The O. Henry Playhouse
Written byIrving H. Cooper
Donald Hyde
George Waggner
Albert Isaac Bezzerides
Mary McCarthy
Al C. Ward
Dale Wasserman
Directed byGeorge Waggner
Bernard Girard
Frederick Stephani
Felix Feist
Peter Godfrey
Anton M. Leader
Les Goodwins
Marshall Grant
Kenneth G. Crane
Narrated byThomas Mitchell
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producersJack J. Gross
Philip N. Krasne
ProducerDonald Hyde
CinematographyHal McAlpin
EditorsKenneth G. Crane
Asa Boyd Clark
Running time30 min.
Production companyGross-Krasne Productions[1]
Original release
NetworkSyndication
Releaselate 1956 (late 1956) –
varied by market (varied by market)

The O. Henry Playhouse was an early American anthology television series which featured television adaptations of short stories written by 19th-century author O. Henry and primarily set in New York City. The series was both hosted and narrated by Thomas Mitchell,[2][3][4] who portrayed the title character,[5] and featured several television and film stars during its run such as Maureen Stapleton, Charles Bronson, DeForest Kelley, Lisa Montell, Otto Kruger, Max Showalter and Ernest Borgnine.[6]

The series was syndicated and began running on a handful of stations late in 1956.[7] With the sale to General Cigar Company of Baltimore in May 1957, the series was contracted to 188 markets.[8] According to Billboard's "Pulse Film Ratings" The O. Henry Playhouse generally received television ratings around 10.0 for its only season and ranked in the middle of the "Syndicated Film Drama Shows" category.[9]

DVD release

Unseen for decades and largely forgotten, The O. Henry Playhouse has recently received a DVD release. Classic Flix, a rental and retail site with a home video label,[10] has restored thirty-nine episodes of the series and is releasing them in three installments during 2021-22.

The web site for the DVD release features plot summaries of each episode, along with links to online texts of the original stories so viewers can compare O. Henry's writings and the television adaptations. The site also includes cast and crew information for each episode and a video sample from the episode. The overall description of the series recounts its unusual story telling method:

Veteran character actor Thomas Mitchell stars in each episode as writer O. Henry himself as he relates his stories to his publisher, his barber, a bartender, or the cop on the beat. In some episodes, O. Henry meets his characters as he discovers firsthand the story he will later write. This rather unique story telling method is made possible by the fame of the author himself and the O Henry audience's desire to learn where each story came from.[11]

Several years before the DVD release Ron Hall, an entrepreneur specializing in public domain video material,[12] related how he received a large collection of original 16mm prints of the series. He posted a video sample of the "Two Renegades" episode, along with general discussion of the series' history, copyright status, number of episodes, and sometimes unexpected casting.[13]

