The Trouble with Harry is set in a serene, Technicolor-awe-inspiring backdrop of autumn in New England, reminiscent of the 'cheery' Americana of Shadow of a Doubt. There's also a cast of characters who are more wrapped up in their romantic entanglements than in the body of Harry, who should be the focal point of the story. Matter of fact, one of the greatest delights of The Trouble with Harry is that the so-called MacGuffin this time *is* the dead body, and not some random object. Harry could just as well be anything, but the only thing that is of concern is, of course, that he's dead.<br /><br />What I loved seeing, as almost Hitchcock being a surrealist (he was a big fan of Bunuel after all) as much as being a director of dark/light comedy, was the non-chalance treated with the body from those around it throughout. The opening scenes had me floored, grinning cheek to cheek and sometimes just chuckling or laughing hysterically, at some line or moment in behavior from Edmund Gwynn and Mildred Natwicks' reactions (or lack thereof) to the dearly departed Harry on the ground. They go on and on talking about meeting later in the day, almost flirting by Gwynn's advances, and there's a DEAD BODY ON THE GROUND! On top of this there's the reactions from a little kid who loves playing with a dead rabbit, Shirley MacClaine as his mother and ex-lover of Harry, and the artist Marlowe played by John Forsythe, who seems to take a detached position almost in spite of making a detailed sketch of the dead Harry's face.<br /><br />So all of this, done in a manner that should suggest reality but doesn't in the slightest, builds up to something that is like the other side of the morbid coin that one saw in Strangers on a Train. Murder is treated a few Hitchcock works almost philosophically, but with with an air of 'oh, it's just a little death, no harm really', and in the Trouble with Harry it's done to the max. A good portion of the movie has nothing to do with Harry, even if he's on the characters' minds; a lot of courtship goes on between the elder Capt. Wiles and Miss Ivy Gravely and (very rushed, which is the point) between Marlowe and Jennifer Rogers. Forsythe might not be the best cast in the part, but everyone else is, and they all bring something to putting whatever potential is in the script to the fullest. Sometimes it doesn't look like it should be funny, but then something else comes along- another strange line of dialog, another aside about Harry's body being moved here or there- that turns things on its head.<br /><br />It's basically Hitchcock having fun with something that, for him, is probably more lighthearted then it might be for most. It's not a totally pitch black comedy, but then again Hithcock is deceptive, devilishly so, in in making things as simple as they seem. As with Bunuel everything seems like it should be straightforward, which adds to the absurdity, until one realizes that it means to be absurd like some yarn that you hear from a fellow you don't totally trust but listen intently anyway. It's not quite one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, but it surely is one of the best among those "experiments" that the director made from time to time, testing himself and the audience and putting energies into something that could turn his reputation on a turn.