The Trouble with Harry (1955) Reviews

(OK) Wonderful, a story of communion with life, extravagance (Forsyth), past and future (Mac Laine), seasonal love (Gwenn and Natwick), system (RoyalDano), framed in golden leaves photography...

Since I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I was really eager to check this out. Eventually, I must admit it, I was slightly disappointed. I mean, it was pretty good and I quite enjoyed it but, compared to his numerous masterpieces, it remained far behind. At least, it was one of his very few comedies and there were indeed a few funny moments. At first, when the young boy finds the body, you get a typical ominous music and it seems that it will be another nail-biting thriller like only Hitchcock was able to make. But then, pretty quickly, it became obvious that it was something entirely different. Indeed, basically, it is above all a romantic-comedy mixed with some rather dark humor. A black comedy, that sounded quite promising but, unfortunately, the plot was rather simple. For example, they bury and dig up poor old Harry’s body maybe 3 times during the movie and it was funny at first but since they kept repeating the same gimmick over and over again, it grew thin after a while. Still, it was pretty neat to see Shirley MacLaine in her acting debut and, somehow, she reminded me of Renée Zellweger with her accent and quirky attitude. Anyway, to conclude, it is rather harmless and nothing really amazing but I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock’s work.

The more i see that movie the more i like it for the slow development of the plot and the dark side of simple country folks being exposed. Great acting from "Beaver" / Jerry Mathers. Great acting too from early Shirley Maclaine.