The trouble with Harry
I have read quite a few “secondary literature” about this film, i.e. people who absolutely love the film and write laudatios on why the film is not boring but a masterpiece of humor. Now, since I have not heard anything negative about the film yet, I can only say: Why would it be boring?
Sure, Hitchcock is mainly a suspense filmmaker and his movies are supposed to be shocking criminal suspense or horror flicks. But I have always known that “The trouble with Harry” is going to be a comedy – and what a comedy it is!
I am totally in love with the black humor of the film. I found the characters to be very funny, very lovely and good-hearted (apart from the fact that they take somebody else’s death with a grain of salt), and was especially smitten with the somewhat sweet yet humorous love story unfolding between the two main couples of the story. How wonderful is that?
Of course, this kind of film relies heavily upon the actors. “Vertigo” was good even though Kim Novak is kind of awkward in the role (so I think at least, from “Kiss me, Stupid” I know that she is not too bad), but “The trouble with Harry” would have completely failed if, for example, Shirley MacLaine were a shitty actress (and since it was her debut work, I’d say I am more than a little impressed). I have never seen John Forsythe before, but like him very much too now.
All in all, I enjoyed the film very much – it was probably one of the best non-emotional films I have seen in quite awhile. It’s full of great details, a lot of fun to see and all around a pretty sweet film; I find the film to be deeper than it looks, which is an amazingly rare quality.