1972-11-04
0
The moral suffering of the lieutenant who unknowingly sneezes on the head of the general.
Angus is a large, pathetic 14-year-old whose thoughts are most often filled with the image of only one girl, Melissa Lefevre. Angus is shy and thinks that he has no chance of ever 'getting' her. Being especially uncool, he is incredibly surprised (along with the rest of the school) that he is chosen to dance with her at the Winter Ball. The only one not surprised is the cool kid who set him up to fail, but Angus' best friend is going to help him win the heart of Melissa by developing a new look for him
Frank visits his friend Josef, who introduces him to his pedigree rabbits and his wife Mary. Frank is more interested in the slightly unsettling fact that Josef and Mary's garden fence is entirely made up of living people holding hands.
In an English village, a reporter and a mechanic listen to a ratcatcher explain his clever plan to outwit his prey.
When a poisonous snake slithers onto an Englishman's stomach in India, his associate and a doctor race to save him.
Young Native American man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by Arnold. Arnold soon left his family, and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's remains.
Newly-widowed Mabel Lederer, who has psychic and mediumistic abilities, sells her house and belongings, changes her name, and moves to a new town. There she rents a room in a boarding house and holds a seance with the other tenants, with comical results.
Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".
Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding to Margaret and has to make $25,000 so her father will allow him to marry her. He and business partner Pop go to New York where they run into dancing instructor Penny. She and Lucky form a successful dance partnership, but romance is blighted by his old attachment to Margaret and hers for Ricky.