The Trouble With Harry (1955)

In director Alfred Hitchcock's lightweight, subversive and surrealistic black comedy - John Michael Hayes' screenplay was faithfully based upon British author Jack Trevor Story's 1950 novella of the same name; it was the first of many films that Hitchcock made with composer Bernard Herrmann, and Herrmann would continue scoring Hitchcock's films through Marnie (1964). There were no major film stars - 21 year-old Shirley MacLaine was in her screen debut, John Forsythe was a TV actor, and aging Edmund Gwenn was predominantly a character actor.

The enchanting film's title referred to the predicament of seven members of a small, idyllic New England village, all of whom reacted strangely with some "guilt" (or uneasiness) about having learned about or believing that they had caused the death of "Harry" whose body was discovered in the woods. However, most of the initial reactions were of mild non-chalance, except there were multiple concerns amongst the residents (due to their varying motivations) about burying and disposing of the body (the film's MacGuffin), and how to avoid having the village's dim-witted Deputy Sheriff learn about the crime. By the farcical film's conclusion, after many calm conversations about what to do with Harry's body (over tea and coffee, for example), Harry unexpectedly and romantically brought together two couples in the Vermont village.

Not well-received and a major box-office failure (on a budget of $1.2 million, it made $3.5 million), it was considered off-beat, bizarre, odd and experimental for the director, and contained little of what became known as the director's "signature." It was more reminiscent of the British Ealing comedies. One film tagline explained: "THE UNEXPECTED FROM HITCHCOCK." However, the style of the film went on to further influence Hitchcock's TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (that debuted in October of 1955).

• in the opening panoramic title sequence, the backdrop scrolled from right to left, composed of simplified or cartoonish sketches-drawings by American artist Saul Steinberg (famed for his The New Yorker work) of the main street of a rural small-town; the final sketch, emblazoned with "Directed by Alfred Hitchcock" was placed atop a dead man lying on his back

An Idyllic Small Country Town in Vermont in the Autumn

• during a beautiful, autumnal Vermont morning (photographed by Robert Burks' exceptional Technicolor cinematography), 4 year-old Arnie Rogers (Jerry (the Beaver) Mathers) was playing with a pretend sci-fi plastic gun as he ran through some colorful woods, but then dropped down when he heard three distinct gun-shots; he heard a loud voice and rushed forward, and in Mansfield Meadows, he came upon a neatly laid-out corpse of a well-dressed man with a bleeding bullet hole in his forehead; the body (clothed with a suit and tie, and shiny shoes) seemed to be resting comfortably in a transparent casket or coffin; Arnie came up to the body from the perspective of the corpse's enormous feet, and then rushed off
• in another part of the woods, plump, retired seaman Captain Albert Wiles (Edmund Gwenn) was seated against a tree cleaning his rifle during a break from shooting rabbits; as he searched for his kill and found that he had accidentally shot a rusted beer can and a "NO TRESPASSING" sign, he also stumbled upon the body, and hypothesized that his third stray shot had killed the man: "I've done him in. Cor. A harmless pot-shot at a rabbit and I'm a murderer, a killer"; he searched in the man's upper coat pocket and found an envelope (strangely without a postmark!), addressed to the victim, identified as: "Mr. Harry Worp, 87 Maple Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts"

Captain Albert Wiles (Edmund Gwenn)

An Envelope Identified the Dead Man (uncredited Philip Truex) as "Mr. Harry Worp..."

