Review of The Trouble with Harry (1955) by Edith N — 08 Aug 2007

This movie is Hitchcock's great comedy. The trouble with Harry, it seems, is that no one knows what killed him, who killed him, or whether he's better above or below ground. We encounter four charming locals who are in a perpetual state of confusion about ol' Harry. (One of them is Shirley MacLaine in her first movie with Jerry Mathers as her son; one of them is old Kris Kringle from the original [i]Miracle on 34th Street[/i].).

This is a lesser-known Hitchcock, probably about mid-range in its fame. However, it's the funniest that I've come across that far. All Hitchcock, like all Shakespeare, is more or less funny; this is that rarest of things, a Hitchcock comedy. True comedy. Not just a surly Cary Grant in a comedy of errors that gets less and less funny as his life is in more and more danger, a la [i]North by Northwest[/i] (also a very funny movie).

Harry lies there, peaceful and dead. He's caused Shirley MacLaine no end of trouble. He's also skirting the boundaries of the Code along with his castmates. After all, one gets the impression, or at least I do, that she and the artist would be perfectly happy to live in sin given how long it'd take for the law to see her as single again. She probably chooses not to for her son's sake, as I can't think of another reason. (They're going to sleep in a double bed, too!).

Shirley MacLaine's Jennifer may want to consider that part of her problem stems from the fact that she's willing to get married awfully quickly. She's known Sam Marlowe most of a day before she agrees to marry him. Oh, she's seen him around; perhaps she's even said hi. But she's only [i]known[/i] him that one day. We never really find out how long she knew Harry.

This was a clever, silly movie. The town it's in is lovely. The cast is well-chosen. It's a dark comedy, but a very light dark comedy, if you know what I mean. The whole of it is light-hearted. Once Harry's settled, everything else will be, too. The trouble with Harry is what it takes to get him settled.