Review of The Trouble with Harry (1955) by Corey N — 07 Jul 2007

Young Arnie, walking through the Vermont woods, hears some threats, and then gunshots. Investigating, he finds the body of Harry Worp, and he thinks Harry has been murdered.

He tells his mother, Jennifer Rogers, who recognizes the man as her ex-husband. She, along with the elderly Captain Wiles and the spinster Ivy Gravely, believe they will be prime suspects when Harry's body is found, so they conspire to bury it.

With the help of artist Sam Marlowe....

If like me you are working your way through the Hitchcock library watching the most popular/best known ones first (eg. the birds, vertigo, north by northwest, frenzy) then this movie will surprise you in that it is very light hearted on the verge of sadistic, that the main players in this movie are treating a thing such as murder so lightly.

From the opening, where we first find the body of Harry, we are treated to a delicious screenplay, full of witticism and wordplay, which all of the cast share, and the charachters have different problems on their mind, sharing them with their neighbour on the porch, over muffins and lemonade. but with all of them knowing that there is a dead body in the forset.

The scene where the Captain is waiting to drag the body into an enclosed space but keeps getting disturbed, is comedy gold, and the majority of the film borderlines on farce, albeit sinister farce.

So it's a good black comedy from hitchcock, but maybe not the best place to start for a Hitchcock newbie.