Wild about Harry

"The Trouble with Harry"
Overall Rating: ****


Have you ever wondered what an Alfred Hitchcock comedy would be like? If so, you don't need to look in a parallel universe or alternate reality where the master of suspense is the master of comedy; you can simply see "The Trouble With Harry" to see Hitchcock at his funniest.

The film opens with Arnie (Jerry Mathers) walking through the Vermont woods. He ducks down as soon as he hears three gunshots and then hears a man shout, "OK, I know how to handle your type." Soon, Arnie finds the body of Harry Worp. Moments later, Captain Wiles (Edmund Gwenn) finds the body. Though a kind and gentle hunter, Wiles panics when he believes he has, albeit accidentally, killed someone. Deciding that he needs to bury the body, he sets off to do just that. He might even bury Harry--if it weren't for all the other people who come upon him in his work.

This is Hitchcock at his comedic best. "The Trouble with Harry" has a wonderful mix of sharp dialog and antics with the corpse (whose last name of Worp--pronounced like "warp"--is also perfect). For instance, when one character asks another about a deceased relative, he expresses the hope the relative died peacefully--only to find out that the man was caught in a threshing machine. As for Harry--let's just (or is that jest) say that being dead and buried doesn't put him to rest. Hitchcock even gets in a joke with "the end" (those words don't appear on screen). Still, Hitchcock purists can take heart; for how Harry died is something of a mystery; additionally, many traditional Hitchcockian elements, such as incompetent police and his famous cameo appearance, are also in "The Trouble with Harry." Hitchcock films often are mysteries with comic elements; this film is a comedy with a mysterious element--and a very funny comedy at that.

While Hitchcock's genius drives the film, the actors are equally critical. Edmund Gwenn is particularly good; he needs to be very endearing, and Gwenn is wonderfully charming. Shirley MacLaine is also very good as the flighty Jennifer Rogers--her character is also charming and likeable. MacLaine delivers a strong performance in her debut role. Jerry Mathers is also cute as the young Arnie.

"The Trouble with Harry" isn't perfect. I felt that the end is left a little up in the air. The filmmakers strain credibility in a few places, with a number of coincidences early on. All of the problems are relatively minor, however, especially accounting for the film's unlikely premise.

"The Trouble with Harry" is safe for kids. The death of Harry is not shown (though it's heard), but it's central to the film's plot, meaning that there are references to murder and to covering up crime. Parents may also be concerned about two on-screen thefts (both minor; in one instance, something is stolen from a dead man). Having been released in the days of the Hays Code (though later given an appropriate PG rating), "The Trouble With Harry" is tame when it comes to adult content.

While "The Trouble with Harry" isn't Hitchcock's best film, it isn't a lie to say that it's much better than many other filmmakers' best works. "The Trouble with Harry" is atypical Hitchcock fare, making it interesting historically for his fans. More to the point, it exhibits his genius for filmmaking and is an enjoyable evening's entertainment.


Title: "The Trouble with Harry"
Release date: 1955

MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ****

Aprox. run time: 99 min.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Jack Trevor Story (novel), John Michael Hayes
Stars: Edmund Gwenn, John Forsyth (plays Sam Marlowe), Shirley MacLaine

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Tr_Harry.htm

Added to blog site: 8/5/09