The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes (screenplay)
Charles Bennett (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A little knowledge can be a deadly thing!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Assassination | Morocco | Marketplace | Murder | Doctor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Dr. Benjamin McKenna
Doris Day	...	Josephine Conway McKenna
Brenda De Banzie	...	Lucy Drayton (as Brenda de Banzie)
Bernard Miles	...	Edward Drayton
Ralph Truman	...	Inspector Buchanan
Daniel Gélin	...	Louis Bernard (as Daniel Gelin)
Mogens Wieth	...	Ambassador
Alan Mowbray	...	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
Carolyn Jones	...	Cindy Fontaine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Aherne	...	Handyman (uncredited)
Frank Albertson	...	Worker at the taxidermist's (uncredited)
Frank Atkinson	...	Taxidermist (uncredited)
John Barrard	...	Taxidermist (uncredited)
Betty Bascomb	...	Edna (uncredited)
Alexis Bobrinskoy	...	Foreign Prime Minister (uncredited)
Janet Bruce	...	Box Office Woman (uncredited)
Naida Buckingham	...	Lady in Audience (uncredited)
Clifford Buckton	...	Sir Kenneth Clarke (uncredited)
Barbara Burke	...	Assassin's Companion (uncredited)
Peter Camlin	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Abdelhaq Chraibi	...	Arab (uncredited)
Pauline Farr	...	Ambassador's Wife (uncredited)
Harry Fine	...	Edington (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Royal Albert Hall Attendee (uncredited)
Alex Frazer	...	Man (uncredited)
Wolf Frees	...	Aide to Prime Minister (uncredited)
Milton Frome	...	Guard (uncredited)
Leo Gordon	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Walter Gotell	...	Guard (uncredited)
Bernard Herrmann	...	Conductor / Himself (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man in Morocco Marketplace (uncredited)
Gladys Holland	...	Bernard's Date at Restaurant (uncredited)
George Howe	...	Ambrose Chappell Sr (uncredited)
Harold Kasket	...	Butler (uncredited)
Barry Keegan	...	Patterson (uncredited)
Lou Krugman	...	Arab (uncredited)
Lloyd Lamble	...	General Manager of Albert Hall (uncredited)
Donald Lawton	...	Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Enid Lindsey	...	Lady Clarke (uncredited)
Mayne Lynton	...	Taxidermist (uncredited)
Janet Macfarlane	...	Lady in Audience (uncredited)
Edward Manouk	...	French Waiter (uncredited)
Richard Marner	...	Aide to Prime Minister (uncredited)
John Marshall	...	Butler (uncredited)
Lewis Martin	...	Detective (uncredited)
Louis Mercier	...	French Policeman (uncredited)
Ralph Neff	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Leslie Newport	...	Inspector at Albert Hall (uncredited)
John O'Malley	...	Uniformed Attendant (uncredited)
Elsa Palmer	...	Cook (uncredited)
Liddell Peddieson	...	Taxidermist (uncredited)
Arthur Ridley	...	Ticket Collector (uncredited)
Mahin S. Shahrivar	...	Arab Woman (uncredited)
Eric Snowden	...	Special Branch Officer (uncredited)
Alma Taylor	...	Box Office Woman (uncredited)
Guy Verney	...	Footman (uncredited)
Anthony Warde	...	(uncredited)
Patrick Whyte	...	Special Branch Officer (uncredited)
Peter Williams	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Richard Wordsworth	...	Ambrose Chappell Jr (uncredited)
Allen Zeidman	...	Assistant Manager (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
John Michael Hayes		(screenplay)
Charles Bennett		(story) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis		(story)
Angus MacPhail		(contract writer) uncredited

Produced by
Herbert Coleman	....	associate producer
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann		(music scored by)

Cinematography by
Robert Burks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Tomasini

Casting by
Gary Fifield		(uncredited)
Bill Greenwald		(uncredited)
Edward R. Morse		(uncredited)
Tony Regan		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Henry Bumstead
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Arthur Krams

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Virginia Darcy	....	hairdresser (uncredited)
Dan Greenway	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Hugh Brown	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)
Frank Caffey	....	production manager (uncredited)
C.O. Erickson	....	unit production manager (uncredited)
C.R. Foster-Kemp	....	unit manager: London (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Howard Joslin	....	assistant director

