O. Henry spends a few nights in the only hotel on the tropical island of LaPaz. He meets two American visitors Ralph (Donald Barry) and Jean (Florence Conant) and spins the characters into a fanciful story in which each is hiding in exile because of committing murders back in the states. While relating the fictional story he is devising to hotel owner Tio (Pedro Gonzalez), to O. Henry's consternation, Tio fails to grasp the literary difference between poetic license and reality!

"The O. Henry Playhouse" is a 1957 single season, 39-episode TV series. O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) is considered one of America's greatest writers of short stories. His writings are laced with humor and irony and often end with a sly twist ending. Veteran character actor Thomas Mitchell stars in each episode as writer O. Henry himself as he relates his stories to his publisher, his housekeeper, a barber, a bartender, or the cop on the beat. In some episodes, O. Henry meets his characters as he discovers firsthand the story he will later write. This unique storytelling method gives great insight into the famous author's creative process.

You can read the original literary version of "The World and the Door" HERE and compare it with the many changes in the film adaptation. "The World and the Door" is one of 13 episodes in volume one of "The O. Henry Playhouse." The films have been beautifully restored on DVD by the home video label ClassicFlix!