The Man Who Knew Too Much
by Alfred Hitchcock
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Actor: Edna Best, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield, Leslie Banks, Peter LorreDirector: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Ivor Montagu
Producer: Michael Balcon
Writer: A.R. Rawlinson
Writer: Charles Bennett
Writer: D.B. Wyndham-Lewis
Writer: Edwin Greenwood
Writer: Emlyn Williams
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 75 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-07-24
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Delta
DVD Reviews of The Man Who Knew Too Much
DVD Review: Vintage Hitchcock
Summary: 4 Stars
Alfred Hitchcock's tenure as the "Master of Suspense" truly began with this compact 1934 thriller. After a shaky start, Hitchcock maintains the European intrigue with a series of bravura set-pieces - climaxed by the Royal Albert Hall nail-biter and a lengthy gun battle in London's East End. Peter Lorre's offbeat villainy stands out among a memorable cast. "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is far superior to Hitchcock's overlong 1956 remake. DVD Review: Hitchcock's First Five-Star Entry
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with Alfred Hitchcock in his assessment that his 1956 remake of this 1934 classic was a superior movie. However, that's only when pressed. Really, despite mostly having the same story line and climactic scene at the Royal Albert Hall, they are two different films.
It's not just because one is in black and white, whereas the other is in color, or that one features British and the other American leads. It's more intangible than that. It has to do with pacing, and that this is a more tongue-in-cheek thriller than the remake. Also, while Hitch never stopped pushing the envelope on visual effects, it's so interesting watching this one, because he was learning as he made it. When Edna Best faints upon learning that her daughter (Nova Pilbeam) has been kidnapped, the camera movement simulates the room spinning round and round. It's a sort of primitive shot, one that Hitch didn't smoothly master until the 1940s. That said, it cannot be denied that Hitchcock's primary visual contribution at this point was in applying the German Expressionist montage sensibility to the British cinema, which was theretofore fledgling.
The acting is all right from the good guys, but it's the villains who are most impressive in this version. Peter Lorre as Abbott is creepy, and quite a polished actor, whereas the British actors were a little awkward in reciting their lines. Lorre was smooth, confident, volatile and simply a pleasure to watch. Cicily Oates as Abbott's religious sect "front" is simply mesmerizing when she hypnotizes Leslie Bank's comic relief friend, Clive. There are some stark Expressionistic shots of her through a glass lens, and as the light intensifies on her face, so does her perverse concentration. Almost zombie, cultlike.
The climax at the Royal Albert Hall was Hitch's largest scale set piece, a tour de force of sight and sound. Arthur Benjamin's soundtrack and his "Storm Clouds Cantata really raised the bar for movie music in those early days of sound, and even influenced Hitch's most famous composer, Bernard Herrmann, decades later when he re-scored the 1956 version. Herrmann had such admiration and respect for Benjamin's Cantata, that he used it intact, even doubling some of the parts and lengthening the score.
All of that said, don't just watch this for academic reasons. It's hugely entertaining, and has lots of great gags and suspense.
DVD Review: far superior to doris day version
Summary: 5 Stars
i have to admit right away that i am no fan of doris day, but, having said that, if you view both of these movies back to back and consider the age of the first one, you will find it to be far superior. the acting is better, the story is more tightly woven, and the ending is great--lots better than doris and her que sera....DVD Review: Great performance by Lorre
Summary: 3 Stars
This was Lorre's first big break in English speaking movies. As a European Jew, he had just escaped to England from Nazi Germany the year before, and barely spoke any English. According to wikipedia, he learned most of his lines phonetically for this movie.
If true, that represents quite an achievement because even working under that handicap Lorre still manages to steal every scene he's in. He plays the villain in the best tradition of spy movie villains. He is charming, polite, pleasant, and would cut your heart out in a minute.
This film is the only Hitchcock film to be later remade by Hitchcock himself, so it is not to be confused with the more famous 1956 Jimmy Stewart version. This is the 1934 version when Hitchcock was still making British films.
After recently watching several old classic films that don't feel like old classic films, this by contrast is a film that's showing its age a bit. The footage is grainy, the sound is staticky, and the cuts between shots are very abrupt. It might be tempting to explain all this away simply because of the movie's age, but then why do films like "Casablanca" "The Big Sleep" "The Maltese Falcon" or "Citizen Kane" retain such a smooth modern feel? With another film we could blame it on the director, but this film was made by Alfred Hitchcock himself.
