Compare And Contrast Ransom Of Red Chief

The movie version of “The Ransom of Red Chief,” is better than the short story by O. Henry because more characters are introduced, the story has a humorous and lighthearted tone, and there is more conflict. The changes and additions needed to make improvements to the story include having more action, using more characters, and showing Red Chief with more emotion.
The first reason the movie is favorable is how it introduces more characters. In the short story, the only starring characters are Red Chief, Mr. Dorset, Sam and Bill. In the movie, the plot manages to accommodate more characters, including Mrs. Duup, Mrs. Dorset, the Sheriff, Strange Pierre and Filthy Mcnasty( two other kidnappers),and the mailman. These extra characters add depth to the movie and brought it to life. When reading the story, there isn’t an element of excitement that intrigues you to keep reading, but the movie has this. With these new characters, new personalities were also introduced as well. For example, the Sheriff is skeptical of Red Chief being kidnapped; whereas

In the movie, Red Chief commits all of the mischief he does in the book, as well as more, but the movie manages to show Red Chief having a good side. It was very enjoyable how there’s a scene in the movie when Red Chief has a mature talk with Sam and expresses how everyone detests him. This creates mixed thoughts about Red Chief because it entertains the possibility Red Chief might not be as bad as he is illustrated. An example of this is when Red Chief rides Bill like a horse. “‘I was rode,’ says Bill, ‘the ninety miles to the stockade, not barring an inch.’” Red Chief barely shows any emotion other than being a troublemaker, which leads to everyone having the same conclusion about Red Chief- that he’s annoying. But, similarly to the movie, if the story shows more than one side to Red Chief, it would enhance the