The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

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 | American | Restaurant | Bus

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Dr. Benjamin 'Ben' McKenna
Doris Day	...	Josephine Conway 'Jo' 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	...	Henry '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 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 (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)

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

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann		(music scored by)

Cinematography by
Robert Burks

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	....	hair stylist (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
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Richard Rabis	....	stand-by laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Paul Franz	....	sound recordist
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Bill Wistrom	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
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
Bobby Greene	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (uncredited)

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

Other crew
Abdelhaq Chraibi	....	technical advisor
Richard Mueller	....	technicolor color consultant
Constance Willis	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• Filwite Productions

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Les Films Paramount (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Greece) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• The Royal Albert Hall  concert hall (uncredited)

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 | Iceland:L | Spain:T | West Germany:12 (nf) | Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (PCA #17717) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Norway:16 | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Avenue Bab Jdid, Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Alfred Hitchcock told 'Francois Truffaut' that his 1934 version was "the work of a talented amateur and the second was made by a professional". Nevertheless, Hitchcock preferred the earlier version, largely because it wasn't so polished.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: After Dr. McKenna tells his wife Jo about Hank being missing, she begins to fall asleep and the shadow of the boom mic falls on the wall behind Dr. McKenna's head.

Quotes:

Edward Drayton: Remember, you will only have time for just one shot. If you need another, the risk is yours.
Rien: I don't take risks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "King of the Hill: The Minh Who Knew Too Much (#12.8)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

We'll Love Again

Despite the slow pace at the start this is tighter and better than the original

Whilst on holiday in Morocco the McKenna family meet the mysterious Louis Bernard. Later the next day the same man stumbles into the marketplace, stabbed and dying. With his last words Bernard whispers the details of a conspiracy to assassinate a statesman in London. To keep McKenna quiet the criminals kidnap his son. The McKenna's go to London to try and track down their son with the one clue they have – Ambrose Chappell.

If you are looking for someone to remake a Hitchcock film then probably Hitchcock himself is your best bet. Here he takes his black and white British film and updates it to the 50's. Much of the plot stays the same but it's a little padded out. This is particularly evident in the first half where it does go a bit too slow for my liking and feels like a travelogue film for some parts! The majority though moves along nicely and is more dramatic than the 1934 version. Where that was a little still and very British, this has a lot more emotion and is pretty tense at times.

Stewart does very well in the lead and is convincing as the man becoming increasingly desperate as he hunts for his son. Day is OK but is a little annoying. I'm not a big fan of her so that may have something to do with it, but her singing was stretched and caused the film to drag and I only felt for her character in the Albert Hall scene where she showed her conflicting emotions very well. The villains are less than the original – but who could compete with Peter Lorre?

Overall this colourful version starts slowly and feels padded with African footage. However once the drama actually starts it works very well and is actually tighter and better than the 1934 film of the same name. Like I said, if you want someone to make a good remake of a Hitchcock film then surely the man himself must be your first stop.