The Trouble with Harry

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (COLOUR, 1955)

Director: 

Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: 

John Forsythe, Edmund Gwenn, Shirley McLain, Mildred Natwick, Mildred Dunnock, Jerry Mathers, Royal Dano, Barry Macollum and Dwight Marfield

Ages: 

7 and up

Plot: 

In a meadow in a small town in Vermont, Harry Worp, the husband of Jennifer Rogers (McLain), who hasn’t been staying with her, is found dead. Captain Albert Wiles (Gwenn) thinks he is responsible, and with the help of artist Sam Marlowe (Forsythe), help to bury him. Ivy Gravely (Natwick) thinks she is the murderer, and a few other people stumble pass the body (including Doctor Greenbow (Marfield) and a tramp (Macollom) without paying much attention. And then Marlowe and Rogers fall in love. Then the truth is revealed…

Still of (from left): Shirley McLain, John Forsythe, Mildred Natwick and Edmund Gwenn  

Why it’s good: 

Because it is the most atypical Hitchcock film ever made. It is definitely the funniest of them all, with a certain little style that is extremely different. It is a comedy without a name. 

Unlike other mystery-comedies, like The Thin Man (1934) and Charade (1963), it has the film directed with more comedy and much less mystery, and the film is in fact unique for its kind. A comedy would be totally new for Hitchcock, and he did it pretty well, with his whodunit becoming a who-didn’t-do-it story with a bang – who-thinks-he-done-it-but-didn’t-do-it-and-who-did-it.

The art world intervenes in the film, and an art critic and a millionaire pop in some time to see Marlowe’s exhibition and the art shop. The art is of the modern style, and the evidence is hidden in one of the paintings: Marlowe’s portrait of the Dead Man.

Trivia:  

Alfred Hitchcock’s personal favourite quote in any of his films was in this film: What seems to be the trouble, Captain?

Parent’s Guide: 

Practically nothing. There is a romance between Marlowe and Rogers throughout the story.

If you like this…: 
Other Hitchcock films. None are the same as this film in terms of style and plot. But it is the same director.

Lifeboat

LIFEBOAT (BLACK AND WHITE, 1944)

Director: 

Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: 

Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Hume Cronyn, Heather Angel and Canada Lee

Ages: 

10 and up

Plot: 

Based on a story written by John Steinbeck. A ship in the Atlantic sinks after being attacked by a German U-boat during World War II. Constance Potter (Bankhead) escapes on a tiny lifeboat. She is joined by other passengers aboard the ship from various backgrounds. Soon, there are 8, and they are joined by the captain of the other U-boat (Slezak).  It’s war!  

The cast of Lifeboat

Why it’s good:

Because it is direct and straight to the point. Not many films reach to this certain standard where the film delivers clearly the messages of friends, enemies, war and the will to survive.

The plot is simple, but very powerful. The entire film is set on a wooden boat floating in the ocean - no fancy sets and special effects. The rest of its greatness stems from the wonderful acting. The great acting goes to Tallulah Bankhead, who played Constance Potter, the reporter. She has a beautifully-characterized manner, and her stories of love, marriage and divorce are highlighted throughout the film.

The film has the most emotion of Hitchcock’s many films. At that time, he was exploring a new genre of dramatic yet thrilling films. A truly amazing feat for him.

Trivia: 

For the German-dubbed version the challenge was to maintain the tension between the English-speaking majority in the boat vs. Willy and Connie Porter speaking in German. This problem was "solved" having Willy pretend to be a Dutch volunteer with the Kriegsmarine and shifting the Willy-Porter conversation to the Dutch language.

If you like this…: 

Other Hitchcock films.    

Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense

Alfred Hitchcock’s movies are all relatively similar.  There’s not much of a difference between "Strangers on a Train" (1951) and "Rebecca" (1940), is there? So I would write them in a brief overview, an outline, which you can trace further.  Also, try looking for Hitchcock’s random cameos. It is part of the fun of watching his movies.

Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense.

Hitchcock started out in the United Kingdom, a place of mystical air. He used quite a number of locations there for filming, like in "The Pleasure Garden" (1925). He then directed "Blackmail" (1927), with Anny Ondra as Alice White, the girlfriend of a master detective named Frank Webber.

During the 1930s, his films developed a more imagination and make-belief aura. In "The Lady Vanishes" (1939), Margaret Lockwood stars as Iris, a playgirl travelling in continental Europe. Who would have suspected Dame May Whitty’s Miss Froy would disappear and who would have suspected conspiracy? I would have searched the train instead.

Anyways, it is a half-comedy, so you can skip the suspense if you want. The rest of the films he made at this time were "Sabotage" (1936), "The 39 Steps" (1935), "Secret Agent" (1936), "East Of Shanghai" (1931) and "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934).