• as Captain Wiles dragged the man's body by his two feet into the brush to bury him, he was interrupted by his neighbor Miss Ivy Graveley (Mildred Natwick), a spinster who was out for a walk by herself; she asked: "What seems to be the trouble, Captain?"; the Captain nervously admitted the death was "an unavoidable accident" and "human error"; she prodded the body with her foot to check if he was really dead; the Captain was planning on hiding the body and not notifying the police: "I'm gonna hide him, cover him up, forget him"; he begged Miss Graveley to not say anything to anybody - she agreed and urged him to hurry with his burial task; the kind attention he gave to her prompted the lonely woman to attempt to woo the Captain by inviting him over for an afternoon "social call" - it would be a first time visit to her house after they had known each other for three years: "Perhaps you would care to come over for some blueberry muffins and coffee later on, high-bush blueberries?...And maybe some elderberry wine"; he then asked her to leave to avoid being an "accessory after the fact"
• when Arnie returned with his pretty mother Jennifer Rogers (Shirley MacLaine) to show her the body, the Captain ran off and hid behind a tree; he overheard Jennifer react positively to the murder with delight and relief, and reveal that she knew him: "Harry, thank Providence, the last of Harry!"; she told her son to forget what he saw: "Forget you saw him" before they returned home for lemonade [Note: it was later revealed that Jennifer was Harry's estranged wife]
• another individual Dr. Greenbow (Dwight Marfield), who was intently reading a book, tripped over the extended legs of the body, but didn't notice it and kept on his way; the Captain remarked: "Couldn't have had more people here if I'd sold tickets. What's the big attraction, I wonder?"; and then a 5th person, a scraggly-looking Tramp (Barry Macollum) with a bed roll over his shoulder and a walking stick wandered by; after kicking at the corpse to verify it was dead, he stole Harry's shiny leather shoes; meanwhile, the Captain fell asleep propped up against a tree
• new characters were introduced, handsome artist Sam Marlowe (John Forsythe) who was strolling down a county road to the center of the village of Highwater, Vermont while singing "Flaggin' the Train to Tuscaloosa" with a new painting under his arm; he came up to a makeshift roadside stand in front of Wiggs Emporium, where the store owner Mrs. Wiggs or "Wiggy" (Mildred Dunnock) was attempting to attract customers by offering apple cider, lemonade, and maple syrup; Sam reprimanded her for not selling any of his abstract paintings: ("All my pictures in the same place. So few cars"); next-door, Mrs. Wiggs' son Calvin Wiggs (Royal Dano) served as the village's low-paid Deputy Sheriff, who also tinkered in his spare time with antique cars; Mrs. Wiggs mentioned how Calvin made his living based upon the number of arrests or fines levied (what she called "piecework")

Mrs. Wiggs (Mildred Dunnock) - the Wiggs Emporium Store Owner in Her Roadside Stand

Sam Marlowe (John Forsythe) - The Village's Resident Abstract Artist

The Wiggs Emporium Storefront

• Calvin casually told Sam that he had recently heard unusual gunshots in the direction of posted land, and was thinking about investigating: "The law's the law. I got a good mind to scout around to find out who's doin' the shooting and level a little fine"; while Sam was with Mrs. Wiggs inside the Emporium purchasing some grocery items from her, they were briefly interrupted by Miss Gravely; they neglected to see a chauffeured car drive up carrying a rich elderly Millionaire (Parker Fennelly) who attentively perused the roadside stand's paintings
• Miss Gravely asked for Sam's opinion about the size of a cup and saucer that she was considering purchasing for her afternoon's tea guest at her cottage - the Captain; match-maker Sam called Miss Gravely a "social butterfly," and advised her that regardless of her age (she falsely claimed she was 42), she should show the Captain her true "character, the inner self, the hidden qualities, the true Miss Gravely, sensitive, young in feeling, timeless with love and understanding"; he also recommended that she have a complete make-over (with a shorter hairstyle, makeup, etc.), but in their distracted excitement while cutting her hair, he neglected and lost the customer outside at the stand who became frustrated and drove off
• later in the day, Sam objectively reacted to finding Harry's body in the woods, and opened up his large sketchbook to draw a portrait of Harry's legs and feet; nearby, the Captain woke up, as Sam scolded the prone body: "Hey! Would you mind getting out of my picture?" and then suddenly realized the man was dead; the Captain explained: "Don't turn me in, it was an accident"; Sam drew a second sketch - a close-up of Harry's face, and philosophically tried to absolve the Captain of any crime: "You shoot him and heaven's will is done and destiny fulfilled. Your conscience is quite clear. You've got nothing to worry about"; the Captain was more concerned about covering up the crime and avoiding a murder charge: "I want nothing more to do with him. Bury him I say, and be done with him. He's no good to anyone now. Lay him to rest. Put him under the sod. Forget him. I never did it and you never saw him"; Sam asked about the others who had already seen the body, but then reluctantly agreed to help bury the corpse, if they learned that Jennifer didn't intend to notify the police of the death: ("If she's a distant friend of his and doesn't intend to notify the authorities, then I, personally, will help you bury Harry")
• with his guilt somewhat relieved, the Captain was about to hurry off to have afternoon coffee and muffins with Miss Gravely; Sam stated the first of the film's many double-entendres or "naughty" lines: "Do you realize that you'll be the first man to, uh, cross her threshold?"; the Captain added: "(She's) very well preserved. And preserves have to be opened someday, hmm?"; before leaving, as they started to drag Harry's body to hide it, they ducked behind a tree to watch as Mr. Greenbow again walked through the area, tripped on the body, apologized ("Oh, I beg your pardon"), and then kept going; the Captain returned to the village, and hid his rifle as he walked by Deputy Sheriff Wiggs
• Sam ventured over to Jennifer's house, where on her porch, he propositioned her with a bold and unusual request after admiring her from afar: "You're the most wonderful, beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'd like to paint you....You certainly are a lovely woman. I'd like to paint you nude"; she reacted calmly, offered to serve him lemonade instead, and confessed: "If you want to undress me, you have"; Sam traded a live frog with Arnie's dead rabbit that he had found, but then Arnie borrowed back the carcass - stating: "You never know when a dead rabbit might come in handy"; a few moments later, after Arnie had wandered off with the rabbit, Jennifer revealed that it had been shot by Captain Wiles (it was his 3rd shot)
• the young widow Jennifer entered into a lengthy conversation with Sam about "Harry, the dead man" - her husband; she claimed that Arnie's also-dead father was not the dead man on the path in the woods; she was disdainful of Harry: "He was too good to live... horribly good...You can stuff him for all I care. Stuff him and put him in a glass case"; she began to explain her "life story" - a long time ago, her first husband (named Robert) was killed shortly after their marriage and left her pregnant with "little Arnie"; then Robert's older brother Harry (she dubbed him: "Harry the Handsome Hero. Harry the Saint. Harry the Good") offered to nobly and dutifully step in and marry her ("because of Arnie"), but she didn't love him like she had loved Robert

