Rating: PG
Genre:
Thriller
Release Date: 02/07/2006
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DDM2.0
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Flags: Mild Violence, Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
The debate still rages as to whether
Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of
The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934 version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music of
Bernard Herrmann (who appears on-camera, typecast as a symphony conductor). Though the locale of the opening scenes shifts from Switzerland to French Morocco in the newer version, the basic plot remains the same. American tourists
James Stewart and
Doris Day are witness to the street killing of a Frenchman (
Daniel Gelin) they've recently befriended. Before breathing his last, the murder victim whispers a secret to Stewart (the Cinemascope lens turns this standard closeup into a truly grotesque vignette). Stewart knows that a political assassination will occur during a concert at London's Albert Hall, but is unable to tell the police: his son (a daughter in the original) has been kidnapped by foreign agents to insure Stewart's silence. The original script for
Man Who Knew too Much was expanded and updated by
John Michael Hayes and
Angus McPhail.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
;)
