You Know What I Mean? (The Trouble With Harry (DVD))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	The Trouble With Harry (DVD)
Date:	13/02/09 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A funny farce once it gets going

Disadvantages: Too slow to begin with, cheap even for 1955

"It had to end somewhere. One man can only do so much." This was how the conversation with my partner started. It was not about me! I'm a superman and I can do anything! The man we were talking about was the handsome new Bond, Mr Daniel Craig. For the past few months we had watched his entire back catalogue and I still don't understand why she kept renting his films? Anyway, a new man must be found, someone that I could compete with physically. It was then that I stumbled across just the chap - he's just like me! Number of chins? 2+ - check. Wobbly belly? - check. An absence of hair? - check. Perfect! Alfred Hitchcock it is, a man you can be proud to be compared with, or at least come out looking better : )

The trouble with Harry is that he is dead. When bumbling Captain Wiles comes across the body he thinks a stray bullet from his poaching is responsible. What is the Captain going to do? He has to do something quick as the sleepy hill on which Harry died appears to be very popular today. There's Ivy the spinster, Sam an eccentric artist and a young woman who does not even realise yet that she's a widow. The foursome makes an unlikely team as they all decide to hide the body, or not hide it, or hide it again. Will they be caught and who actually killed Harry in the first place?

'The Trouble with Harry' is not one of Hitchcock's quintessential films as it is a broad comedy. Most of his films have a dark comedic edge in them, but with 'Harry' it comes to the fore in form of a farce. I have to say that the start of this film is incredibly slow and I did not like it for the first half hour. It plods along as a series of characters are introduced to Harry's body and some to each other. However, the initial set up comes into its own as the film begins to play on the relationships. Love blossoms between the Captain and Ivy, as well as with Sam and Jennifer. In fact, without the first slow half hour the film would have made little sense.

Therefore, when the film really starts to get going you see the quality of Hitchcock coming through. Like with many of his films 'Harry' has a very theatrical feel to it as it was based on a play. This means that the dialogue is intelligent and quick. However, this also means that the sets are limited. Even for 1955 the sets do not look very good. This is clearly one of Hitchcock's lower budgeted films - 'Rear Window' showed that with a great set Hitchcock could do anything.

The cast are all decent with John Forsythe as the eccentric artist and Mildred Natwick as Ivy being particularly good. Who stood out to me most was Shirley MacLaine in her debut role as Jennifer. Having not watched many films from this period for a long time I only realise now all the innuendo and sexiness that is in them - the older generations were as obsessed with it as much as we ever were! Maclaine is sassy and has some of the most amusing lines.

The one character who fails for me is Edmund Gwen as the Captain. Gwen is a lone (apparent) English voice in a film full of Americans. He is too dead pan and a little out of his depth for my liking. I think he was cast as he gives a very knowing feel to his acting as if to suggest to the viewers immediately what they are in for. I would have preferred a better performance and a chance to make up my own mind that this was a comedy and not Hitchcock's usual murder mystery.

'The Trouble with Harry' is one of the weaker entries in the great man's American period. The old fashioned nature of the script and the limited sets make it feel cheap and a little unworldly. I could imagine that the slow start will put a lot of people off finishing the film. This would be a shame as once the initial set up is in place they're plenty of amusing twists and turns that make it worth watching. This is not a film that can hold a candle to the likes of 'Rear Window', but an interesting aside for the director - one for Hitchcock completists only.


Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Year: 1955
Cert: 15
Starring: John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine et al.
Price: Amazon uk £0.29 (second hand or £16.98 as part of a 14 film Hitchcock box set)



Extras

The only extras on the DVD were the original trailer and a half hour featurette on the film. Both were actually quite interesting and I enjoyed the fact that they gave so much of the plot away in the trailers back in the 50s.

Summary: A Hitchcock curio