Stars: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Nova Pilbeam, Henry Oscar, Hugh Wakefield, Emlyn Williams, George Curzon, Pierre Fresnay

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Summary: A husband and wife's holiday in Morocco goes horribly wrong when their son is kidnapped, leading them into a web of mystery and intrigue.

Hitchcock's first and arguably superior production of the same story he retold in 1956 with James Stewart and Doris Day, and critics continue to argue the film's merits versus its successor. An English couple on holiday in Switzerland find themselves embroiled in an international plot to assassinate a foreign dignitary when the husband overhears the secret and their daughter is kidnapped. This taut, suspenseful thriller is aided by the director's wry wit and tight pacing.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on April 2, 2006 10:39 AM

This is Hitchcock at his intriguing best ! The arch - enemy and villain of the piece is the brilliant Peter Lorre as Abbott ; a callous figure with little regard for the sanctity of life . The scene is set as family man Bob Lawrence ( Leslie Banks ) embarks on a skiing holiday with wife Jill ( Edna Best ) , daughter Betty ( Nova Pilbeam ) and family friend Louis Bernard ( Pierre Fresnay ) . But their enjoyment turns to horror as their friend Louis is shot ; but with life slipping away he whispered to Jill of a plot to assassinate a leading dignitary in London . Gripping stuff .

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Alfred Hitchcock himself called this 1934 British edition of his famous kidnapping story "the work of a talented amateur", while his 1956 Hollywood remake was the consummate act of a professional director. Be that as it may, this earlier movie still has its intense admirers who prefer it over the Jimmy Stewart--Doris Day version, and for some sound reasons. Tighter, wittier, more visually outrageous (back-screen projections of Swiss mountains, a whirly-facsimile of a fainting spell), the film even has a female protagonist (Edna Best in the mom part) unafraid to go after the bad guys herself with a gun. (Did Doris Day do that that? Uh-uh.) While the 1956 film has an intriguing undercurrent of unspoken tensions in nuclear family politics, the 1934 original has a crisp air of British optimism glummed up a bit when a married couple (Best and Leslie Banks) witness the murder of a spy and discover their daughter stolen away by the culprits. The chase leads to London and ultimately to the site of one of Hitch's most extraordinary pieces of suspense (though on this count, it must be said, the later version is superior). Take away distracting comparisons to the remake, and this Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone in Hitchcock's early career. Peter Lorre makes his British debut as a scarred, scary villain. --Tom Keogh

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1934
Release Date:	May 24, 2004
Runtime:	72 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	G M V S 1302
Keywords:	Man, Who, General, Knew, Much, Thriller
Genre:	Thriller