#2,046: The Trouble With Harry

How to Steal a Million - ★★★½☆
A fun little romantic comedy caper. The romance is in the style of the time, which is to say, two people who fall in love almost immediately and because the script says so. The heist was also in the style of the time, which is to say, pretty good! For some of my friends, this is the first Audrey Hepburn movie they've enjoyed. To them, I say five words: "Three words: Wait Until Dark!"

The Pink Panther - ★★☆☆☆
This one was a let down. Started strong, but becomes convoluted, confusing, and boring. I did like how Clouseau seems to be at least somewhat aware of how he's bad at everything, and the timing and staging on the scene with 6 people in the bedroom made me smile. Surprising ending.

Shadow of a Doubt - ★★★☆☆
2 for 2 on slow moving Hitchcocks with characters that fall in love instantaneously and delightful supporting casts. All the scenes with Herb are great. Ann too. Somehow, Santa Rosa doesn't look very 'small town' to me, which makes the fact that everyone recognizes Charlie kind of fun. I guess maybe I'm deciding that I liked the world of the movie more than the plot.

The Trouble with Harry - ★★½☆☆
I've known that the trouble with Harry is mostly, y'know, how he's kind of, well, dead, but the trouble with The Trouble With Harry is that it's not very good. I wasn't expecting it to be a comedy. There's some good lines in there, and it's pretty silly, but it's also too long, and hasn't aged especially well. It's not that it's topical, it's the attempts at bawdiness that would barely merit a PG rating today.

I feel fond of it now, now that's it's over, because the good parts were good, but there was also our disbelief that the movie could keep going and how often it did. I bet we could get 15 minutes out of it. The shared and accepted surreality of the world is something I think more movies could use.