The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Charles Bennett (by) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis (by) ...

Release Date:

15 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Public Enemy No. 1 of all the world...

Plot:

A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Dancing | Assassination Attempt | Shot To Death | Foreign Office

Cast

Leslie Banks	...	Bob Lawrence
Edna Best	...	Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre	...	Abbott
Frank Vosper	...	Ramon
Hugh Wakefield	...	Clive
Nova Pilbeam	...	Betty Lawrence
Pierre Fresnay	...	Louis Bernard
Cicely Oates	...	Nurse Agnes
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Police Inspector Binstead (as D.A.Clarke Smith)
George Curzon	...	Gibson

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full Range Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Finland:K-16 (1995) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #620) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1998)

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

The logo for Gaumont British Pictures is located on a scarf worn by Leslie Banks during the opening scene.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where the man is shot through the window, near the beginning of the film, just before he is shot, he turns to face another man. At that time, you can see the beginnings of a blood stain on his shirt next to his lapel...before he’s shot!

Quotes:

Abbott: You know, to a man with a heart as soft as mine, there's nothing sweeter than a touching scene.
Bob Lawrence: Such as?
Abbott: Such as a father saying goodbye to his child. Yeah, goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ti piace Hitchcock? (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Storm Clouds

Flashes of brilliance, otherwise a potboiler

All through his career Hitchcock did great films; this was not one of them.

A man knows too much, his daughter is kidnapped to secure his silence, and in the denouement all is resolved to the accompaniment of gunfire and rooftop drama.

Anyone who has seen 1930s Fritz Lang films- 'M' comes to mind- will know how far this urban narrative of crime and conscience falls short of what had already been done in that genre at that time. There is an altogether amateurish air about much of the staging and acting which subverts any sense of menace, darkness, and depravity that Hitchcock might have been seeking to instil.

What it is worth watching out for, however, is the sequence associated with the shooting at the Albert Hall. Once that kicks off it is as if the film has been given a blood transfusion. The camerawork is lively, the cuts are interesting, and the way that everything combines to a climax is masterly. Here you can see the future master: Hitchcock effortlessly orchestrate all the resources to impressive and memorable effect: when the scream comes you really feel as well as hear it.