Hitchcock’s quirky little gem ‘The Trouble With Harry’ screens in El Cerrito
“The Trouble With Harry” stands as one of the oddest entries in Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography. The director had revitalized his career with a series of films — “Dial M for Murder,” “Rear Window” and “To Catch a Thief” — that had big budgets, big stars and a bright, Technicolor escapism. Then suddenly, here was an out-of-left-field black comedy filmed in rural Vermont without big stars.
Perhaps it was Hitchcock’s way of cleansing his palate.
“Harry” is a delightful film about a dead body that inconveniences the quirky residents of a small New England town. Shirley MacLaine is a hoot in her film debut, and so is a pre-“Leave It to Beaver” Jerry Mathers as her son.