Later, the Americans snatched him for American studios. "Rebecca" (1940) was his first film there. Laurence Olivier plays Maxim de Winter, while Joan Foantine plays the nameless new Mrs de Winter who said, “When I searched the dictionary for Companion, it said ‘Friend of a bosom’.” That quote is excellent one, and you enter a girl’s mystical wonderland.... 

Here are some of Hitchcock’s best films among his long filmography.  They are ranked in  alphabetical order:

DIAL M FOR MURDER (COLOUR, 1952)

From left: John Williams, Grace Kelly & 
Ray Milland in Dial M for Murder 

All it takes is Ray Milland as an ex-tennis pro, Grace Kelly as his wife Margot and Robert Cummings as her lover to whip up a murder attempt story. John Williams’ Inspector Hubbard comes in much later, and Anthony Dawson’s Swann aka Captain Lesgate is dead before the unnecessary interval.

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (COLOUR, 1956)

Dr Benjamin McKenna (Stewart) and his wife
Jo Conway (Day) were worried sick when
they discovered their son had been kidnapped. 

Hitchcock made a similar film of the same name in 1934, but now he decided to direct it again. This time shooting in colour, he used the same old plot. The plot takes place in Morocco, when a doctor, Benjamin (James Stewart), and his wife (Doris Day) meet a man on a bus, they get suspicious. After he is killed and their son kidnapped, the plot begins to unravel.  Doris Day's song Que Sera Sera was made famous through this movie.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (COLOUR, 1959) 

Cary Grant running from 
a crop-duster plane

This should be a child’s introduction to Hitchcock, since it asks viewers a deep question: Does being someone bad make you good? It’s a moral question, and Roger O. Thornhill is played by the aging Cary Grant (running from a crop-dusting plane, driving a car when drunk) and becomes a good guy. Who is the bad guy, then? It is played by James Manson, whose character’s name is Phillip Vandamm. And then there is Eve Kendall, two-timing as Eve Kendall, a femme fatale type character torn over the two male leads and her job (as a White House spy).

NOTORIOUS (BLACK AND WHITE, 1946)

Claude Rains and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious

Set in the Brazilian capital, Rio de Janeiro, this film is more of a drama than a mystery. It is not even a mystery at all, but the way it thrills the viewer is really unique. Ingrid Bergman is Alicia Huberman, and asked by Devlin (Cary Grant) to spy on a ring of Nazis led by Claude Rains’ Alexander Sebastian. Then there is Louis Calhern as Captain Paul Prescott. But then the title makes not much sense, and, like Dial M for Murder, focuses on a really special key.

PSYCHO (BLACK AND WHITE,1960)    

See the horror section of this blog.

REAR WINDOW (COLOUR, 1954)

James Stewart in the movie

James Stewart stars as the handicapped Jefferies, a photographer, and Grace Kelly as that girl, Lisa Carol Fremont. Plus the mystery – a murder in the window next door. The rest of the windows, amazingly, share different stories within each view. That includes Judith Evelyn as Miss Lonely-hearts “juggling wolves”, Ross Bagdasarian as the songwriter, Georgina Darcy as Miss Torso, Jesslyn Fax as Miss Hearing Aid and Rand Harper and Havis Davenport as two newlyweds. In addition, there is Wendell Corey as a detective on the case and the amazing Thelma Ritter as Stella, Jefferies’ nurse.

REBECCA (BLACK AND WHITE, 1940)

Laurence Olivier and Joan Foantine   

The only Alfred Hitchcock film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. It certainly deserves it. Laurence Olivier plays Maxim de Winter, the ex-husband of the title character. Another character appears, Joan Foantine, as, a nameless woman, just like in the Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name. She becomes Olivier’s new wife, and then goes to Maxim’s mansion. Judith Anderson plays a female servant and Jack Favell, Rebecca’s cousin, is played wonderfully by on-screen (and off-screen) cynic George Sanders. Then follows a courtroom case – “I don’t want to go to no asylum”, shouted one character – and then the secret is revealed. A terrible one I did not believe. But if you have read the novel, it is no mystery. It might be more of a romance film. 

ROPE (COLOUR, 1948)

Farley Granger, James Stewart and John Dall 

This is a family relationship movie for older kids. Rupert Cadell is played by James Stewart, the main character of this adaptation from the highly-successful play. He was invited to a party hosted by John Dall as Brandon and Farley Granger as Phillip. The casts are: Dick Hogan as the victim of Brandon and Phillip’s murder, Joan Chandler as Janet, his girl, Douglas Dick as his rival, and Cedric Hardwicke and Constance Collier as his parents. If kids notice that this movie is seemingly done in one take, there are bonus points.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT (BLACK AND WHITE, 1941)   

Joseph Cotton as Charlie Oakley 

This was Hitchcock’s favourite movie, and there is no doubt why. It is based on a true story, but really, it acts like a play. Joseph Cotton stars as Charlie Oakley, also known as Spencer, and his character hangs there till he drops when one of his nieces (Teresa Wright) finds out his terrible secret. The secret is a crime, and then there are two spies following him, who later go into the house disguised as photographers. Charlie’s charm cannot be duplicated by any other actor besides Joseph Cotton.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (BLACK AND WHITE, 1951)

Farley Granger and Robert Walker 

Farley Granger as a boring, dull and handsome good guy, stuck in a marriage with Miriam Joyce Haines (played by Laura Elliot), but in love with a senator’s daughter. Into his life comes the George Sanders-like cynic/psycho who is a scary, spooky man. He is Robert Walker, some sort guy who is interested in murders and makes a proposal which is pretty smart (or pretty risky), where you will exchange murders and murderers. Pretty amazing, too, and wonderfully suspenseful broken down by even more suspenseful tennis matches.


