Well, Harry is dead. And, the trouble is, nobody really minds that he's dead. They just can't quite decide what to do with his body. Should they bury him where he died, out in the middle of the New England countryside? Should they leave him out in the open for the authorities to find? Should they report his death to the authorities?
Harry was a stranger to the little New England community where he died, but not to one person who lives there -- Mrs. Jennifer Rogers (Shirley MacLaine). She is, in fact, his widow now. She was originally married to Harry's brother, with whom she had her little boy Arnie (Jerry Mathers), but then her husband died, and Harry decided it was his duty to marry his brother's widow and provide a home for her and his brother's son.
But it's not Jennifer who finds Harry's body. He dies on a sunny woodland hillside, possibly mistaken for a rabbit and shot. Possibly killed by a blow from an outraged spinster. Possibly from being hit over the head with a bottle by someone else. His body is found at various times by little Arnie, a wandering doctor reciting poetry, a tramp, Captain Wiles (Edmund Gwenn), Miss Gravely (Mildred Natwick), and artist Sam Marlowe (John Forsythe).
In the midst of burying and unburying Harry multiple times for various reasons, hiding him and leaving him out in the open, and hiding him again, and so on, two people fall in love, several people make new friends, and someone's fortune is made. It's a black comedy from Alfred Hitchcock, with many little surprises along the way, but none of the fear or fright that his movies are usually known for. And I love it! In fact, it's my third-favorite Hitchcock film :-)
Is this movie family friendly? Yeah, basically? There's a little conversation about a couple's wedding night going unconsummated, but it's very vague. No bad language, no real violence, nothing else objectionable UNLESS you find black humor objectionable. Then you won't like this at all.
This has been my contribution to the Master of Suspense Blogathon hosted this weekend at Classic Film and TV Corner. Be sure to check out the other fun entries!
I've still never seen this one! It's just never crossed my path, though I used to listen to the music... LOL.
ReplyDeleteDKoren, well, I have no idea if you'd enjoy it or not, because it's very unusual, but you might???
DeleteHi Rachel. Hope all good with you. This one is a lot of fun indeed and such a unique entry in Hitch's filmography. I love Mildred Natwick and Edmund Gwenn's performances in particular. Thanks so much for joining and I'm glad I could offer the opportunity for you to watch it again. Maddy
ReplyDeleteHi, Maddy! I agree -- Natwick and Gwenn really illuminate every scene they're in :-)
DeleteI hope you make this an annual event!
I became a fan of this film when Paddy at Caftan Woman encouraged me to give it another go. I tried to watch it some years earlier, but didn't jive with it. So one night, when I couldn't sleep, I found it online, watched it, and loved it. It's a different sort of film, but that's what makes it entertaining.
ReplyDeleteSilver, it definitely is not what one expects from Hitchcock, right? And the dark humor can be hard to adjust to, but that's what makes it entertaining, as you say :-) So glad Paddy convinced you to try it again! She certainly had an infectious enthusiasm, didn't she?
DeleteRachel, I enjoyed your good positive write-up of one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movies THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY(filmed 1954, released 1955). I first viewed this Hitchcock gem on THE ABC-TV WEDNESDAY NIGHT MOVIE in 1967 and again as a rerun on the same venue in 1968. Then after those viewings the movie became as elusive as Harry's corpse. In 1983 I recall reading about this movie and four other Hitchcock movies coming back to movie theaters after being out of circulation for at least a decade or more. I didn't catch THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY again until it was shown on THE MOVIE CHANNEL in 1986.
ReplyDeleteYou bet your McGuffin boots it' s a dark comedy and I don't want to give away too much about this delightful tale of Hitchcock foolery awash in Robert Burks' beautifully photographed Vermont autumn foliage. The movie is funny in a whimsical ungraphic macabre sort of fashion. I think the sequence of the corpse in the bathtub is hilarious. Anyway, I highly recommend this movie.
Walter, I'm glad you enjoyed this! I remember waiting for movies to come to TV in the 1980s and 1990s when we didn't have cable and our local video store's selection was pretty limited when it came to classics. But our local PBS station would air classics on Saturday nights, so I always hoped they would show something I wanted to see! And they often did.
DeleteThe location shooting adds so much to this one, doesn't it? I lived in Connecticut for a while, and the New England autumn is definitely stunning!
This is such an underrated comedy. I really enjoyed it when I saw it, mainly because I delight in gallows humor.
ReplyDeleteNitrate Glow, yes, the gallows humor is so rich and funny in this one. It reminds me a bit of We're No Angels (1955) in that way!
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