The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Charles Bennett (by) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis (by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Public Enemy No. 1 of all the world...

Plot:

A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Spy | Shot To Death | Foreign Office | Assassination Attempt

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Leslie Banks	...	Bob Lawrence
Edna Best	...	Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre	...	Abbott
Frank Vosper	...	Ramon
Hugh Wakefield	...	Clive
Nova Pilbeam	...	Betty Lawrence
Pierre Fresnay	...	Louis Bernard
Cicely Oates	...	Nurse Agnes
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Police Inspector Binstead (as D.A.Clarke Smith)
George Curzon	...	Gibson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Atkinson	...	Policeman Shot Behind Mattress (uncredited)
Betty Bascomb	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Tony De Lungo	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Clare Greet	...	Mrs. Brockett (uncredited)
Joan Harrison	...	Secretary (uncredited)
James Knight	...	Police Inspector (uncredited)
Arnold Lucy	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Mitchelson-Hill	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Henry Oscar	...	George Barber - Dentist (uncredited)
Charles Paton	...	Shopkeeper (uncredited)
Frederick Piper	...	Policeman with Rifle (uncredited)
H.G. Stoker	...	Police Chief at Siege (uncredited)
Jack Vyvian	...	Baker - Policeman Shot at Front Door (uncredited)
Percy Walsh	...	Detective Inspector (uncredited)
Hal Walters	...	Postman (uncredited)
S.J. Warmington	...	Rawlings - Gang Member (uncredited)
Edward Wild	...	Minor Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Charles Bennett		(by) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis		(by) (as D.B.Wyndham Lewis)
Edwin Greenwood		(scenario) and
A.R. Rawlinson		(scenario)
Emlyn Williams		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Ivor Montagu	....	associate producer
Michael Balcon	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Arthur Benjamin

Cinematography by
Curt Courant		(photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh Stewart		(as H.St.C.Stewart)

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Production Management
Richard Beville	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pen Tennyson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Proud	....	sets (uncredited)

Sound Department
F. McNally	....	sound recordist (as F.McNally)

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	miniatures assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted Lloyd	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Peter Sargent	....	clapper-boy (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director
Charles Williams	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gaumont British Picture Corporation (presents) (as Gaumont British Picture Corpn. Ltd)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1934) (UK) (theatrical) (controlled throughout United Kingdom & Eire by) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Hills Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Take 2 Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Connoisseur / Meridian Films (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• United American Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Music (1998) (UK) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Video (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Carlton Video (2000) (UK) (VHS)
• Ryko Distribution (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Jef Films International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (8-disc Hitchcock Classic Collection)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Elephant Films (2013) (France) (video)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Filmes Luís Machado (Portugal)
• G.B. Prod. (France)
• G.B. Prod. (USA)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• LS Video (video)
• Network (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full Range Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1998) | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Finland:K-16 (1995) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #620) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

The film's producer, C.M. Woolf, hated the film and only allowed it to be released as the bottom half of a double bill. Nevertheless, it won rave reviews.

Goofs:

Continuity: (at around 21 mins) When Bob Lawrence and his daughter exit the chalet porch to watch the trap shoot, Bob pushes the left door outwards. When the camera cuts to an outside view of their leaving the building, it's the other door that is swinging shut, and it is closing from the inside.

Quotes:

Abbott:You know, to a man with a heart as soft as mine, there's nothing sweeter than a touching scene.
Bob Lawrence:Such as?
Abbott:Such as a father saying goodbye to his child. Yeah, goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 3 (#8.118)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Storm Clouds Cantata

Sending Hitch on his way

Although Alfred Hitchcock made several better films than this, including the 1956 remake, The Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone film for the rotund master of suspense. It was the first film that got him noticed outside the United Kingdom, it led to bigger budgets for Hithcock to work with in British film industry and eventually to his departure for America.

Leslie Banks and Edna Best, Mr.and Mrs. upper class British couple on holiday in Switzerland with their adolescent daughter Neva Pilbeam. A Frenchman they befriend, Pierre Fresnay, is killed right in front of them on a dance floor and he whispers something to Banks about a planned assassination in London to occur shortly. The spies suspect what the dying Fresnay has said to Banks and grab Pilbeam to insure the silence of her parents.

The rest of this short (75 minute) feature is Banks and Best trying to both foil the assassination and get their daughter back. At the climax Best's skill at skeet shooting becomes a critical factor in the final confrontation with the villains.

Peter Lorre made his English language debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much and was very effective with the limited dialog he had. I've often wondered why Hitchcock never used Lorre more in some of his later features.

Although the 1956 version has far better production values, this version still holds up quite well and is worth a look.