The Ransom of Red Chief

'Red Chief', one of O.Henry's most engaging stories, has been filmed at least three times. (I can find no record of the Alex Linz version several have referred to; it does not appear in his IMDb biography.) This version strikes me as the poorest of the three: too much slapstick, too many extraneous characters (the housemaid, the sheriff/narrator) who only slow down the action.

The story was first filmed in 1952 along with four other stories in 'O.Henry's Full House'. The kidnappers were played by the brilliant radio comedian Fred Allen and the equally brilliant pianist/comedian Oscar Levant so it should have been a winner but somehow it failed to click, to me at least. (Lee Aaker of 'Rin Tin Tin' played the boy.) But amazingly the truest and funniest version of this quintessentially American story was filmed in France. 'Le grand chef' (1959) featured Fernandel, then France's leading comic, and Gino Cervi, a prominent Italian actor. 'Red chief' was played by an enchanting youngster named Papouf. Downloadable copies are available but so far I haven't seen one with subtitles. You can use it to brush up on your French or just to enjoy the action.

This is the typical TV movie. You can tell from its budget, from its look, from its minimalism...

Seriously, this movie is nothing (and I mean, nothing) special. Although very far from being good, it does offer some fun to its audiences, particularly by Haley Joel Osment (he really is the one who steals the show). This was before Haley got widely known. Even in his early years he already possessed great potential for dramatic roles ('Bogus' is one good example of that) and he is better known for his acting skills in drama rather than in comedy. However, in this TV movie he is hilarious (I never thought I'd say this about him one day), particularly anytime he mimics indians and calls himself Red Chief. Not just that, he is way funnier than gloomy in this movie. This is the living proof that Haley could do comedy as well as he could do drama.

As a movie, it actually deserved a 5 rating, but I gave it a 6 as a gratitude gesture over Haley's fantastic performance in an unusual role for him.

I read this story when I was in seventh grade, and was happy to see this television movie. It flowed nicely with the actual story, and I did not have one complaint. For anyone who has ever wanted to watch or read a family oriented piece, 'Ransom of Red Chief' is a good one.

I thought this movie was indeed a little bland at points, but overall it's a good movie to watch, sitting at home with your family, and gives a sense of warmth into the picture. I have always liked Christopher Lloyd (Back to The Future, Dennis The Menace, etc.) and I feel that he has done well in this movie. Haley Joel Osment (I'll Remember April, The Sixth Sense, Forrest Gump etc.) has always been one of my favourite child-actors, (next to Trevor Morgan of course), and does an explicitly wonderful job. I can admit, maybe he was a little too soft and, the little boy he played, is anything but nice. A dastardly, mischievous, little wretch, who enjoys nothing more than breaking the rules, (and no, no-one imagined Alex Linz playing the role of the little boy in a previous movie, he did, and played the role with much more trouble in him) but, I can say, that I did enjoy this movie immensely. And so did my kids, sat through it and watched it the whole way through without any interruptions. (Which is actually quite of a miracle, because usually all they enjoy watching is cartoons and The Disney Channel). I say well done, apart from the mishaps, and unfortunate casting in some parts (that I won't mention) a feel-good movie that I enjoyed, and would watch again! Also, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a little mischief, and also, quite some feeling.

I realize that a short story, unless it's part of an anthology, is difficult to use as a TV or movie story without a certain amount of padding but I think there is just a bit too much padding. It's a good and fun family movie, I'll give it that, but I was hoping it would stick a bit closer to the short story. There were times I felt they'd used the title, character names, and a few of the incidents from the story and that's it.

It's best for someone who is not expecting it to be the same as the short story.

I think the 1975 version was much better and it still played rather fast and loose with the story. Being shorter it didn't have a chance to play _quite_ so fast and loose, though.

I guess I'm just disappointed that they felt they had to change so much of O. Henry's story.

I'm keeping it around for my grandson who will enjoy it but I'll also introduce him to the source story. He's almost 10 so it won't be a problem with his attention span and also will help him to realize that if you've read a jacket or cover blurb (or even seen the movie) you haven't read the story. He tends to base his book reports on blurbs.

A nice cast was assembled and they all gave good performances. Christoper Lloyd and the late Michael Jeter are very dependable and a pleasure to watch. Child actors, by their very nature, are often a bit cutesy and the boy should have been a couple of years older with a certain rough and readiness about him but I think they managed to make him a bit annoying, which is almost as good.