Jennifer's Explanation to Sam About Her Connection to the Dead Man - Harry

• on her "second wedding night," Jennifer learned "a terrible truth, the truth about Harry"; in their hotel room, she had worn her "best nightie" and was doing her best to believe that Harry loved her; she sat by the window under a full moon waiting for Harry, but he never showed up; the following morning, he called with an explanation; the previous evening in the hotel lobby, he had bought a magazine and read his Taurus horoscope that advised: "Don't start any new project that day. It could never be finished"; repulsed, she broke up with Harry and refused to be reconciled: ("I left him on the spot, and went home to mother's. The end"); after Arnie was born, Jennifer moved to rural Vermont where she thought Harry would never find her, and she changed her name to Rogers
• the present day's morning - the morning of Harry's death, the persistent Harry located her, knocked on her door, and demanded that as his wife, she return to him because of his loneliness; she recalled Harry's mustache and wavy hair when she saw him dead: "Yeah, he looked exactly the same when he was alive, except he was vertical"; refusing to give in, she hit him over the head with a milk bottle and knocked him "silly"; she described what happened next - "He went staggering up towards the woods saying he was gonna find his wife and drag her home if it killed him"
• the well-dressed Captain marched over to Miss Graveley's home for fancy afternoon refreshments on her outdoor porch; Arnie ran up to them with the dead rabbit and presented it to the Captain as his rabbit: ("It ain't mine...You shot it with your gun"); Arnie took two muffins with him in exchange; when Miss Graveley mentioned the problem with Harry, the Captain reassured her: "He'll be comfortably underground before nightfall" and she was relieved
• at the site of the body in the woods, Sam and the Captain arrived with a spade and flat shovel to bury Harry's body; after digging a huge hole and depositing the body inside and covering it over, Sam mentioned that he had "renovated" Miss Graveley earlier that morning at the Emporium with "a most remarkable reversion to femininity" (a make-over) - the Captain responded that he thought he might be in love with the "nice lady"
• as they sat and rested, it suddenly dawned on the Captain that he hadn't killed Harry at all - his third shot had hit a rabbit: ("If I shot the rabbit, I didn't shoot Harry") - and he wasn't a "murderer"; he urged Sam to help him exhume the body and examine it to determine the cause of death, but Sam protested that he had promised Jennifer to quietly bury Harry and keep him buried - and digging a hole to bury a body without informing the authorities was definitely suspicious; nonetheless, the Captain insisted
• once the body was uncovered, upon close examination, Sam determined that Harry possibly died not from a bullet wound but from "a blow with a blunt instrument" and deduced that Jennifer might have killed him with the milk bottle: ("We're tangled up in a murder"); now to protect Jennifer, Harry's body had to be reburied: ("It'll be better for all of us if he's buried and out of the way...We'll file Harry away once and for all. No more nonsense about it"); they also briefly speculated that Miss Graveley had acted suspiciously unemotional when she saw Harry's body, as well as Dr. Greenbow and the Tramp
• later that afternoon, Miss Graveley joined the Captain in his home where they talked about the death of Harry; he was grateful to her for being supportive when he felt guilty, and she was thankful that he had buried Harry: ("I'm grateful to you for burying my body"); she told how she had first seen the annoyed and 'wild-eyed' Harry during her morning walk in the woods who thought she was married to him; as he twice dragged her into the bushes and swore at her, she fought back and hit him in the head with the leather heel (and metal cleat) of her sturdy hiking shoes ("I hit him as hard as ever I could") - causing the bullet-like wound in his forehead; the Captain concluded that Jennifer Rogers (Harry's real wife) had first knocked him "silly" and then Miss Graveley had finished him off
