The Trouble with Harry (1955)

  And we're back to normal!  At least for a week.  Then another of Rob's friends is coming to town and I'll have to be sociable and whatnot again.  It's taxing.  But, until then, let's enjoy another fine film!

This is Alfred Hitchcock's second American comedy and it's very typical of the man.  Captain Wiles (Edmund Gwenn) is out rabbit hunting (despite clearly posted signs prohibiting the activity) and comes across a dead body.  Fearing that he had accidentally shot the man, he proceeds to attempt to get rid of him only to be interrupted numerous times.  There's so much foot traffic he ups and falls asleep waiting for the coast to be clear.  The local artist (John Forsyth) stumbles across the corpse and tries to help the good captain out with the identification.  Hearing that the young woman (Shirley MacLaine) and her son who had just moved to town had called the stiff by name, he heads over to her place to interrogate her.  She admits that the body is that of her second husband, Harry, who had married her because she was his brother's widow but who didn't want anything to do with her until very recently.  She also admits to hitting him over the head with a milk bottle.  Meanwhile, Captain has a date with his neighbor (Mildred Natwick) who admits that she cracked the man over the head with a shoe for attacking her in her garden.

It's a cute movie that is much less concerned with whodunit than it is with making sure everyone ends up happily.  The humor is sly and dark, with a good deal of innuendo.  If you've only known Hitchcock through his suspense thrillers, this is a good departure.