Someone more versed in film history is going to have to explain this to me. Part of it is probably no doubt due to the fact that all of the British films Hitchcock made have now slipped into the Public Domain and so there is little profit motive for any would-be restorer of the work. That would explain at least the graininess and the static, but not so much the rough cuts. (Or I don't know, would it? How much stuff happens when you restore a film?) Maybe some of this is because Hitchcock didn't have as much money to play with when he was working for the British film industry. Or it could be because Hitchcock considered himself later considered his early work that of a talented amateur.
(Or, could it be that this movie was 1934, and all the other examples I cited above are from the 40s. Does that much change in 5 years? I'm going to have to re-watch a few1930s films for comparison).
...Anywho, despite all the production flaws on this film, one can see the Hitchcock genius popping up in a lot of the scenes. There's a few scenes were the tension is masterfully drawn out. And a big bang shoot 'em up finally at the end. Frankly I was surprised that a film this old would have such an intense shooting scene at the end. (Based apparently on the real life Siege of Sidney street, again according to wikipedia.)
DVD Review: A Terrorist Plot in London
Summary: 3 Stars
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The film shows a ski jumping exhibit in St. Moritz Switzerland. Mrs. Lawrence takes part in a skeet shooting contest, and misses. The polite chatter tells something about the times and popular culture. There is a shot, and Mrs. Lawrence's dancing partner dies after giving a message. Mr. Lawrence goes to the man's room to retrieve an object - a message in a shaving brush handle. He now asks to speak to the British consul. But he gets a message warning him to say nothing or his child will never be seen again! Upon his return to England they are questioned by the authorities. Mr. Gibson tells them Louis Bernard was a special agent for the Foreign Office, and knew of a plot to assassinate Mr. Rapa, a foreign official. A telephone call reminds them not to talk to the authorities. The call is quickly traced to Wapping (the name on the message). Mr. Lawrence and his friend Clive visit the name on the message. The dentist gets a treatment instead. Mr. Lawrence hears the words of two conspirators. Next they visit the Tabernacle of the Sun. But they are caught! During a fight Clive escapes to warn Mrs. Lawrence.
When a policeman shows up the conspirators convince him that Clive was drunk and disorderly, so he is arrested. We then learn more about their assassination plot. Mrs. Lawrence is warned against interfering. A scream is heard before the shot is fired. Their plans have gone awry. The shooter is followed back to their lair. They open fire on the police, who send for rifles at a local gunsmith's store. (No gun ban in those days.) The police open fire then break into the building. The shoot-out at the end is unusual for a Hitchcock film. Their daughter escapes to the roof, and her mother takes aim to protect her from her pursuer. None of the terrorists are taken alive. [It must have some political message for the audience.]
Two decades later another version of this story was filmed, updated for a new audience. Four decades later yet another film was made from this story ("Foul Play"). Comparing them will tell how they match popular culture of their times.
Description of The Man Who Knew Too Much
A Frenchman who befriends a vacationing family is shot through the heart during a dance with the young mother. Before dying, he whispers a secret... This story so appealed to Hitchcock that he remade it 21 years later.Includes the trailer for Hitchcock's film "Saboteur"
Menus: English . Spanish . Chinese . Japanese
Subtitles: Spanish . Chinese . Japanese
B&W/75 min.
Alfred Hitchcock himself called this 1934 British edition of his famous kidnapping story the work of a talented amateur, while his 1956 Hollywood remake was the consummate act of a professional director. Be that as it may, this earlier movie still has its intense admirers who prefer it over the Jimmy Stewart-Doris Day version, and for some sound reasons. Tighter, wittier, more visually outrageous (back-screen projections of Swiss mountains, a whirly-facsimile of a fainting spell), the film even has a female protagonist (Edna Best in the mom part) unafraid to go after the bad guys herself with a gun. (Did Doris Day do that that? Uh-uh.) While the '56 film has an intriguing undercurrent of unspoken tensions in nuclear family politics, the '34 original has a crisp air of British optimism glummed up a bit when a married couple (Best and Leslie Banks) witnesses the murder of a spy and discovers their daughter stolen away by the culprits. The chase leads to London and ultimately to the site of one of Hitch's most extraordinary pieces of suspense (though on this count, it must be said, the later version is superior). Take away distracting comparisons to the remake, and this Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone in Hitchcock's early career. Peter Lorre makes his British debut as a scarred, scary villain. The print of the film used in the DVD release is serviceable and probably comparable to an average 16mm classroom or museum presentation. The DVD also includes a Hitchcock filmography, trivia questions, a director biography, and scene access. --Tom Keogh
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