• Miss Graveley was glad that the Captain was now cleared: ("For you to go through life knowing that you had buried a man you didn't kill. You would have my crime on your conscience") - but now tried to argue that her own crime was justifiable homicide: ("My action was justifiable, there's no reason we shouldn't let the authorities know about it"); he tried to dissuade her: "You let Harry be. Just forget it ever happened. The same as Sammy and me and Jennifer Rogers are going to do"; she insisted that they go back into the woods and dig up Harry's body and leave it by the big oak tree
• in Jennifer's home, Sam was again with her - admitting that after just a short time, they were both feeling "comfortable" with each other; the Captain and Miss Graveley arrived from the gravesite after having disinterred Harry's body, and Miss Graveley said that she was determined to alert the police; Sam led the group's conversation to conclude that Harry's body needed to be re-buried, so that Jennifer's private marital life wouldn't be "indecently" publicized in the papers; by evening, the body was buried again
• as the foursome returned to the village after the burial, Mrs. Wiggs greeted them to inform Sam that the Millionaire had returned to buy Sam's paintings: ("All of 'em and more besides. He says you're a genius"); in the Wiggs Emporium store, Sam refused the Millionaire's offer of money: ("Just decided I can't sell them. Besides, you couldn't afford them"); he asked everyone there what they wanted "most in the whole world", and each responded:
  • Jennifer - "Two boxes of fresh strawberries, first of each month, in season and out of season, from now on"
  • Arnie - "One smelly chemical (chemistry) set"
  • Mrs. Wiggs - "Cash register, chromium plated, one that rings a bell"
  • Miss Graveley - "A beauty parlor, fully equipped" and "a hope chest, full of hope"
  • Captain - "A good shotgun, plenty of ammunition, some corduroy britches, a plain shirt and a hunting cap. A brown one" ("Davy Crockett, the works")
  • Sam - whispered his request privately to the Millionaire
• as the Millionaire departed (to return in the morning to pick up the paintings), he told Sam: "This has been a night that I shall remember the rest of my life"; Sam replied: "Come back again. I'll have some more paintings for you next month"; Sam turned to Jennifer and asked for her hand in marriage; she was surprised and hesitated to accept since the request was so sudden: "I just got my freedom today"
• Deputy Sheriff Calvin Wiggs entered the Emporium and held up a pair of stolen shoes that he had found on the Tramp (with a "wild story about a corpse"); the group listened intently as he told them: "Said he found 'em on a dead man. Took me to where he said he found him, and I didn't see any body"; the group quickly retreated to Jennifer's house; after they left, Calvin noticed Sam's drawing of the dead man's face (as described by the Tramp), as he was phoning in his report about the Tramp to the State Police
• once the group arrived in Jennifer's house, Jennifer consented to marry Sam for a few reasons: ("I'm very fond of you and I think you'd make a good father for Arnie. And for some other reasons best left unsaid....); the Captain added: "Marriage is the comfortable way to spend the winter"; Sam wouldn't tell Jennifer what he asked for from the Millionaire, although it was hinted it was something "practical" (probably that he wished to be married to her?); but then Sam reminded everyone that even after burying Harry three times, they still needed to prove that Harry was dead and that Jennifer was free of him; Miss Graveley was particularly worried that she might be charged with murder; that evening, the group of four returned to the woods
• while the two men dug Harry up again, Miss Graveley mentioned hypothetically how both Jennifer and Sam now had their own motives for killing Harry - so that they could marry; Jennifer redirected the conversation: 'On second thought, we'd better stick to the truth"; Sam suggested that they must think up an excuse about why the police weren't informed earlier; and Miss Graveley began to think up ways to deny blame focused on herself; as Jennifer thought it might be wise to first clean up Harry, they were startled by the voice of Dr. Greenbow, who ambled onto the scene and saw the body; the group emerged and claimed that they had just found the body of Jennifer's ex-husband who died as the result of an "accident"; Dr. Greenbow agreed to examine the body and determine the cause of sudden death after the body was transported to Jennifer's house

