The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Film Review

Perhaps the most atypical of Alfred Hitchcock's films is this quirky black comedy, in which the director indulges his mischievous sense of fun, apparently in full cognisance of the fact that he may well be the only person to appreciate the end result.   The Trouble with Harry has many of those elements that we most associate with Hitchcock's work - murder, mystery, suspense and romance - but seen from a unsettling oblique angle which makes the familiar appear very unfamiliar.   Here the central mystery isn't so much who the killer might be, but rather why the characters behave so strangely when they come across a dead body.  It's the kind of subtle dark humour we find en passant in many of Hitchcock's films, and which seems to be so characteristic of the great man himself, if his hilariously macabre intros to his television series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" are anything to go by.

One thing that sets the film apart from most of Hitchcock's other Hollywood films is the lack of a strong central lead character played by a star actor.  Instead, the film has a small, but beautifully formed ensemble cast, which includes Shirley MacLaine in her first film role, playing the kind of character which audiences most associate her with.  Veteran actor Edmund Gwenn clearly relishes his role as the likeable sea captain, appearing in his fourth and last Hitchcock film.  Mildred Natwick and John Forsythe complete the fruitcake ensemble with subtly unnerving performances of the kind that would get a sane person certified.

The film's sumptuous cinematography also introduces a deliberately subversive element, almost parodying Hitchcock's more serious films.  The confined scope of the narrative is oddly at variance with the panoramic Vermont setting, just as the ugliness of the subject (disposing of a dead body) conflicts with the stunning natural beauty of the location.  The film plays on our instinctive revulsion for death to great comic effect, but in a way that is deeply troubling.   What does it say about us that we find the image of a corpse both upsetting and funny?

Filming in Vermont was an inspired choice but it presented some challenges for the production team.  When the weather changed drastically during the location shoot, many of the exterior scenes had be moved to the soundstage at Paramount studios in California.  The studio sets included trees that were dressed with autumnal leaves which had been gathered in Vermont, to ensure a precise match with the location footage.

This film marked the beginning of Hitchcock's association with the composer Bernard Hermann, who would give the director some of his most memorable film scores, notably those for Vertigo and Psycho.  Hermann's score for The Trouble with Harry - Hitchcock's personal favourite - perfectly captures the hidden menace and humour inherent in the film, and contributes greatly to its off the wall mood.   Part of the score had previously been used in the Crime Classics radio series; the composer later re-arranged it as a concert suite entitled "A Portrait of Hitch".

Whether it was because American audiences failed to appreciate the film's British style of humour or because the film lacked a big name actor, The Trouble with Harry was not a success when it was first released in the United States.   By contrast, the film fared remarkably well in Europe, particularly in France, where it enjoyed an unbroken run of eighteen months.  This was one of the five films for which Hitchcock bought back the rights and so was unavailable for three decades (the others included Rear Window and Vertigo).  When The Trouble with Harry was re-released in 1984, it was judged far more favourably than previously.  Whilst it may not be held in the same esteem as some of Hitchcock's other work, it remains one of his most popular films, and is certainly one of the most enjoyable examples of black comedy in American cinema.

Film Synopsis

On a hill just outside a small Vermont village, retired sea captain Albert Wiles is out rabbit hunting when he comes across the body of a dead man.  Believing that he shot the man by accident, Albert hastily decides to bury the body, but his attempts are thwarted by a seemingly constant stream of passers-by.   First there is the young widow Jennifer Rogers and her son, then the spinster Miss Gravely, then Dr Greenbow - all seemingly unconcerned by the body.  Albert persuades another of the villagers, an unsuccessful artist named Sam Marlowe, to help bury the corpse, who has now been identified as Jennifer's estranged husband, Harry Worp.   No sooner have they done this than Albert realises he couldn't possibly have killed the dead man.  And if he didn't, who did...?