Art Department
Walter Broadfoot	....	props (uncredited)
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Richard Rabis	....	stand-by laborer (uncredited)
Neil Wheeler	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paul Franz	....	sound recording
Gene Garvin	....	sound recording
Frank Carroll	....	mike grip (uncredited)
Henry Keener	....	recordist (uncredited)
William Pillar	....	stage engineer (uncredited)
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects
Andrew Bonello	....	digital restoration developer (uncredited)
Sophia Lo	....	digital restoration: Cinesite (uncredited)
Monty Phillips	....	digital artist (digital restoration) (uncredited)
Jerry Pooler	....	digital restoration supervisor (uncredited)
Brad Reinke	....	digital restoration producer (restored version) (uncredited)
Antonio Torres	....	digital artist: digital restoration and color correction, Cinesite (restored version) (uncredited)

Stunts
Ted Mapes	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Neil Binney	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Adolph Froelich	....	electrician (uncredited)
Bobby Greene	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Vic Jones	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ken Lobben	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Don Ring	....	gaffer: London (uncredited)
Leonard J. South	....	second camera (uncredited)
Darrell Turnmire	....	company grip (uncredited)
Paul Uhl	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Tish Morgan	....	casting secretary (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lee Forman	....	wardrobe: ladies (uncredited)
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Leonard Mann	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Sam Vitale	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
John C. Hammell	....	music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Abdelhaq Chraibi	....	technical advisor
Richard Mueller	....	Technicolor color consultant
Constance Willis	....	technical advisor
Catherine Barton	....	welfare worker (uncredited)
Charles Morton	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Art Sarno	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• Filwite Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as A Paramount Release)
• Universal Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as Universal® An MCA Company Release)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Les Films Paramount (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount-Films (1956) (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1984) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1989) (1998) (Finland) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Nelonen (1997) (Finland) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Greece) (DVD)
• TV3 (1992) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Home Video (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2001) (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2006) (2009) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• The Royal Albert Hall  concert hall (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Arabic

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989) (2001) | Iceland:L | Spain:T | West Germany:12 (nf) | Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (PCA #17717) | Portugal:M/12 | USA:TV-PG | Sweden:11 (uncut) (1984) | Sweden:15 (cut) (1956) | Finland:K-12 (1984) | Finland:K-16 (1956) | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:PG (re-release: re-rating) (1984) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Norway:16 | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Avenue Bab Jdid, Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The plot calls for a man (Daniel Gélin in the role of Louis Bernard) to be discovered as "not Moroccan" because he was wearing black makeup. The makeup artists couldn't find a black substance that would come off easily, and so they painted the fingers of the other man (James Stewart) white, so that he would leave pale streaks on the other man's skin (according to Patricia Hitchcock, this idea was suggested by Daniel Gélin).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the initial bus ride when the driver slams on the brakes, Hank falls backward, however, if the bus were actually in motion, his inertia would have carried him forward, toward the front of the bus.

Quotes:

Louis Bernard:[dying] A man... a statesman... is to be killed... assassinated in London. Soon... very soon. Tell them in London... tell them to try Ambrose Chapel...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Siskel & Ebert 500th Anniversary Special (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Whatever Will Be

Star Power Carries the Remake

Both versions of Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" have their strong points, and are well worth watching. This 1950's remake is carried mostly by its star power, with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day being convincing and very sympathetic as the parents of the kidnapped child. It also has more lavish settings and better (not just because it is color) photography than the earlier version. On the other hand, it lacks the wittiness of the British version, and moves more slowly.

The remake spends much more time setting up the story than the original did, with the family spending a lot of time on their vacation in Morocco before the crisis occurs. It makes possible some colorful scenery and settings, and allows you to get to know the family a bit more, although the quicker pace in the original established more tension and kept your attention throughout. The Albert Hall sequence works well in both films, with this one having the added bonus of allowing the audience to see Bernard Herrmann, who wrote so many great scores for Hitchcock's films, conducting the orchestra.

Despite having essentially the same story, the two versions of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" have a much different feel. Which one you prefer is largely a matter of taste - while neither is usually considered among Hitchcock's very best, they are both good movies with a lot of strong points. Take a look at both if you have the chance.