The Ransom of Red Chief Resources

A reliable breakdown of the author's life, thanks to the good people at Biography.com.

Here's another one, with a closer look at the author's literary impact. Let's just say, he was pretty darn impactful. There are even prizes named after him—a sure sign you've made it big as an author.

This production stars Christopher Lloyd as Sam, Michael Jeter as Bill, and Haley Joel Osment as young Johnny. It was a TV movie that suffered from a poorly developed script and padding intended to flesh out the characters, but only ended up slowing everything down. The cast does a good job, but it just can't seem to get out of its own way.

Denis Leary holds a family hostage on Christmas Eve. The family turns out to be so difficult to deal with that we get to enjoy the brilliantly overstressed Denis Leary just reacting for 93 minutes. It's rated R, mostly for language, but it's an excellent opportunity to remind yourself how normal your own family is.

Who doesn't love Danny DeVito playing a scumbag? In this nearly direct adaptation, it's not a troublesome child, but a wife that DeVito hopes to unload upon some foolish kidnappers out to make a quick buck. The indomitable Bette Midler plays the adult, female, red-headed Red Chief. This is also an R-rated film, with some sexual content and plenty of language. It is fairly tame by today's standards, but worth checking if you're concerned.

Here's an interesting article on "The Ransom of Red Chief" as it relates to American Indians.

Seattle PI gives us a look at irony as it appears in the story.

Here's a Blogspot entry analyzing the story. What do you do in your spare time?

Here's a complete version of the story, from a 1952 anthology entitled O. Henry's Full House.

An MP3 of the Ransom of Red Chief, for your listening pleasure.

The man himself poses for a picture. Dig that crazy mustache!

A very young Haley Joel Osment as Red Chief in the 1998 film version of the story.