TO CATCH A THIEF (COLOUR, 1955)

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly 

Shot beautifully on location in the south coast of France, this mystery is probably a little bit too gentle. There isn’t a ruthless psych like Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster in Vertigo or Norman Bates played by Anthony Perkins in Psycho. But then there is aging Cary Grant in the movie as an ex-jewel thief who has struck again – or hasn’t he? It was shot in Cinemascope frames and there is the beautiful Grace Kelly. Jesse Royce Landis plays her mother, who owns a lot of jewellery. There are hints of seduction between the two leads.


VERTIGO (COLOUR, 1958)

James Stewart and Kim Novak in Vertigo 

James Stewart – again – as a detective this time, John Ferguson, known to some as Scottie. There are two of his college friends – Midge Wood (Barbara Del Geddes), of whom he once was engaged to, and Tom Helmore’s Gavin Elster, the "psycho" of the film who asks Ferguson to spy on his wife Madeline. Ferguson finds that Madeline frequently visits a graveyard and stands in front of a tombstone. Then she goes to a museum, and stares at one particular painting. Then she contemplates suicide. But Ferguson saves her, and they fall in love, but she later falls off a clock tower to her death. Was it suicide? Maybe. Murder? Maybe. Or was it an accident? Later, Ferguson meets Judy Barton (Kim Novak) and makes her look like Madeline (he loves her, you see). But then she falls to her death. This is probably the best James Stewart and Hitchcock pairing.

For further study, look out for: "Marnie" (1964, Sean Connery confronting a woman’s mental problems), "The Trouble with Harry" (1955, Harry’s dead, but what to do about his corpse?), "The Wrong Man" (1956, Henry Fonda being the wrong man), "Spellbound" (1945, amnesia-suffering Gregory Peck accused of murder), "The Lady Vanishes" (1939, Dame May Whitty vanishing from Margaret Lockwood) or any Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode you can find. Click here for his full filmography.                                       

Psycho

PSYCHO (BLACK AND WHITE, 1960)

Director: 

Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: 

Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, Patricia Hitchcock, John McIntire, Vaughn Taylor and Frank Albertson

Ages: 

12 and up

Plot: 

Marion Crane (Leigh) is an office worker who works for George Lowery (Taylor). One day, George asks her to bank in $40,000 given by Tom Cassidy (Albertson) for a property deal. Given the opportunity, she flees with the money and checks into a motel run by friendly yet jumpy Norman Bates (Perkins), who has a domineering mum. When Marion suddenly disappears, her sister Lila (Miles), Marion's lover Sam (Gavin) and Detective Arbogast (Balsam) try to hunt her down. However, Detective Arbogast is killed shortly finding Marion's last known location. Now, Sam and Lila ask help from a sheriff (McIntire). Will they be able to find Marion?  Will they be able to find the killer?

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane  

Why it’s good: 

What makes this the most classic horror films of all time? Well, there is the classic shower scene where the insane killer comes into the room and ends the life of Marion Crane.

The second thing is the eerie score by Bernard Herrmann which increases the tension between the characters and the entire plot, as well as its suspense. The suspense is more than the horror, the horror is mostly in the shower scene and the scary corpses.  

The rest of the film is strictly Hitchcock and not much horror. It is more thriller than mystery of the Hitchcock side. When the ending is revealed, you’ll probably not believe the story. It is rather improbable for a normal person, but then, some people can learn to empathise Norman Bates’ situation.

Well, the film is the mother of all the classic horror films, you can say. This one inspired everything from this to “Don’t Look Now” (1973) and later “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. I believe this is the best, the freshest and the most original, and I hope it shall age well.

Trivia: 

In the shower scene, real blood was not used, but rather Bosco Chocolate Syrup, still sold widely in Europe. This was Hitchcock’s last film for Paramount, though most of it was shot in Universal.

Parent’s guide: 

A lot for this movie. Two of the characters say they want to marry and kiss each other while dressing up for work. The shower scene suggests nudity, but no private parts are shown. It was skilfully done. Another character is stabbed while at someone’s house. A dead corpse/skeleton is shown in a cellar. Sam and Norman fight in the same location. Do not show this to toddlers. This film is not that appropriate for young children.

If you like this…: 

See the Hitchcock chapter above to see the master’s finest works.