page_title: The Cop and the Anthem
section_title: Cultural references
hierarchical_section_title: The Cop and the Anthem / Cultural references
caption_attribution_description: Photo of Red Skelton as Freddie the Freeloader and Allen Jenkins as Freddie's pal, Muggsie for an enactment of the O. Henry story The Cop and the Anthem. Skelton first enacted this story in 1954; this is his 1958 enactment of it on The Red Skelton Show. The two plan how to get arrested so they will have a warm place and a meal for Christmas.
context_page_description: "The Cop and the Anthem" is a December 1904 short story by the United States author O. Henry. It includes several of the classic elements of an O. Henry story, including a setting in New York City, an empathetic look at the state of mind of a member of the lower class, and an ironic ending.
context_section_description: The story was adapted to film as a segment of O. Henry's Full House (1952), directed by Henry Koster, from a screenplay by Lamar Trotti, starring Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe and David Wayne.
  "The Cop and the Anthem" inspired an episode of The Red Skelton Show on December 21, 1954, with Skelton's "Freddie the Freeloader" character as the protagonist. Skelton also did another enactment of this story for his holiday program of December 23, 1958.  The 1978 animated special The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas also borrows part of its plot from the story.
caption: Red Skelton as Freddie the Freeloader with Allen Jenkins as his friend, Muggsie, in a 1958 enactment of the story on Skelton's television program.
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