The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

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.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Charles Bennett (by), D.B. Wyndham-Lewis (by) (as D.B. Wyndham Lewis)

Stars:

Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leslie Banks	...	Bob Lawrence
Edna Best	...	Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre	...	Abbott
Frank Vosper	...	Ramon Levine
Hugh Wakefield	...	Clive
Nova Pilbeam	...	Betty Lawrence
Pierre Fresnay	...	Louis Bernard
Cicely Oates	...	Nurse Agnes
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Binstead (as D.A. Clarke Smith)
George Curzon	...	Gibson

Storyline

While holidaying in Switzerland, Lawrence and his wife Jill are asked by a dying friend, Louis Bernard, to get information hidden in his room to the British Consulate. They get the information, but when they deny having it, their daughter Betty is kidnapped. It turns out that Louis was a Foreign Office spy and the information has to do with the assassination of a foreign dignitary. Having managed to trace his daughter's kidnappers back to London, Lawrence learns that the assassination will take place during a concert at the Albert Hall. It is left to Jill, however, to stop the assassination.

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Plot Keywords:

key | foreign office | spy | dancing | dance | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Italian French

Release Date:

15 April 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre que sabía demasiado

Filming Locations:

St. Moritz, Kanton Graubünden, Switzerland

Box Office

Budget:

£40,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full Range Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The siege at the end of the movie showing the police in a gun battle is based on the real-life Sidney Street siege, which took place on January 3, 1911, in which London police and a unit of the army's Scots Guards shot it out with a gang of heavily armed anarchists who had previously been involved in the murders of three police officers. Two anarchists and a police officer were killed.

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Goofs

When the two police officers are preparing to shoot out the window, the blind suddenly goes up even though neither man had touched it.

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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?

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Connections

Featured in Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock (2009)

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Soundtracks

Storm Clouds Cantata
(1934) (uncredited)
Music by Arthur Benjamin
Words by D.B. Wyndham-Lewis
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Under the direction of H. Wynn Reeves

User Reviews

Mystery and tension in the first international hit of the suspense magician

The tale deals with a marriage (Leslie Banks and Edna Best) and daughter (Nova Pilbeam) on holiday in Saint Moritz , Switzerland . They are witnesses for the assassination of their friend Louis (Pierre Fresnay) , before giving up them a message and they become involved a confuse and obscure international plot concerning their abducting daughter .

The movie gets the seed in which posteriorly emerged many Hitchcock's suspense pictures and has a typical theme of the master : innocent people becomes caught up into a cobweb of intrigue . The film has interesting issues and a good cast , as an excellent Peter Lorre in his first English role , he interprets a clever and uncanny villain . However , the argument isn't narrated in agility and seems forced . The film highlights are : the happenings at the Royal Albert Hall of London , the rescue of the kidnapped daughter in the Tabernacle of the Sun and the final showdown remembers to authentic events on riots in Sidney Street , in the year 1911 , where numerous citizens died . The time public liked it and obtained smash-hit . Hitchcock's remade in 1956 is considered much better and with more lavish setting and glimmer color , besides starred by James Stewart and Doris Day singing : Que sera , sera . Rated : Good but dated .