# The O. Henry Playhouse

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, who portrayed the title character, 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.
The series was syndicated and began running on a handful of stations early in 1957. With the sale to General Cigar Company of Baltimore in May 1957, the series was contracted to 188 markets. 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.

## 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, 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.
Several years before the DVD release Ron Hall, an entrepreneur specializing in public domain video material, 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.

## Episodes

| # | Title | Writers | Original airdate | Prod Code | Viewers |
| 01 | "The Reformation of Calliope" | George Waggner | 23 January 1957 (1957-01-23) | #1.01 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 02 | "Man About Town" | George Waggner | 30 January 1957 (1957-01-30) | #1.02 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner – Includes plot elements from "An Unfinished Story" ||||||
| 03 | "Sam Plunkett's Promise" | Donald Hyde | 6 February 1957 (1957-02-06) | #1.03 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard — Based on "The Theory and the Hound" ||||||
| 04 | "Two Renegades" | Irving Cooper | 13 February 1957 (1957-02-13) | #1.04 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 05 | "The Marionettes" | George Waggner | 20 February 1957 (1957-02-20) | #1.05 | N/A |
| Director: Peter Godfrey ||||||
| 06 | "Fog In Santone" | George Waggner | 27 February 1957 (1957-02-27) | #1.06 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 07 | "Hearts and Hands" | Irving Cooper | 6 March 1957 (1957-03-06) | #1.07 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 08 | "Blackjack Bargainer" | Irving Cooper | 13 March 1957 (1957-03-13) | #1.08 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 09 | "The World And The Door" | George Waggner | 20 March 1957 (1957-03-20) | #1.09 | N/A |
| Director: Peter Godfrey ||||||
| 10 | "The Guilty Party" | Irving Cooper | 27 March 1957 (1957-03-27) | #1.10 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 11 | "A Ramble In Aphasia" | Irving Cooper | 3 April 1957 (1957-04-03) | #1.11 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 12 | "Fourth in Salvador" | George Waggner | 10 April 1957 (1957-04-10) | #1.12 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 13 | "After Twenty Years" | Donald Hyde | 17 April 1957 (1957-04-17) | #1.13 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 14 | "A Trick of Nature" | Donald Hyde | 24 April 1957 (1957-04-24) | #1.14 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 15 | "Sisters of the Golden Circle" | William Kozlenko (adaptation); Donald Hyde (written for tv) | 1 May 1957 (1957-05-01) | #1.15 | N/A |
| Director: Peter Godfrey ||||||
| 16 | "Hygeia at the Solito" | Donald Hyde | 8 May 1957 (1957-05-08) | #1.16 | N/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) | #1.17 | N/A |
| Director: Anton M. Leader ||||||
| 18 | "The Atvatism Of Jon Tom Little Bear" | Irving Cooper | 22 May 1957 (1957-05-22) | #1.18 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 19 | "Georgia's Ruling" | Mary McCarthy | 29 May 1957 (1957-05-29) | #1.19 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 20 | "The Fool Killer" | George Waggner | 5 June 1957 (1957-06-05) | #1.20 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 21 | "One Dollar's Worth" | Irving Cooper | 12 June 1957 (1957-06-12) | #1.21 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 22 | "Christmas by Injunction" | Donald Hyde | 19 June 1957 (1957-06-19) | #1.22 | N/A |
| Director: Felix Feist ||||||
| 23 | "The Roads We Take" | Irving Cooper | 26 June 1957 (1957-06-26) | #1.23 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 24 | "Vanity And Some Sables" | George Waggner | 3 July 1957 (1957-07-03) | #1.24 | N/A |
| Director: Peter Godfrey ||||||
| 25 | "The Sphinx Apple" | Irving Cooper | 10 July 1957 (1957-07-10) | #1.25 | N/A |
| Director: Les Goodwins ||||||
| 26 | "Wit's End" | Seymour Roth (adaptation); Donald Hyde (written for tv) | 17 July 1957 (1957-07-17) | #1.26 | N/A |
| Director: Anton M. Leader ||||||
| 27 | "Girl" | Albert Isaac Bezzerides | 24 July 1957 (1957-07-24) | #1.27 | N/A |
| Director: Peter Godfrey ||||||
| 28 | "Hypotheses Of Failure" | Irving Cooper | 31 July 1957 (1957-07-31) | #1.28 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 29 | "Hiding of Black Bill" | Irving Cooper | 7 August 1957 (1957-08-07) | #1.29 | N/A |
| Director:George Waggner ||||||
| 30 | "Between Rounds" | George Waggner | 14 August 1957 (1957-08-14) | #1.30 | N/A |
| Director: George Waggner ||||||
| 31 | "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen" | Irving Cooper | 21 August 1957 (1957-08-21) | #1.31 | N/A |
| Director: Frederick Stephani ||||||
| 32 | "The Emancipation of Billy" | Donald Hyde | 28 August 1957 (1957-08-28) | #1.32 | N/A |
| Director: Frederick Stephani ||||||
| 33 | "A Madison Square Arabian Knight" | Irving Cooper | 4 September 1957 (1957-09-04) | #1.33 | N/A |
| Director: Frederick Stephani ||||||
| 34 | "The Lonely Man" | Donald Hyde | 11 September 1957 (1957-09-11) | #1.34 | N/A |
| Director: Kenneth G. Crane — Based on "The Last of the Troubadours" ||||||
| 35 | "The Buyer from Cactus City" | Donald Hyde | 18 September 1957 (1957-09-18) | #1.35 | N/A |
| Director: Les Goodwins ||||||
| 36 | "A Service Of Love" | Mary McCarthy | 25 September 1957 (1957-09-25) | #1.36 | N/A |
| Director: Bernard Girard ||||||
| 37 | "The Tale Of The Tainted Tenner" | Irving Cooper | 2 October 1957 (1957-10-02) | #1.37 | N/A |
| Director: Marshall Grant ||||||
| 38 | "The Murderer" | Donald Hyde & Irving Cooper | 9 October 1957 (1957-10-09) | #1.38 | N/A |
| Director: Frederick Stephani ||||||
| 39 | "The Lotterman Affair" | Donald Hyde & Al C. Ward | 16 October 1957 (1957-10-16) | #1.39 | N/A |
| Director: Frederick Stephani ||||||
| #N/A | "Series One Episode Unproduced (Tobin's Palm)" | George Waggner | #N/A | #N/A | TBD |
| #N/A | "Series One Episode Unproduced (The Count And The Wedding Guest)" | George Waggner | #N/A | #N/A | TBD |
| #N/A | "Series One Episode Unproduced (The Gentle Grafter)" | Dale Wasserman | #N/A | #N/A | TBD |