The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945)

hyped garbage

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The Trouble with Harry is the trouble with Hollywood, the fact that the right-wing timid moguls bowed to reactionary forces and drove out much of the creativity from the movies. Their code ensured that nothing unpleasant or amoral, in their eyes, would be allowed into the cinema, so anything with an edge, or against the grain, or left of center was watered down or erased from films. All of this culminated with the Anti communist Witch Hunt which removed the last vestiges of talent, honesty, and integrity, but preserved for us such hypocrites as R Reagan. The reason many of us like the film noir is that this conservative tendency was less noticeable in the dark crime melodramas of the late 40'a and early 50's since no one cared that much about B movies. Still, when Hollywood had a chance, like in the ending in this film, they would ruin a film. In fact, censorship and its companion greed still rules American films, almost without exception.

Robert Siodmak directs this psychological film noir that is based on the Broadway play Uncle Harry by Thomas Job. It stars George Sanders, Ella Raines, Geraldine Fitzgerald & Moyna MacGill. The story follows Harry Quincey (Sanders) a shy clothes designer in small town New England. He lives with his two sisters, the pretty but manipulative Lettie (Fitzgerald) and the more scatty and care free Hester (MacGill). Into his life comes the gorgeous Deborah Brown (Raines) who quickly brings colour to his otherwise dull existence. But Lettie is far from impressed and sets about doing all she can to stop the couple getting married and living together. Her actions will have dire consequences for all of the Quincey family.Though falling some way short of the noir standards of Siodmak's best genre efforts {The Killers/Criss Cross}, this none the less is a dandy piece dealing in various forms of obsession. Finding that it's produced by Joan Harrison gives weight to the notion that this is more a Hitchcockian small town thriller than an overtly film-noir piece. Harrison of course wrote a number of screenplays for Hitchcock, and sure enough as the film unfolds one feels like we are involved in something the big director would have revelled in. Quite what Hitch would have made of the palaver surrounding the ending of the film, one can only imagine, but yet again a nifty 40s thriller is saddled with an ending that has caused division across the decades.Because of the Hays code, five different endings were tested for the film, with the one chosen vastly different to the one in the play. So while I personally find the existing ending quirky, and certainly not film destroying, it's sad that the incestuous elements of the source have been jettisoned and therefore taking away a crucial dark edge to the turn of events in the last quarter of the film. Harrison was incensed and promptly quit Universal Pictures in protest. With hindsight now, they could have ended the film about ten minutes earlier and it would have worked better. But cest la vie and all that.Sanders is superb, very touching as the shy, naive designer pushed to his limit by sibling suffocation. Fitzgerald is glamorous and nails the devious side of her character with much conviction. While Raines, a touch underused due to the story, has a hard quality that puts one in mind of a certain Lauren Bacall, and that to my mind is very much a good thing. Some food for thought tho, I couldn't help wonder about if the roles had been reversed. Raines playing manipulative bitch and Fitzgerald the love interest definitely cries out as a winner me thinks.It's a conventional story, but one that has depth and boasts a director capable of crafting the right sort of itchy mood. There's no technical trickery exactly, but attention to detail exists and between them the makers have produced an intelligent and gripping film, that, in spite of some foregoing of dark emotional undercurrents, is very recommended to noir and Hitchcockian supporters. 7.5/10

Try to imagine Harry, an aging bachelor who lives in Corinth, New Hampshire, with his two sisters. It's enough to send anyone to commit a crime just so he can get away from these two vultures that totally dominate his life. Harry Quincy, and his siblings, are local aristocracy who are confined to share the big family mansion. The two sisters, Letty and Hester are constantly quarreling about the most menial things.When sophisticated Deborah Brown appears in the picture, Harry sees a way out to escape his poor existence in the provincial town. Little does he realize that Lettie, his domineering sister, wants for him. This turns Harry into a hatred for the sister that evidently feels another kind of love for his brother. After a bitter quarrel between Lettie and Hester, he decides he must take corrective action to get rid of his problems. In turn, he will destroy the cozy family life he, and his siblings, enjoyed."The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry" is a film that was ahead of its times in the subtle way it dealt with sibling incest, which is behind the action. Based on a stage play, this feature, directed by Robert Siodmak, was greatly distorted by the Hays Commission in an ending that frankly, doesn't make much sense and doesn't add anything to our enjoyment of it. As a matter of fact, the warning at the end, doesn't quite make sense. We have all been led to believe one thing, yet the arrival of Deborah, out of nowhere, and the dream sequence, doesn't add up. Yet, in spite of the flaws, out attention is held because of the story and what has come before this let down of a finale.George Sanders does wonders with his Harry Quincy, the man who might be involved with his own sister. This was one of his best movies and he contributes to the enjoyment of this melodrama. Lovely Geraldine Fitzgerald plays the strident sister Letty. She is also quite effective in the way she plays the part of the sister who might be involved in more ways than one with her own brother. Moyna Macgill, (Angela Lansbury's mother) has also great fun as Hester, the other sister. Sara Allwood appears as the family cook. Ella Raines makes a sophisticated Deborah Brown.Who knows what the film would have turned out like if Robert Siodmak, the director, would have been able to do the story as he probably conceived it.

It's been a while since such an excellent feature film played on my VCR. Kudos to the UCLA Film and Television Archive for restoring this all around well-acted, well-written, incestuous-driven murder mystery which when viewed twice makes the so-called "tacked on ending" very plausible and even MORE effective. Fitzgerald's character knows no boundaries to her familial manipulations and the writing brilliantly has her warring w/ Raines' character for Sanders' very soul. If only ALL the alternate endings where available to view like on "Clue." It impressed me as much as "Memento" although the structure here is linear. BTW: Raines in more than one scene is the exact image of a very young Lauren Bacall.