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The Man Who Knew Too Much | Year: 1956 Classification: Mystery / Suspense Directed: - Alfred Hitchcock Actors/Actresses: - James Stewart - Doris Day Another Hitchcock Classic "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is another of those classic Hitchcock thrillers. It has all the ingredients: a suspenseful plot, first-class acting, dramatic scenes, even great locations and an award-winning song. With all this going for it, though, it just doesn't have quite the impact (in my opinion, anyway) of films like "Psycho", Rear Window", "Vertigo" or "North By Northwest". Perhaps, as somebody else has pointed out, it's because of the "weepy" character portrayed by Doris Day. Sometimes you want to just give her a good shake and tell her to pull herself together. But, who's to say how weepy a woman should be whose child has been kidnapped by terrorists. Perhaps it's because the assasins seem, when all is said and done, a little less ruthless than they ought to be. Still, this is an excellent movie. The scene in the Royal Albert Hall, leading up to the assasination attempt, is justifiably famous and a great example of Hitchcock's ability to draw out a key scene for maximum dramatic impact. He had truly mastered his craft by this point in his career. While I don't consider this film quite the equal of Hitchcock's greatest movies (for example, the four listed above), it is still nmuch better than the average flick. Maybe just a hair short of a full five stars. Say, five minus, but not enough to drop it down to four plus. Well worth owning (I've got a copy). Enjoyable Hitchcock Adventure Less a thriller than an colorful adventure with suspenseful elements, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH should not be really be compaired with such Hitchcock masterpieces as VERTIGO, REAR WINDOW, or PSYCHO; it is instead more akin to such enjoyable romps as TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST. Shot largely on location in Morocco and London, the film tells the story of a married couple (James Stewart and Doris Day) whose holiday is interrupted when they innocently run afoul of an assasination plot--and when their young son is kidnapped in order to insure their silence. James Stewart and Doris Day are quite effective in their roles of the All-American couple, and the characters are given an unusual twist: Stewart, a midwestern doctor, is outgoing but has a touch of "the ugly American abroad" about his personality; Day, who plays a popular stage and recording star who retired upon her marriage, has a suspicious nature. These qualities of personality and background play extremely well into the story. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH contains a number of famous scenes; both the scene in which Stewart drugs Day before telling her of the kidnapping and the very complex Albert Hall sequence, involving what seems hundreds of cuts, are very powerful. Less often noticed, although to my mind equally if not more satisfactory, are the more subtle scenes in which Hitchcock combines an edge of suspense along with perverse humor, as when Stewart attempts some detecting at a taxidermist shop and Day belts out "Que Sera, Sera" (written for this film) in a most unsuitable way at a pivitol embassy cocktail party. Although THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH lacks the depth and impact of Hitchcock's greater work, it remains an enjoyable film and one that compares very well with his work as a whole. It's Hitchcock-light, but recommended. Que Sera Sera <BR>Director: Alfred Hitchcock<BR>Format: Color<BR>Studio: Universal Studios <BR>Video Release Date: August 3, 1999 Cast: James Stewart ... Dr. Ben McKenna <BR>Doris Day ... Jo McKenna <BR>Brenda De Banzie ... Lucy Drayton <BR>Bernard Miles ... Edward Drayton <BR>Ralph Truman ... Buchanan <BR>Daniel Gélin ... Louis Bernard <BR>Mogens Wieth ... Ambassador <BR>Alan Mowbray ... Val Parnell <BR>Hillary Brooke ... Jan Peterson <BR>Christopher Olsen ... Hank McKenna <BR>Reggie Nalder ... The assassin <BR>Richard Wattis ... Assistant manager <BR>Noel Willman ... Woburn <BR>Alix Talton ... Helen Parnell <BR>Yves Brainville ... Police inspector <BR>Carolyn Jones ... Cindy Fontaine <BR>Harry Fine ... Edington <BR>Alex Frazer ... Man <BR>Wolf Frees ... Aide to the foreign Prime Minister <BR>Milton Frome ... Guard <BR>Leo Gordon ... Chauffer <BR>Walter Gotell ... Guard <BR>Frank Atkinson ... Taxidermist <BR>Bernard Herrmann ... Himself (conductor) <BR>Alfred Hitchcock ... Man in Morocco marketplace <BR>George Howe ... Ambrose Chappell Sr Harold Kasket ... Butler <BR>Barry Keegan ... Patterson <BR>Lou Krugman ... Arab <BR>Lloyd Lamble ... General manager of Albert Hall <BR>Donald Lawton ... Desk clerk <BR>Mayne Lynton ... Taxidermist <BR>John Barrard ... Taxidermist <BR>Edward Manouk ... French waiter <BR>Richard Marner ... Aide to the foreign Prime Minister <BR>John Marshall ... Butler <BR>Lewis Martin ... Detective <BR>Louis Mercier ... French policeman <BR>Ralph Neff ... Henchman <BR>Leslie Newport ... Inspector at Albert Hall <BR>John O'Malley ... Uniformed attendant <BR>Liddell Peddieson ... Taxidermist <BR>Arthur Ridley ... Ticket collector <BR>Patrick Aherne ... Handyman <BR>Eric Snowden ... Special Branch officer <BR>Alexi Bobrinskoy ... Foreign Prime Minister <BR>Guy Verney ... Footman <BR>Anthony Warde ... French policewoman <BR>Patrick Whyte ... Special Branch officer <BR>Peter Williams ... Police sergeant <BR>Richard Wordsworth ... Ambrose Chappell Jr <BR>Allen Zeidman ... Assistant manager <BR>Clifford Buckton ... Sir Kenneth Clarke <BR>Peter Camlin ... Headwaiter <BR>Abdelhaq Chraibi ... Arab <BR>Gladys Holland ... Bernard's girlfriend <BR>Barbara Howitt ... Soloist in Albert Hall sequence <BR>Enid Lindsey ... Lady Clarke <BR>Janet Macfarlane ... Lady in audience <BR>Betty Bascomb ... Edna <BR>Elsa Palmer ... Cook <BR>Mahin S. Shahrivar ... Arab woman <BR>Alma Taylor ... Box office woman <BR>Janet Bruce ... Box office woman <BR>Naida Buckingham ... Lady in audience <BR>Barbara Burke ... Assassin's girlfriend <BR>Pauline Farr ... Ambassador's wife <BR>Bess Flowers ... Woman in Hotel Lobby On vacation in Marrakech, Morocco, Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart), his wife Jo (Doris Day) and their son Hank (Chrisopher Ol Que Sera Sera Cast: James Stewart ... Dr. Ben McKenna Harold Kasket ... Butler On vacation in Marrakech, Morocco, Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart), his wife Jo (Doris Day) and their son Hank (Chrisopher Ol Buy The Man Who Knew Too Much at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Man Who Knew Too Much Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Man Who Knew Too Much This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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