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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How To Marry A Millionaire (1953)

 

How To Marry A Millionaire - 1953

Coming up next we have 1953's "How To Marry A Millionaire", a film about 3 enterprising young ladies whose dream it is to marry into the upper classes after a lifetime without money.  The ladies date both rich guys and poor guys, and one of the poor guys might not be all he appears.

The film's cast includes Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, Alexander D'Arcy, Fred Clark, and William Powell.

The setting of our film is New York City, and the filmmakers showcase the city in all its glory during the opening sequence.  New York, "you busy, busy, razzle dazzle, scandalous place", as the song "New York" tells us.

Three single ladies rent a fabulous, furnished New York apartment.  All of them have the same dream, to marry a millionaire.  And Schatze, the originator of their scheme to land at least one rich guy, has set some ground rules on how to meet the proper gentleman.  "Next thing you’ve got to remember is that a gentleman you meet among the cold cuts is simply not as attractive as one that you meet, say, in the mink department at Bergdorf’s," she advises.

None of the girls can afford to live in this luxurious apartment.  So, in order to keep up with the rent, they pawn the furniture that they don't own.  When they're down to their last cent, luck turns up in the form of Texas oil baron J.D. Hanley, who promises to introduce the girls to his oil-rich friends.

Schatze takes up with J.D. right away.  She puts her best foot forward and it pays off.  J.D. arranges for their furniture to be returned.

Loco takes up with a rich, married guy.  Although initially reluctant to go out with him because of his married state, Loco wears down and decides to just go with it.

And Pola (who cannot see without her glasses) begins dating J. Stewart Merrill, who presents himself as an Arab oil tycoon.  Later in the film, we find out that he is bluffing about his wealth.

During the course of the film, we meet Tom Brookman, who develops a crush on Schatze.  She can't stand the kind of guy she thinks he is.  One of her dislikes is his stubborn refusal to wear a necktie.  "Look, the first rule of this proposition is that gentlemen callers have got to wear a necktie.  I don’t want to be snobbish about it, but if we begin with characters like that, we might just as well throw in the towel right now," she told the girls earlier.  Schatze thinks Tom is some sort of garage mechanic.  The girls are models and he arranges to show up at their place of work for an impromptu fashion show.

The models parade in front of Tom and are all smiles, except for Schatze, who can't stand him.

Pola and Loco are extremely curious about Tom, but Schatze just shrugs him off and tells him to get lost.

In due course, Loco is invited by her gentleman friend up to his lodge in Maine.  There, she meets Eben Salem, a forest ranger.

Back in New York, Schatze is trying to convince J.D. that their age difference is no barrier to a relationship.  "Well, what I’m trying to tell you, J.D., is that I’ve always liked older men.  Look at Roosevelt.  Look at Churchill.  Look at that old fellow what’s his name in African Queen.  Absolutely crazy about ‘em," she says.

In Maine, Loco finds herself ditching the guy she came with and falling in love with Eben.  It comes as a shock to her that he isn't wealthy, but love wins out and they get together.

Pola flies to Kansas City to meet with her beau, but comes to realize he was faking the whole time.  On the plane she meets Freddie Denmark, whom Pola comes to realize is the owner of the apartment that she and the girls have been renting.

She feels comfortable enough with Freddie to wear her glasses in front of him, though she's a bit worried they make her look like an old maid.  After she puts them on, Freddie looks at her and says, "I've never seen anybody in my whole life that reminded me less of an old maid."  Naturally, that seals the deal for Pola.

Schatze starts spending time with Tom trying to convince him of all the reasons they are wrong for each other.  In the process, she ends up confusing herself and becomes unsure of her feels for both Tom and J.D.

She ends up getting engaged to J.D.  At their wedding, she breaks down and confesses to him that she is in love with Tom.  He tells her he understands and they call off the wedding.

Schatze finds herself in for a surprise when all three couples are out to dinner later that night.  When trying to find out home much money they have between them, Tom finally confesses that he's extremely wealthy and pulls out a $1000 bill to pay for a $2.70 check.  The girls are astounded by the wad of bills Tom carries.

The girls faint clean away as the men raise a glass and toast their wives.

Cast rundown:

   Lauren Bacall...................................Schatze Page

   Betty Grable.....................................Loco Dempsey

   Marilyn Monroe.................................Pola Debevoise

   David Wayne....................................Freddie Denmark

   Rory Calhoun....................................Eben Salem

   Cameron Mitchell..............................Tom Brookman

   Alexander D'Arcy...............................J. Stewart Merrill

   Fred Clark........................................Waldo Brewster

   William Powell...................................J.D. Hanley

And that's all for How To Marry A Millionaire.  During the fashion show scene, Marilyn Monroe models a red swimsuit studded with diamonds as the show narrator says, "You know, of course, that diamonds are a girl's best friend."  This references the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", which starred Marilyn Monroe and was released earlier in the year.

At the beginning of the film, a seventy piece orchestra performs the instrumental number "Street Scene" for a full five and a half minutes before the opening credits.

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