The Trouble with Harry (1955)

While we are confronted with a dead body and a possible manslaughter/murder/coverup, the quirkiness of the situation and how all of the characters respond to it make this film quite different from other Hitchcock films.

Is it a 5-star film on the level of other 5-star Hitchcock films? Man, that's a tough question. And I'm going to punt on that. I don't know if this film is as good as Vertigo or Psycho. Honestly, probably not, but regardless, I do find the character development, the acting, and the setting all top notch.

Who is Harry? He's a dead body. And the trouble is, the people involved can't seem to get rid of him. He's buried, unburied, and so on, "throughout the day." Although Harry isn't a local, and for a while seems to be a stranger that's just unfortunately been shot, we discover that he's not a stranger, and the cause of his death is more complicated.

At the end, I love when Jennifer (Shirley McLaine) explains to the doctor just who Harry is and what everyone connected to the body and the scene of his death have gone through that day. The doctor just wants to walk in the woods and read poetry. He doesn't want to be involved in this story, and it's funny to see him listen to Jennifer "confess" all that's happened, only for the doctor to race out of the room.

Since everything happens in a day, it's beyond silly for Sam (John Forsythe) to fall in love with and propose to Jennifer. But, for purposes of plot, this has to happen, and it's also important, I guess for the punchline ending.

By the way, the little boy in the film looks like the Beaver from Leave It to Beaver, I thought. Well, it should, because that is in fact Jerry Mathers. But when I watched the film, I wasn't completely sure. Leave It to Beaver ran 1957-1963, so he's a bit smaller than in the TV show, and his voice seemed different.

Rating: 5/5 stars

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