Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

ThurstonHunger Recommended by a friend with kids, I'd actually never seen this Hitchcock film and had been thinking maybe we should check some of his stuff out.As others indicate, this is not a typical Hitchcock film, more in tune with his TV show if you've ever seen that. Anyways my kids (14 years old) enjoyed this film, they do have a sense of humor somewhere between mordant and morbid so bear that in mind. They enjoyed the comedy here and the cleverness to the story.The film has a strong stagey feel, and some of the concocted dialog that I connect with older films, and I think my boys liked just fine. As a product of the 50's the film although fatal in some ways, never feels dangerous. So the odd humor is not really all that jarring (Shirley MacLaine's hyper-quirky character was the most jarring, and yet in an endearing manner.) Edmund Gwenn as the captain feels very much like a cartoon character composite, though he predates almost all that my boys have seen.Sex and death have long been constants in the universe, in this film they are handled rather tidily. As for teens, and maybe many viewers, there's something about being in on a secret with the characters on screen that in particular really resonates with some (one of my boys in particular.) I'd extend the recommendation made to me to you, based upon the above. As a bonus, it is the first time that Hitchcock worked with Bernard Herrmann.

zkonedog There is no questioning the fact the Alfred Hitchcock is an incredible filmmaker. Unfortunately, even his deft hand is not able to turn "The Trouble With Harry" into anything more than a curiosity.For a basic plot summary, "The Trouble With Harry" is a comedy about a body ("Harry") that just doesn't seem to want to go away. One day, in the middle of the New England countryside, a man is found sprawled out in a scenic valley. Over the course of the film, as many as four different people lay claim to the death of "Harry", with the truth only coming out in the end.The "trouble" (pun intended) of this movie is that it is so utterly ridiculous as to have no possible avenue of true success. Hitch does his best to inject the goings-on with some nice tongue-and- cheek humor & one-liners, but in a story as asinine as this one, not even ten Hitch's could make it a classic.The acting, led by the quartet of Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Mildred Natwick, & Mildred Dunnock, is so-so. I very much enjoyed some characters, while others leave quite a bit to be desired here. For those interested in a bit of casting trivia, this movie features a young (we're talking short pants here) Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers in one of his first film roles. It also introduces Shirley MacLaine in her very first feature film part.Overall, "The Trouble With Harry" is a curiosity at best. A few lines will make you smirk, Hitch's deft touch will keep you to the end, but the film is, at its core, just too ridiculous to ever really be considered great.

jc-osms Hitchcock's only previous attempt at a Hollywood comedy was the unexceptional "Mr and Mrs Smith" in the early 40's and even that came from a studio assignment rather than an original motivation. Here, with the engagement of Hitchcock at the height of his powers, you might guess this one plays a bit differently. Chock-full of (no pun intended) earthy, sometimes racy humour, this is a black comedy set, paradoxically in the beautiful autumnal hues of New England, with a non-starring cast of noticeable variety, from fresh newcomer Shirley MacLaine to the avuncular veteran Edmund Gwenn, not the first names you'd think of to appear in an eccentric piece like this.Also on hand are a pre-"Dynasty" John Forsythe as the reasoning artist Sam and Mildred Natwick as the school-marmy spinster to complete the principal foursome who themselves get into an Abba-type arrangement as they pair off together, thwarted only it would appear by the inconsiderate corpse of MacLaine's unloved, estranged husband which keeps making unwanted appearances to spoil their mutual billing and cooing.I can see how the movie might split Hitchcock's fan-base as there's little of his trademark excitement or tension on show, but that's not to say other of his traits aren't present, from the stunning cinematography of Robert Burks, a playful soundtrack by Bernard Herrman in his first collaboration with The Master and some typically imaginative shots to admire, probably none more so than the first shot of Harry's prostrate body, from the shoes up.The ensemble acting is crisply played and I personally don't get the critics of Miss MacLaine harping on about her gaucheness, as she seems perfectly natural to me in what must have been a rather unusual introduction to movie-making in Hollywood. I admire Hitchcock for taking the risk he did with this off-beat feature and strongly consider he pulled it off with aplomb. A change, after all, is as good as a cardiac arrest as I always say.

writers_reign In 1952 Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac published a novel entitled Celle qui n'etait plus (She Who Was Not) somehow it came to Hitchcock's attention and seeing the potential for a film he tried to buy the rights but was beaten by Henri-Georges Clouzot (Hitch had more luck with another Boileau-Narcejac title D'entre les morts (1954) which he turned into Vertigo. However he was not only an indifferent film maker but a bad loser so he shot Celle qui n'etait plus anyway and released it the same year as Clouzot released his version, Les Diaboliques. In a clumsy attempt to muddy the water Hitch shot The Trouble With Harry as ho-hum comedy rather than the classic thriller that Clouzot released as Les Diaboliques. By far the best thing about Harry is the location shooting in Vermont. The casting was eclectic to say the least with acting honours shared between the two great Mildreds - Natwick and Dunnock - of American stage and screen, Edmund Gwenn phoning in his 'quaint' persona, Royal Dano about as far East as he can get from his natural habitat the Western and two mediocre efforts from John Forsyth and Shirley MacLaine. The peripatetic corpse is present in both films and for good measure Hitch has Harry end up in the bathtub as did Paul Meurisse. See it for the foliage