At the Burial Site, Miss Graveley Suggested that Both Jennifer and Sam Had Motives to Kill Harry	After Digging Up the Body, The Group Had to Consider What To Do Next With the Body
Dr. Greenbow Appeared and Stood Next to the Body	The Foursome Hiding, Watching Dr. Greenbow Approach the Body

• in Jennifer's home, the group washed, dried and ironed Harry's clothes in front of the living room fireplace, as the weary Captain slept in a chair with the shadow of Harry's two feet on the wall behind him; the Captain was startled and spooked by the living room closet door opening by itself for no reason (the 3rd time in the film) - he worriedly stated: "I thought it was Harry"
• the suspicious Deputy Sheriff Calvin Wiggs appeared at the door and asked for Sam; the group hurriedly concealed Harry's body in the bathtub and scattered his clothes about, and then were pretending to play a game of bridge as Calvin entered; he confronted Sam about his sketch-pad drawing of a face that the Tramp said resembled the face of the dead Harry he had found on the ground; Sam claimed the pastel drawing was solely from his subconscious: ("It just came to me out of the blue...from my vast subconscious") - a portrait of a sleeping face; he began to casually alter the drawing and open Harry's eyelids and add fullness to his cheek, so that it could not be used as legal evidence; the dim-witted Deputy Sheriff remained dubious: ("Somethin' funny's goin' on around here")
• as the Deputy Sheriff was leaving, the closet door opened (revealing a clothes-drying rack) and Arnie loudly asked at the bathroom door - providing a view of Harry's feet sticking up from the end of the bathtub: ("Hey, What's he doin' in our bathtub?"); Sam quickly responded: "That's where frogs belong"; fortunately, at his viewing angle, the Deputy couldn't see Harry's feet; at the same time, Dr. Greenbow arrived and when he vaguely asked: "Where is he?" (referring to the dead man), Jennifer astutely answered: "He's in the bathroom playing with his frog," and further explained how Arnie was "not very well"; the Deputy heard the horn being honked on his antique car raced outside, where he reprimanded the Captain for fiddling with his car before driving off
• the Captain returned to the house and sheepishly confessed to two things: (1) he had only been a tugboat Captain on the East River, and never was more than a mile off-shore, and (2) he revealed that he had stolen Harry's shoes out of the Deputy's car

The Captain With Harry's Stolen Shoes

Dr. Greenbow's Diagnosis of Harry's Death: "He had a seizure"

Jennifer's Explanations to Dr. Greenbow About the Various "Complications" of the Day Regarding Harry

• the film's concluding revelation came from Dr. Greenbow who had examined the body; he astounded everyone by diagnosing Harry's death as a heart attack - death from natural causes rather than foul play: "It was his heart. He had a seizure"; the Captain exclaimed: "Well, I'll take a trip to the Philippines!"; in a long-winded segment, Jennifer explained to the befuddled Dr. Greenbow how they had been cleaning up Harry's body after multiple burials (and exhumations) and other "complications" during the day, and also told how a number of them thought that they were responsible for Harry's death; the group backed Jennifer when she requested that the doctor keep quiet about everything: ("If you'll just keep quiet about all this, we'll put Harry back in the morning, nice and clean, and no one will be any the wiser. And then we'll be rid of all these sticky complications"); the flabbergasted doctor quickly departed: "This is the first nightmare I've had in 25 years"
• the group decided to return a dressed-up Harry to his original resting place in the woods, where he had first appeared - taking things around in a full circle; then, Arnie (who always confused his days) would be set up to again discover the body the next morning and report it; the four watched as Arnie found Harry and rushed off to tell his mother; as the group was dispersing, the inquisitive Captain (and Miss Graveley) asked Sam to divulge his whispered request to the Millionaire - and the request was revealed to be "a double bed," causing some smiles and giggles

The Group Watching Arnie Re-Discovering Harry's Body

"The trouble with Harry is over."

• the film's closing text announced: "The trouble with Harry is over."