IMDb > The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Trouble with Harry
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The Trouble with Harry (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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The Trouble with Harry (1955) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   10,484 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Writers:
John Michael Hayes (screenplay)
Jack Trevor Story (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Trouble with Harry on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 October 1955 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Mystery | Thriller more
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
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Q&A: Mark Seal on the Ciprianis
 (From Vanity Fair. 2 November 2009, 7:21 AM, PST)
Geek Deal: Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece DVD Collection for $54
 (From Slash Film. 28 October 2009, 9:32 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
No trouble at All more (115 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
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)
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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)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
99 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
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:
Barre, Vermont, USA more
Company:
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Originally designed by Alfred Hitchcock as an experiment in seeing how audiences would react to a non-star-driven film. He was of the opinion that oftentimes having a big star attached actually hindered the narrative flow and style of the story. He also developed the film with a view to test how American audiences would react to a more subtle brand of humor than that which they were used to. more
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. more
Quotes:
Arnie: How do rabbits get born?
Sam Marlowe: Same way elephants do.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Odyssey 5: Trouble with Harry (#1.12)" (2002) more
Soundtrack:
Flaggin' the Train to Tuscaloosa more

FAQ

What is the trouble with Harry?
Does Hitchcock have a cameo in this movie?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful.
No trouble at All, 28 July 2005
Author: jaywriterXIII from USA

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.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Didn't expect it to be a color film yvdlhq
How could they get away with it? josta59
'Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver.....' lipe2
John Forsythe spr23
Unnecessary ending BoxOfficePoison
This is absolutely the funniest hitchcock's film never_before_i_see_your_smile
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