The Trouble with Harry (1955)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes (screenplay)
Jack Trevor Story (novel)

Release Date:

3 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A comedy about a corpse.

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...

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Suspect | New England | Dead Body | Macguffin

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Edmund Gwenn	...	Capt. Albert Wiles
John Forsythe	...	Sam Marlowe
Mildred Natwick	...	Miss Ivy Gravely
Mildred Dunnock	...	Mrs. Wiggs
Jerry Mathers	...	Arnie Rogers
Royal Dano	...	Deputy Sheriff Calvin Wiggs
Parker Fennelly	...	Millionaire
Barry Macollum	...	Tramp
Dwight Marfield	...	Dr. Greenbow
Shirley MacLaine	...	Jennifer Rogers
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernest Curt Bach	...	Ellis (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man walking past Sam's outdoor exhibition (uncredited)
Philip Truex	...	Harry Worp (uncredited)
Leslie Wolff	...	Art Critic from the Modern Museum (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
John Michael Hayes		(screenplay)
Jack Trevor Story		(novel)

Produced by
Herbert Coleman	....	associate producer
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann		(music score by)

Cinematography by
Robert Burks

Film Editing by
Alma Macrorie

Art Direction by
John B. Goodman		(as John Goodman)
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Emile Kuri

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Howard Joslin	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Winston H. Leverett	....	sound recordist (as Winston Leverett)
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
Scott Dougherty	....	digital restoration producer: Cinesite (uncredited)
Jerry Pooler	....	digital restoration supervisor (uncredited)
Tiffany Smith	....	digital restoration coordinator: Cinesite (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bobby Greene	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Other crew
Richard Mueller	....	technicolor color consultant
Saul Steinberg	....	title illustrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Les Films Paramount (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Home Video (2001) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (199?)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

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:

Barre, Vermont, USA

Company:

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Trivia:

Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the original novel anonymously for just $11,000.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Arnie discovers Harry's body in the bath tub, Harry's foot can be seen twitching just as the door opens for the second time.

Quotes:

[the Captain and Miss Graveley have afternoon tea together]
Captain: A real handsome man's cup.
Miss Graveley: It's been in the family for years. My father always used it... until he died.
Captain: I trust he died peacefully. Slipped away in the night?
Miss Graveley: He was caught in a threshing machine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Vintage Steele (#1.19)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Flaggin' the Train to Tuscaloosa

Oh the irony!

I've been a big fan of Hitchcock as long as I can remember, but I only had the opportunity to see The Trouble with Harry recently. I never knew the film was a comedy before I began watching, so you can imagine my surprise when one innocent character after the next stumbled upon a brutally murdered corpse and react in the very least expected ways possible. It was almost as surpring, however, when I read the comments on IMDb and realized that a large portion of Hitchcock's audience simply didn't "get it". Of course the character's are not reacting the way real people would in these circumstances! How many of Hitch's characters actually would? The Trouble with Harry is Hitchcock's own jab at himself, at the entire suspense film genre, and a wonderfully inspired satire on the implications of desensitization. The film is not that simple though, for even in addressing these objectives Hitch tantalizingly avoids any answers or definitive statements. Its a difficult film to describe, but definitely worth seeing as it confirms Hitchcock's dual mastery of comedy and suspense. Watch it for the social commentary, the sleepy New England setting, but above all else, for the blissful irony that fills its every crevace. It is the kind of irony that makes shows like Family Guy so popular today. A wonderfully surpring film in every way!