The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

An American physician and his wife take matters into their own hands after assassins planning to execute a foreign Prime Minister kidnap their son.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Charles Bennett (based on a story by)

Stars:

James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Stewart	...	Dr. Benjamin McKenna
Doris Day	...	Josephine Conway McKenna
Brenda de Banzie	...	Lucy Drayton
Bernard Miles	...	Edward Drayton
Ralph Truman	...	Inspector Buchanan, Special Branch
Daniel Gélin	...	Louis Bernard
Mogens Wieth	...	Ambassador
Alan Mowbray	...	Val Parnell
Hillary Brooke	...	Jan Peterson
Christopher Olsen	...	Hank McKenna
Reggie Nalder	...	French Marksman
Richard Wattis	...	Albert Hall Assistant Manager
Noel Willman	...	Woburn, Special Branch
Alix Talton	...	Helen Parnell
Yves Brainville	...	French Police Inspector

Storyline

While in London, for a medical convention, Dr Ben McKenna, his wife, Jo, a former singer, and their teenage son, Hank decide to take a quick trip to Marrakesh. Whilst there, hanks kidnapped by a British couple. A man, who the McKenna's had met the same day, is stabbed, in front of them, but before he dies, he tells Ben there's a plan to assassinate on a politician. Fearing for his son's safety, the McKenna's don't tell this to the police. As the he clock grows ever closer - to the l both the speed time of the assassination, and to dealt find Hank, the tension ratches up.

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Plot Keywords:

assassination | morocco | remake by original director | boy in danger | sniper | 

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Taglines:

A little knowledge can be a deadly thing!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic French

Release Date:

1 June 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much

Filming Locations:

Blenheim Gardens, Brixton, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,190

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Filwite Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Marksman uses a Finnish Lahti L-35 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Reggie Nalder should be a familiar face to Star Trek (1966) fans as Andorian ambassador Shras in season two, episode ten, "Journey to Babel", and to horror fans as the vampire Barlow in Salem's Lot (1979).

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Goofs

The English police/Scotland Yard have an excellent reputation, but in this movie they act like they have no experience. More to the point, they didn't seem to recognize the expediency of a situation involving an international conspiracy to assassinate their Prime Minister and the related kidnapping of an American couple's child. Mr. Buchanan's assistant, in particular acted like it was his first day on the job.

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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...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: A single crash of Cymbals and how it rocked the lives of an American family.

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Alternate Versions

The original film opened with the Paramount logo followed by their patented wide screen process, Vista Vision. In the 80's, Universal re-issued the film with their logo, and dropped the reference to Vista Vision. The Blu-Ray edition retains the Paramount/Vista Vision logos at the start, but carries the 80's Universal logo at the end.

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Connections

Referenced in Monk: Mr. Monk and the Billionaire Mugger (2002)

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Soundtracks

We'll Love Again
(1956)
by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Doris Day (uncredited)

User Reviews

Great dramatic turn by Doris Day

It's well known that Alfred Hitchcock had a penchant for casting icy blondes as his leading ladies, but it's often forgotten Doris Day was once one of them. In The Man Who Knew Too Much, the pronunciation of which was forever immortalized by Robert Osbourne, she's married to James Stewart, another of Hitchcock's favorites. In a rare dramatic turn, Doris shows her hidden talents. There's a famous and heart-wrenching scene that's nearly impossible to watch without a tissue handy. Doris and Jimmy's son has been kidnapped, and Doris is having a meltdown. James injects her with a sedative because he's a doctor and believes that's the best way to help her, and she hysterically cries until she passes out.

While Doris usually gets all the acting praise from this movie, it's probably because everyone expects James Stewart to be great in a Hitchcock film. But let's not forget he was the other actor in that difficult scene, watching and deciding how to help his wife. He's wonderful in this movie, but if you know and love him like the rest of the country, it's not really a surprise.

The Man Who Knew Too Much isn't the most famous Alfred Hitchcock movie out there, but it's absolutely worth watching. It has Doris's quintessential song "Que Sera Sera" and she also credits it with spawning her lifelong devotion to animals. Plus, it's pretty suspenseful, a necessity in a Hitchcock movie. There are exotic locations, good-looking leading actors, murder, and intrigue. What else do you want?