{"id":1604,"date":"2006-10-11T09:27:59","date_gmt":"2006-10-11T16:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1604"},"modified":"2021-01-26T00:42:34","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T07:42:34","slug":"uncle-harrythe-strange-affair-of-uncle-harry-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1604","title":{"rendered":"Uncle Harry \/ The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You must realize by now that Letty has absolutely no intention of giving you up &#8212; not until she&#8217;s dead!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Poster-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-23414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Poster-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Poster.jpg 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen small-town, middle-aged bachelor Harry Quincey (George Sanders) falls in love with a beautiful young woman from New York (Ella Raines), his plans to marry are foiled by his possessive sister Letty (Geraldine Fitzgerald), and Harry plots his revenge.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ella Raines Films<\/li>\n<li>George Sanders Films<\/li>\n<li>Geraldine Fitzgerald Films<\/li>\n<li>Incest and Incestuous Undertones<\/li>\n<li>Jealousy<\/li>\n<li>Plot to Murder<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Robert Siodmak Films<\/li>\n<li>Siblings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis &#8220;unusual little sleeper&#8221; (directed by Robert Siodmak) daringly posits an incestuous m\u00e9nage a trois between a beautiful woman (Raines), her lover (Sanders), and her lover&#8217;s possessive sister (Fitzgerald) &#8212; the &#8220;perfect wife&#8221; who will do nearly anything to stop her brother from leaving the nest. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-1024x741.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-1024x741.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-768x556.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage-373x270.png 373w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Menage.png 1413w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite its fine acting and atmospheric set design, however, the film is unfortunately dragged down by the improbable logic of its characters: we never learn why it&#8217;s so hard for Harry to stand up to his manipulative sister, and their quibbles over who will remain living in the family home once Harry is married are inane. Plus, since we never really get to know what makes the weak-willed Harry tick, his drastic turn to murder makes little sense &#8212; especially given that his chance for happiness with Raines has already disappeared. <em>Uncle Harry<\/em> also suffers greatly from its wildly incongruous ending, demanded by censors who, as Peary points out, most likely &#8220;had to be appeased for allowing [an] incest theme.&#8221; Ironically, the last few moments of the film actually do nothing to mitigate the raciness that has come before, and have little effect other than ruining the credibility of the story. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ella Raines as Harry&#8217;s fiance, whose dynamic presence serves as a potent contrast to the staid lives of Harry and his sisters<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-1024x705.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"441\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66063\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-1024x705.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-300x207.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-128x88.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-768x529.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2-392x270.png 392w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Raines2.png 1451w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>George Sanders as Harry<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-1024x751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-1024x751.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-768x563.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders-368x270.png 368w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Unce-Harry-Raines-Sanders.png 1401w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Geraldine Fitzgerald as Lettie<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-1024x755.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-1024x755.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-768x566.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-Fitzgerald2.png 1399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Moyna MacGill (Angela Lansbury&#8217;s mother) as Hester<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-1024x747.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"467\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-1024x747.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-768x560.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill-370x270.png 370w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/Uncle-Harry-MacGill.png 1413w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Several surprising plot twists (but <em>not<\/em> the final one!) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but fans of director Robert Siodmak&#8217;s work will undoubtedly want to check it out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038123\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1945\/08\/24\/archives\/the-screen-uncle-harry-taken-from-the-stage-melodrama-stars-george.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/75434.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You must realize by now that Letty has absolutely no intention of giving you up &#8212; not until she&#8217;s dead!&#8221; Synopsis: When small-town, middle-aged bachelor Harry Quincey (George Sanders) falls in love with a beautiful young woman from New York (Ella Raines), his plans to marry are foiled by his possessive sister Letty (Geraldine Fitzgerald), and Harry plots his revenge. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ella Raines Films George Sanders Films Geraldine Fitzgerald Films Incest and Incestuous Undertones Jealousy Plot&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1604\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1604"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66070,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1604\/revisions\/66070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}