O. Henry's Full House

A quintet of directors, five screenwriters, a small army of stars (including Marilyn Monroe in an early walk-on), and narration by John Steinbeck distinguish this 1952 feature film anthology of stories by the turn-of-the-century writer famous for compact tales with twist endings. O. Henry's Full House begins with its strongest entry, “The Cop and the Anthem,” the story of a fastidious hobo whose efforts to get himself arrested in order to secure a warm jail cell for the winter prove unavailing until he changes his mind (it's blessed with a charming lead performance by Charles Laughton, as well as Monroe's cameo). Unfortunately, the remaining four tales don't quite measure up. “The Clarion Call” features Richard Widmark as a sneering, cackling villain similar to the one that brought him instant fame in Kiss of Death five years earlier, while the beloved “The Ransom of Red Chief” remains disappointingly earthbound despite the presence of Fred Allen and Oscar Levant as the kidnappers. The final two—“The Last Leaf,” about a girl dying after a failed romance, and O'Henry's best-known tale, “The Gift of the Magi,” about an impecunious couple who each sacrifice their own interests to buy Christmas gifts for the other—come across as saccharine. Boasting a fine restored print, DVD extras include an audio commentary by Dr. Jenny Lind Porter, who often sounds as though she's reading from a reference book and sometimes runs ahead of the film, as well as a featurette in which she discusses O. Henry's career. In addition, the disc includes two silent shorts based on O. Henry stories from the Fox archive, a featurette about the O. Henry museum in Austin, TX, and a copy of the original exhibitor's press campaign book from 1952. Optional. (F. Swietek)