy Lamour, Joan Blondell, Virginia Mayo, Ethel Merman, Nancy Walker, Dick Haymes, Tab Hunter, Robert Alda, Victor Mature, Edgar Bergen, Henry Wilcoxon, Alice Faye, Yvonne De Carlo, Dennis Morgan, William Demarest, Andy Devine, Broderick Crawford, Rudy Vallee, George Jessel, Fritz Feld, Fernando Lamas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Milton Berle, John Carradine, Walter Pidgeon, Sterling Holloway, Gloria DeHaven, Johnny Weissmuller, Rhonda Fleming, Janet Blair, and Peter Lawford, and many more!

At Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1970's Hollywood, tourists gaze at the handprints and footprints of the stars of yesteryear.  They are particularly interested in the one marked "Won Ton Ton".  The tour guide begins to explain what an important star he was in the 1920s.

In the 1920s, a wannabe actress named Estie Del Ruth comes across a stray dog one day.  He's not just any stray dog.  He's a very smart stray dog.  He even decides to share a snack with her.

Even though Estie doesn't know the dog, he sticks with her.  He rescues her from a very bad situation at a movie studio during what she thought was an audition.

And that, as they say, is history.  The movie producers love the dog (not the girl), and he is instantly rebranded as Won Ton Ton, a star.  His films are an instant success.  Though, Estie still harbors dreams of making it big and becoming a star herself, not just the woman who trains the dog.

Won Ton Ton is given all the treatment of a major Hollywood star.  Fans love him!  He goes on the radio, is featured in dozens of fan magazines, wins an award as the best motion picture actor, signs autographs, has his name on billboards, has his pawprints placed at Grauman's, and even gets massages!

The doggie celebrity even gets his own mega-mansion, which he moves into with Estie and producer Grayson Potchuck, who likes Estie (separate bedrooms, of course!).

Won Ton Ton even gets to work with the biggest star of the day, Rudy Montague, whose Santa Barbara mansion is something right out of Arabian Nights!

Rudy is regarded as something of an eccentric.  He dresses incognito when he goes to see his own movies.  He sees each performance thirty times.

However, Rudy gets very jealous when Won Ton Ton begins to receive more attention than he does.  He even hires a hitman to kill both Won Ton Ton and Estie!  Luckily, he is not successful.

Estie eventually does get the stardom that she seeks.  She also marries Grayson Potchuck.  However, it's a long, hard road to get to that point, and she and Won Ton Ton are separated due to dire circumstances.

Have no fear, though.  They all are reunited and walk off into the sunset together!

This film is packed full of cameos from '30s and '40s Hollywood stars.  They include Dennis Morgan, Ethel Merman, Henry Wilcoxon, William Demarest, Dorothy Lamour, Fernando Lamas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alice Faye, and many, many more!

Cast rundown:

   Bruce Dern....................................Grayson Potchuck

   Madeline Kahn................................Estie Del Ruth

   Art Carney.....................................J.J. Fromberg

   Phil Silvers.....................................Murray Fromberg

   Ron Leibman..................................Rudy Montague

   Teri Garr........................................Fluffy Peters

   Augustus von Schumacher...............Won Ton Ton

   Dorothy Lamour..............................Visiting Film Star

   Joan Blondell..................................Landlady

   Virginia Mayo..................................Miss Battley

   Ethel Merman.................................Hedda Parsons

   Nancy Walker..................................Mrs. Fromberg

   Dick Haymes..................................James Crawford

   Tab Hunter.....................................David Hamilton

   Robert Alda....................................Richard Entwhistle

   Victor Mature.................................Nick

   Edgar Bergen.................................Professor Quicksand

   Henry Wilcoxon..............................Silent Film Director

   Alice Faye......................................Secretary At Gate

   Yvonne De Carlo.............................Cleaning Woman

   Dennis Morgan...............................Tour Guide

   William Demarest...........................Studio Gatekeeper

   Andy Devine..................................Priest

   Broderick Crawford.........................Special Effects Man

   Rudy Vallee...................................Autograph Hound

   George Jessel.................................Awards Announcer

   Fritz Feld.......................................Rudy's Butler

   Fernando Lamas.............................Premier Male Star

   Zsa Zsa Gabor................................Premier Female Star

   Milton Berle....................................Blind Man

   John Carradine...............................Drunk

   Walter Pidgeon...............................Grayson's Butler

   Sterling Holloway............................Old Man On Bus

   Gloria DeHaven..............................President's Girl #1

   Johnny Weissmuller.........................Stagehand #2

   Rhonda Fleming.............................Rhoda Flaming

   Janet Blair......................................President's Girl #3

   Peter Lawford.................................Slapstick Star

And that's it for Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood.  As stated earlier, this film is full of old Hollywood star cameos.  It was intended to include Hedy Lamarr in the film, but she couldn't be traced.  Don Ameche and Cesar Romero were asked to participate, but both were unavailable.  In the 1920s portion of the film, two "future" films were mentioned, "Jaws" and "The Wizard Of Oz".  Both of them were dismissed as movies that the public wouldn't pay to see.

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