Episodes

Series 1

    #TitleWriters Original airdate
    01"The Reformation of Calliope"George Waggner23 January 1957 (1957-01-23)#1.01N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    02"Man About Town"George Waggner30 January 1957 (1957-01-30)#1.02N/A
    Director: George Waggner – Includes plot elements from "An Unfinished Story"
    03"Sam Plunkett's Promise"Donald Hyde6 February 1957 (1957-02-06)#1.03N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard — Based on "The Theory and the Hound"
    04"Two Renegades"Irving Cooper13 February 1957 (1957-02-13)#1.04N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    05"The Marionettes"George Waggner20 February 1957 (1957-02-20)#1.05N/A
    Director: Peter Godfrey
    06"Fog In Santone"George Waggner27 February 1957 (1957-02-27)#1.06N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    07"Hearts and Hands"Irving Cooper6 March 1957 (1957-03-06)#1.07N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    08"Blackjack Bargainer"Irving Cooper13 March 1957 (1957-03-13)#1.08N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    09"The World And The Door"George Waggner20 March 1957 (1957-03-20)#1.09N/A
    Director: Peter Godfrey
    10"The Guilty Party"Irving Cooper27 March 1957 (1957-03-27)#1.10N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    11"A Ramble In Aphasia"Irving Cooper3 April 1957 (1957-04-03)#1.11N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    12"Fourth in Salvador"George Waggner10 April 1957 (1957-04-10)#1.12N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    13"After Twenty Years"Donald Hyde17 April 1957 (1957-04-17)#1.13N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    14"A Trick of Nature"Donald Hyde24 April 1957 (1957-04-24)#1.14N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    15"Sisters of the Golden Circle"William Kozlenko (adaptation); Donald Hyde (written for tv)1 May 1957 (1957-05-01)#1.15N/A
    Director: Peter Godfrey
    16"Hygeia at the Solito"Donald Hyde8 May 1957 (1957-05-08)#1.16N/A
    Director: Felix Feist
    17"Only The Horse Would Know"Al C. Ward (adaptation); Donald Hyde (written for tv)15 May 1957 (1957-05-15)#1.17N/A
    Director: Anton M. Leader
    18"The Atvatism Of Jon Tom Little Bear"Irving Cooper22 May 1957 (1957-05-22)#1.18N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    19"Georgia's Ruling"Mary McCarthy29 May 1957 (1957-05-29)#1.19N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    20"The Fool Killer"George Waggner5 June 1957 (1957-06-05)#1.20N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    21"One Dollar's Worth"Irving Cooper12 June 1957 (1957-06-12)#1.21N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    22"Christmas by Injunction"Donald Hyde19 June 1957 (1957-06-19)#1.22N/A
    Director: Felix Feist
    23"The Roads We Take"Irving Cooper26 June 1957 (1957-06-26)#1.23N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    24"Vanity And Some Sables"George Waggner3 July 1957 (1957-07-03)#1.24N/A
    Director: Peter Godfrey
    25"The Sphinx Apple"Irving Cooper10 July 1957 (1957-07-10)#1.25N/A
    Director: Les Goodwins
    26"Wit's End"Seymour Roth (adaptation); Donald Hyde (written for tv)17 July 1957 (1957-07-17)#1.26N/A
    Director: Anton M. Leader
    27"Girl"Albert Isaac Bezzerides24 July 1957 (1957-07-24)#1.27N/A
    Director: Peter Godfrey
    28"Hypotheses Of Failure"Irving Cooper31 July 1957 (1957-07-31)#1.28N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    29"Hiding of Black Bill"Irving Cooper7 August 1957 (1957-08-07)#1.29N/A
    Director:George Waggner
    30"Between Rounds"George Waggner14 August 1957 (1957-08-14)#1.30N/A
    Director: George Waggner
    31"Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen"Irving Cooper21 August 1957 (1957-08-21)#1.31N/A
    Director: Frederick Stephani
    32"The Emancipation of Billy"Donald Hyde28 August 1957 (1957-08-28)#1.32N/A
    Director: Frederick Stephani
    33"A Madison Square Arabian Knight"Irving Cooper4 September 1957 (1957-09-04)#1.33N/A
    Director: Frederick Stephani
    34"The Lonely Man"Donald Hyde11 September 1957 (1957-09-11)#1.34N/A
    Director: Kenneth G. Crane — Based on "The Last of the Troubadours"
    35"The Buyer from Cactus City"Donald Hyde18 September 1957 (1957-09-18)#1.35N/A
    Director: Les Goodwins
    36"A Service Of Love"Mary McCarthy25 September 1957 (1957-09-25)#1.36N/A
    Director: Bernard Girard
    37"The Tale Of The Tainted Tenner"Irving Cooper2 October 1957 (1957-10-02)#1.37N/A
    Director: Marshall Grant
    38"The Murderer"Donald Hyde & Irving Cooper9 October 1957 (1957-10-09)#1.38N/A
    Director: Frederick Stephani
    39"The Lotterman Affair"Donald Hyde & Al C. Ward16 October 1957 (1957-10-16)#1.39N/A
    Director: Frederick Stephani
    N–A"Series One Episode Unproduced (Tobin's Palm)"George Waggner 1957 (1957-N/A)#N/ATBD
    N–A"Series One Episode Unproduced (The Count And The Wedding Guest)"George Waggner 1957 (1957-N/A)#N/ATBD
    N–A"Series One Episode Unproduced (The Gentle Grafter)"Dale Wasserman 1957 (1957-N/A)#N/ATBD

    References

    1. ↑ "The O. Henry Playhouse (dramatic anthology)". The Media Management Group. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
    2. ↑ Shulman, Arthur; Youman, Roger (1966). How Sweet It Was — Television: A Pictorial Commentary (PDF). New York: Bonanza Books, a division of Crown Publishers, Inc., by arrangement with Shorecrest, Inc. p. 233. ISBN 978-0517081358. OCLC 36258864.
    3. ↑ McNeil, Alex. Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. (pg. 611) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
    4. ↑ Becker, Christine. It's The Pictures That Got Small: Hollywood Film Stars on 1950s Television. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2008. (pg. 244) ISBN 0-8195-6894-5
    5. ↑ Steinbrunner, Chris and Otto Penzler, ed. Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. (pg. 197) ISBN 0-07-061121-1
    6. ↑ "US TV - Occasional Wife to Ozzie's Girls". Memorable TV US Shows. MemorableTV.com. 2002.
    7. ↑ "O Henry Sold In 23 Markets". Billboard. October 6, 1956. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
    8. ↑ "O Henry to Gen. Cigar". Billboard. May 13, 1957. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
    9. ↑ "Pulse Film Ratings For October". Billboard. December 30, 1957. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
    10. ↑ "About Us". Classic Flix. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
    11. ↑ "Celebrating The O. Henry Playhouse". Retrieved February 13, 2022.
    12. ↑ "Festival Films: Public Domain Specialists for Over 30 Years". Retrieved February 13, 2022.
    13. ↑ Hall, Ron (March 29, 2015). "Strange Case of O. HENRY PLAYHOUSE". Retrieved February 13, 2022.

    Further reading

    • Castleman, Harry and Walter J. Podrazik. Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1989. ISBN 0-13-933250-2
    • Borgnine, Ernest. Ernie: The Autobiography. New York: Citadel Press, 2008. ISBN 0-8065-2941-5
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