Sept. 29, 2002 - 9:00 pm

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The Trouble with Harry (1955)

tonight i finally finish up the "5 lost Hitchcocks" that i've spoken about previously. i think in this one Hitchcock was trying very hard to make a comedy with a murder plot. unfortunately really none of the actors are that funny.

it stars John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine. this was actually Shirley MacLaine's very first film. man, that's a lucky break for her isn't it? well anyway, the film starts out with an English gentleman out hunting in the woods for rabbits. then he stumbles upon a dead man with a head wound. it would seem that he shot the man accidentally. then all sorts of people begin wandering past the body when he's trying to figure out what to do to hide it. there's a young woman who seems to know him but doesn't care that he's dead, her son who is confused about why the man is in such a deep sleep, an artist who draws a picture of his face, a tramp who steals his shoes, and then an older lady who catches the English gentleman trying to drag the body away. but even she doesn't care that much that the man is dead. eventually more or less everyone is convinced that they in fact were the one who killed Harry, and the body gets buried and dug up so many times it's ridiculous. a couple of romances also begin when the group of people are trying to figure out who actually did Harry in. wow, this is confusing trying to explain this plot. it's really not that exciting however, and it's not as funny as it could have been with a different cast.

the acting is good in the film, but i think probably a different male lead would have been more effective. John Forsythe just seemed rather not believeable in his role. i can't really put it into words though as to why that is.

i don't think the world was really missing out that much on the 30 years that this film was unavailable. it's sort of good, but could have been done much better. a little bit disappointing when you look at the rest of Hitchcock's work.