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The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

 -  Thriller  -  1 June 1956 (USA)
7.5
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Ratings: 7.5/10 from 27,733 users  
Reviews: 168 user | 59 critic

A family vacationing in Morocco accidentally stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering.

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(screenplay), (based on a story by), 2 more credits »
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Title: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Brenda de Banzie ...
Lucy Drayton
...
Edward Drayton
Ralph Truman ...
Inspector Buchanan
...
Louis Bernard (as Daniel Gelin)
Mogens Wieth ...
Ambassador
...
Val Parnell
Hillary Brooke ...
Jan Peterson
Christopher Olsen ...
Hank McKenna
Reggie Nalder ...
Rien
Richard Wattis ...
Assistant Manager
Noel Willman ...
Woburn
Alix Talton ...
Helen Parnell
Yves Brainville ...
Police Inspector
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Storyline

While attending a medical conference in Paris, American physician Dr. Ben McKenna, his wife, retired musical theater actress and singer Jo McKenna née Conway, and their adolescent son Hank McKenna decide to take a side trip to among other places Marrekesh, French Morocco. With a knife plunged into his back, Frenchman Louis Bernard, who the family met earlier in their bus ride into Marrakesh and who is now masquerading as an Arab, approaches Ben, cryptically whispering into Ben's ears that there will be an attempted assassination in London of a statesman, this news whispered just before Bernard dies. Ben is reluctant to provide any information of this news to the authorities because concurrently Hank is kidnapped by British couple, Edward and Lucy Drayton, who also befriended the McKennas in Marrakesh and who probably have taken Hank out of the country back to England. Whoever the unknown people the Draytons are working for have threatened to kill Hank if Ben divulges any information ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

A little knowledge can be a deadly thing! See more »

Genres:

Thriller

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

1 June 1956 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much  »

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Recording)

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 1994 interview available on the liner notes of a Rhino compilation of Oscar winning songs, songwriter 'Jay Livingstone' says that he came across the phrase "Que Sera Sera" in the movie The Barefoot Contessa, when Rossano Brazzi shows Ava Gardner his house, and she sees the inscription "Que Sera Sera" on the gate. He tells her that is the family motto, and it means 'Whatever will be, will be'. See more »

Goofs

After Luis Bernard has died in McKenna's arms, McKenna finds the knife lying under the body. The blade has no blood stains on it. Furthermore, if the knife would fall out of the wound so easily, it hardly could have been deep enough as to be lethal. See more »

Quotes

[to Louis Bernard]
Hank McKenna: If you ever get hungry, our garden back home is full of snails. We tried everything to get rid of them. We never thought of a Frenchman!
See more »

Crazy Credits

Partly because the rights to this film were acquired from Paramount by Universal,the Paramount VistaVision fanfare is played over the opening Universal logo. This is the way it is currently (2005) shown on television. in the re-release version (1984). See more »

Connections

Referenced in Empty Nest: The Dog Who Knew Too Much (1991) See more »

Soundtracks

"Whatever Will Be"
(1956)
By Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Doris Day (uncredited)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Under-rated suspense masterwork.
16 January 2001 | by (Huntington, NY) – See all my reviews

When you start watching the 1956 version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, you'll think it's a minor work by Alfred Hitchcock. The countless scenes showing a lovely, but buffoonish vacationing American couple (James Stewart, Doris Day) seem to lead nowhere. But, hold on, about thirty minutes into the film, during a very dreamlike murder sequence (which takes place in bright sunlight, and involves blue paint) the film really takes off. Personally, I find the opening "character development" sequence between protagonists James Stewart and Doris Day very charming. It sets you up for the second and third acts of the film. You get to like this couple so much, you are raelly rooting for them as they try to rescue their kidnapped son amidst a plot to assassinate a visiting diplomat. Of course, the high-point of the film is the assassination itself, a twelve minute wordless sequence. Hitchcock beautifully brings us back to silent film! The ending, which involves a rescue at an embassy, is wonderfully silly and tense. For those not familiar with Hitchcock, this is Hitchcock's own remake of a film he made under the same title in 1934 in England. This is one of my favorite Hitchcock films. It's proof that this master loved his audience and wanted to keep them thrilled!


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