Author: Alfred Hitchcock
Celebrating 70 years since its release this year is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, “The Trouble with Harry.”
Released in 1955, it is a unique entry in Hitchcock’s filmography, blending dark comedy and dry humor with elements of mystery juxtaposed with bright, saturated colors.
Set in a picturesque New England countryside during the peak of autumn, the story begins when a young boy, Arnie Rogers (played by Jerry Mathers), hears gunshots while playing alone in the woods. He rushes to see what the commotion is about — with his own toy gun in hand — and stumbles upon a dead body, Harry.
He runs away in haste. Meanwhile, separately, others in the town are also serendipitously out with guns in the woods, each for their own shrouded reasons.
What follows is a series of comedic misunderstandings and moral dilemmas as the townspeople, including Capt. Albert Wiles (Edmund Gwenn), Jennifer Rogers (Shirley MacLaine, in her film debut), and Miss Ivy Gravely (Mildred Natwick), become entangled in Harry’s fate.
With each twist, viewers are drawn further into the tangled web of confusion, secrecy and wry wit. Who really shot Harry? And moreover, who is Harry to begin with?
Each character harbors their own suspicions and motivations and none know about the other.
Shot on location in Vermont and on studio sets in California, the film’s autumnal hues are a visual delight and a huge aesthetic departure from what we have known Hitchcock films to look like.
Cinematographer Robert Burks captures the vibrant fall foliage with painterly precision, creating a backdrop so striking, it almost becomes a character itself.
Notably, the film also features an evocative musical score by Bernard Herrmann, marking his first collaboration with Hitchcock — a partnership that would go on to define some of cinema’s most iconic soundscapes. It adds so much sonically to this visibly absurd set of circumstances.
Adapted from Jack Trevor Story’s 1949 novel of the same name, the film marked a significant departure from the high-stakes thrillers Hitchcock was known for.
While “The Trouble with Harry” was not a box-office hit upon its initial release, it found renewed appreciation in later years and is now regarded, seven decades later, as one of Hitchcock’s most underrated works. Its subtle satire and offbeat narrative offer a refreshing counterpoint to Hitchcock’s darker masterpieces.
