This version lacks some of the economy of the first, and, unusually for Hitchcock, it sags in the middle. Fortunately, there's a marked improvement as it reaches the last third.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:25
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Remaking his own 1934 film, Hitchcock imbues The Man Who Knew Too Much with picturesque locales and international intrigue, and is helped by a brilliantly befuddled performance from James Stewart.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is Alfred Hitchcock's remake of his 1935 movie of the same name. While vacationing in French Morocco, an American family becomes accidentally involved in a series of... THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is Alfred Hitchcock's remake of his 1935 movie of the same name. While vacationing in French Morocco, an American family becomes accidentally involved in a series of international incidents after the father overhears an assassination plot. Compared with its predecessor, this version is lavish, with a larger budget and a much bigger cast. While maintaining Hitchcock's fascination with an average Joe caught up in menacing events, the characters portrayed by Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day put a spin on the story that highlights the 1950s sensibilities that influenced the remake. Ben McKenna (Stewart), an American doctor, and his family stumble into the middle of an assassination plot while vacationing in Marrakech. When his son is kidnapped by the conspirators, McKenna must race against the clock to stop the murder and save his son's life. Stewart, as one might expect, gives a seamless performance as the average man thrown into exceptional circumstances. Day brings a bit of levity and performs the only musical number to appear in a Hitchcock film. (The song, "Que Sera, Sera," would win an Oscar and become a popular hit.) This later version of Hitchcock's suspenseful film also features the masterful Albert Hall sequence, arguably almost the equal of the renowned plane sequence in NORTH BY NORTHWEST. [More]
Starring: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles
Starring: James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles, Daniel Gelin, Christopher Olsen, Reggie Nalder, Richard Wattis, Noel Willman
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: John Michael Hayes, Angus MacPhail
Story: Charles Bennett, D. B. Wyndham-Lewis
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
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Reviews for The Man Who Knew Too Much
Hitch's remake of his own film results in an equally compelling action thriller with sterling performances from Stewart and Day.
The film is uncharacteristically rigid and pious for Hitchcock; it feels more like a work of duty than conviction.
While drawing the footage out a bit long, he still keeps suspense working at all times and gets strong performances from the two stars and other cast members.
Far superior to the 1934 version, The Man Who Knew Too Much, underestimated at its 1956 release, should be considered as one of Hitchcock's dozen masterpieces.
Each version has certain elements superior to the other, but both films rank as minor Hitchcock works.
One of Hitch's best from his '50s period...and his only one with a hit song ("Que Sera").
Starting slowly amid colourful but rather superfluous travelogue-style Moroccan footage, the film improves no end as it progresses.
Even in mammoth VistaVision, the old Hitchcock thriller-stuff has punch.
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