There's only one difference between the second set of episodes from 1957's The O. Henry Playhouse and the first: fewer movie stars. While the first featured the likes of Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson, the second relies more on seasoned television actors. In all other respects, the uniquely compelling format in which O. Henry (Thomas Mitchell, It's a Wonderful Life) introduces, interrupts, and even enters a few stories remains the same.
The 13-episode set begins with "A Trick of Nature," which O. Henry summarizes for his publisher, Colonel Derbin (Russell Thorson) before the drama begins. A thoughtful, supportive man, Derbin wonders, "With things going so smoothly, why suddenly do you have to change your style and write a mystery story?" O. Henry, ever-present cigarette in hand, quips, "I'm not sure whether I have a style."
In truth, the story doesn't deviate much from his others, which include westerns and melodramas, though the tone is darker, almost noir-like, particularly since a femme fatale factors into it. Ramsey (William Schallert, The Patty Duke Show), a department store manager engaged to Grace (Haris Davenport), falls for her sister, Joan (Whitney Blake, delightfully devious), who goes all out to make herself look good at Grace's expense. She proves a very hissable villain. Though one of the three ends up brandishing a gun, the twist ending reveals the tale as more of an homage to the mystery story than an example of one.
Another hissable villain appears in "Hygeia at the Solito," in which Texas cattleman Curtis Raidler (Leo Gordon, Maverick), takes pity on Cricket (Stanley Clements, Gunsmoke), a pint-sized hustler with a debilitating respiratory condition. Raidler whisks him away to his ranch to help him recover. Though Cricket offers no resistance, he insults every ranch worker who tries to help, a true test of Raidler's benevolence. By the end, in typical O. Henry fashion, Cricket ends up something other than a villain.
Throughout the stories, O. Henry often hits pause to discuss them with Derbin. At other times, he chats with a barber, a janitor, and an aspiring writer. He believes, rightly, that everyone enjoys a good yarn. In "The Fool Killer," he goes a step further by playing a pivotal part in the tale of Rudy (Claude Akins, Rawhide), the son of a shoe manufacturing magnate, who aims to support his fiancée through his paintings, despite a conspicuous lack of talent. It's as engaging as the other stories, though O. Henry comes across as more judgmental than sympathetic, even as he contributes to the couple's happy ending.
Though set at the turn of the century, the stories have contemporary relevance—cigarette smoking aside—since they involve pride, jealousy, and other fundamental human traits. It's also worth noting that Derbin pays O. Henry as much as $1,000 per story, a fortune now, and even more so during O. Henry's life, which ended in 1910. Another solid recommendation for classic TV collections, especially those with an emphasis on biography and literary adaptation.
Read O. Henry historian Michael Wenzel's essay The O. Henry Experience: Lost Film Adaptations Invite O. Henry Resurgence at this link.
Scenes from CHRISTMAS BY INJUNCTION
Starring Tommy Kirk, John Doucette, Russ Thorson
You can view sample scenes from each episode (released so far) and links to the original short stories at www.ohenryplayhouse.com. Volumes 1 and 2 can be purchased from ClassicFlix.
Festival Films founder Ron Hall and his associates see the release of The O. Henry Playhouse as an opportunity to rejuvenate interest in O. Henry's legacy, with hopes it may lead to the development of an educational curriculum that would marry the television adaptations with the original O. Henry short stories. This would create an enjoyable, informative learning experience with students being assigned the task of reading the short story and then watching the film adaptation. This could be followed by a general class discussion contrasting the two versions or an essay assignment along those lines.
Festival Films is currently gauging interest with educators about the feasibility of developing such a curriculum, which would also provide historic insight into the late 1800s and early 1900s. Such an approach would appeal to a broad age group and work equally well for English literature teachers, homeschoolers, and lifelong learning students, and serve to draw in new O. Henry fans who might not be predisposed to sample the original stories without an additional stimulus.
1 of 6
Jane Nigh / Dave O'Brien
Sisters of the Golden Circle
2 of 6
Richard Arlen / Mary Field
Georgia's Ruling
3 of 6
Tommy Kirk / John Doucette
Christmas By Injunction
4 of 6
Roger Smith / Chuck Connors
Only the Horse Would Know
5 of 6
Simon Oakland / Larry Blake / Alan Aaronson
Atavism of John Tom Little Bear
6 of 6
Preston Foster / Kathleen Freeman
Between Rounds