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The Trouble with Harry (1955)
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Overview
User Rating:
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
3 October 1955 (USA)
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Tagline:
A comedy about a corpse. more
Plot:
The trouble with Harry is that he's dead, and everyone seems to have a different idea of what needs to be done with his body... full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.
Another 1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Philip French's screen legends Edmund Gwenn 1877-1959
(From The Guardian - Film News. 19 December 2009, 4:05 PM, PST)
Q&A: Mark Seal on the Ciprianis
(From Vanity Fair. 2 November 2009, 7:21 AM, PST)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 19 December 2009, 4:05 PM, PST)
Q&A: Mark Seal on the Ciprianis
(From Vanity Fair. 2 November 2009, 7:21 AM, PST)
User Reviews:
No trouble at All
more (115 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) more
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
99 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.50 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Portugal:M/12 |
Spain:13 |
Brazil:12 |
USA:Approved (certificate no. 17335) |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:PG |
Chile:14 |
Finland:K-12 |
Ireland:PG |
Peru:14 |
UK:PG |
USA:PG |
West Germany:12 |
Canada:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Composer Bernard Herrmann arranged his themes from this film into a concert suite he called "A Portrait of Hitch".
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Goofs:
Boom mic visible: When Sam and Jennifer are talking in Jennifer's house, the shadow of the boom mic can be seen moving across the top of the doorway behind Sam.
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Quotes:
Capt. Wiles:
[after Dr. Greenbow trips over the body] Couldn't have had more people here if I'd sold tickets.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.70)" (2005)
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Soundtrack:
Flaggin' the Train to Tuscaloosa
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FAQ
What is the trouble with Harry?Does Hitchcock have a cameo in this movie?
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more (115 total)
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So it begins, the famous collaboration between suspense maestro Hitchcock and composer legend Herrmann to bring the world . . . a comedy? I went into the film not really knowing what to expect, though with Hitchcock's name I assumed thriller. Within minutes, though, Hitch and Benny helped me shift gears and accept Trouble with Harry for what it is: a tongue-in-cheek ride with a side of murder and a wicked sense of humor and dead on timing.
Within the opening five minutes, my jaw dropped at the sheer ludicrousy of the movie's premise the offbeat reactions of all the characters to the troubled Harry and how I laughed at the audacity the film had to throw so many off the wall characters into a situation that grew more and more outrageous with every passing frame and keep running with a straight face.
We get a retired ship captain, an old woman looking for love, a troubled widow, an artist with a taste for the weird, a dead guy, and it only gets more and more strange, folks. The plot? It goes in circles over and over and over again, and not much really happens as this group tries to figure out Harry and what to do with him. Needless to say, The Trouble with Harry walks dangerously close to disaster, but Hitchcock does something remarkable: he lets his style seduce the audience into suspending their disbelief, sitting back, and trusting the master of black comedy.
That is what I love about Hitchcock and about Trouble with Harry he is so confident in his films and his audience that he knowingly presents the absurd where other filmmakers wouldn't dare go in fear of losing the audience. He knows precisely which ties to reality he can afford to cut free, and he so gracefully and fearlessly lets go of "realism" in favor of his own flavor of the surreal. The Trouble with Harry presents some of the goofiest characters to ever appear on screen with some of the strangest logic-defying ideas, and I love them for it.
How does it work? The film simply resonates with the charms Hitchcock fans have grown to adore how the grassy hill looked like a set, the witty dialogue between the characters (the captain and Sam cracked me up every time), the mastery of frame composition (loved the first few shots of Harry), and Bernard Herrmann's delightful score that perfectly reflects the tone and feel of the film. Murder never felt so whacky and wonderful. It's that same world of Hitchcock that made us, the audience, forget about logic and realism when we viewed North by Northwest, Psycho, and Rear Window.
Realism is boring. As Sir Alfred, himself, stated, "Most films are slices of life. Mine are slices of cake." And indeed, his world is so much more fun. Screw reality.
This movie is a gem that's easily overlooked since it is a comedy by the "master of suspense." Fans already know he had also mastered the art of black comedy, and the only phrase I need in describing the film to fellow Hitch fans is "pure cinema." The Trouble with Harry is Hitchcock at his best, and it's no trouble at all to sit through.