A dead man turns up on a Vermont hillside, and 3 neighbors each think they killed him. They bury him, dig him up and hide him again to avoid the local deputy. Watch how Hitchcock treats a corpse as a minor inconvenience.
At a glance
The Trouble with Harry is a 1955 comedy and crime film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (2 narrative, 1 psychology and 2 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Fargo uses several of the same techniques.
Showing extreme, violent or surreal events while the characters react as if nothing unusual is happening. That mismatch is funny and unsettling at the same time.
How this film uses it
A corpse is an inconvenience for the neighbors, and nobody screams. No one is much upset about Harry's death. That calm tone makes the scenes funny and also a bit eerie.
Where to see it
The body on the hillside. The neighbors meet Harry's body on the hill and quietly work out what to do with it.
Binding several characters together through a secret wrong that they hold, confess or hide. The guilt is spread among them and shapes how they treat one another.
How this film uses it
Captain Wiles thinks his stray shot killed Harry. Jennifer thinks she hit him with a milk bottle, and Miss Gravely thinks she did it with a kick from her hiking boot. Each one holds a slice of the blame, and Hitchcock plays that for laughs.
Where to see it
The 3 stories. Each neighbor describes how they believe they killed Harry, and the Captain's shot turns out to have hit only a rabbit.
Building comedy from a repeated gag or an exaggerated physical bit that recurs and escalates, so the repetition itself becomes the joke.
How this film uses it
The villagers keep burying Harry and digging him up again. Each time, the plan changes, usually to keep the body away from the deputy. The repetition builds a rhythm you start to enjoy.
Where to see it
The burial and exhumation. The group buries Harry, digs him up, hides him in a bathtub and finally puts him back where he was found.
Treating a small town as more than a setting. Its buildings, lighting and relationships show the community's values and limits, which shape what the characters can do and what gets destroyed.
How this film uses it
Highwater is a tiny Vermont hamlet where everyone knows everyone and no one trusts the deputy, who earns his living per arrest. The neighbors close ranks against the law, and the body shows what the town values.
Where to see it
The deputy's visit. The neighbors try to hide Harry from Deputy Sheriff Wiggs, who earns his living per arrest.
Limiting the film to a tightly chosen set of colors, or giving each place or state its own set. The colors tell you about the world and its mood without dialogue.
How this film uses it
The film is set among autumn leaves in Vermont. The crew arrived to find the trees nearly bare, so they glued leaves back on. The painter John Ferren made the paintings Sam sells, and Hitchcock liked how his vivid colors matched the foliage.
Where to see it
The autumn hillside. Real Vermont locations, with leaves glued to the trees, set the warm look of the burial scenes.
Questions
Side by side
Keep watching
Same director
Same era
