The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)
| The Man Who Knew Too Much | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster | |
| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | Uncredited: Alfred Hitchcock |
| Written by | Story: Charles Bennett D.B. Wyndham-Lewis |
| Starring | James Stewart Doris Day Brenda De Banzie Bernard Miles Alan Mowbray Hillary Brooke |
| Music by | Score: Bernard Herrmann Songs: Ray Evans Jay Livingston |
| Cinematography | Robert Burks |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  June 1, 1956 |
| Running time | 120 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$ 1,200,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1956 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. It is a remake in widescreen VistaVision and Technicolor of Hitchcock's 1934 film of the same name. In the newer version, one of the most financially successful films of its year of release, Brenda De Banzie and Bernard Miles play an apparently benign British married couple, Christopher Olsen plays the son of Day and Stewart and Reggie Nalder and Daniel Gelin are featured as assassins.
Hitchcock told fellow filmmaker Francois Truffaut that he considered his 1956 remake to be superior, saying that the 1934 version was the work of a talented amateur, the 1956 version the work of a professional. However the original is preferred by some film critics, due to its faster pace, concise storytelling, humor, irony, and charm.
The film won a Best Music, Original Score Oscar for the song "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Qué Será, Será)" sung by Doris Day at several points in the action.
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Plot
While an American couple and their young son are traveling on vacation in Morocco, they witness in a marketplace the assassination of a spy. Before dying, the spy passes on to them some vital information. The son of Dr. and Mrs. McKenna (Stewart and Day) is kidnapped to prevent Dr. McKenna from telling the police a devastating secret he has learned. After following a series of leads, the couple discover that the group intends to assassinate a European head of state on the orders of that state's ambassador, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, where the film's famous climax takes place. They manage to prevent the assassination and rescue their child.
Trivia
- Doris Day's character is a well-known, now retired, professional singer. Day's famous song Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Qué Será, Será) was recorded for this film and is sung several times in the film. It reached No. 1 on pop charts in the UK and the U.S.
- The film's composer, Bernard Herrmann, was given the option of composing a new cantata to be performed during the film's climax. However, he found Arthur Benjamin's cantata from the original film to be so well suited to the film that he declined. Herrmann can be seen conducting the orchestra during the Royal Albert Hall scenes.
- Alfred Hitchcock cameo: A signature occurrence in all of Hitchcock's films, he can be seen watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace with his back to the camera just before the murder.
See also
- The Man Who Knew Too Little is a Bill Murray comedy which parodies this film.
External links
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version) at the Internet Movie Database
- Alfred Hitchcock Fans Online - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
| Alfred Hitchcock's films |
|---|
| 1920s: The Pleasure Garden • The Mountain Eagle • The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog • Downhill • Easy Virtue • The Ring • The Farmer's Wife • Champagne • The Manxman • Blackmail • 1930s: Juno and the Paycock • Murder! • Elstree Calling • The Skin Game • Mary • Number Seventeen • Rich and Strange • Waltzes from Vienna • The Man Who Knew Too Much • The 39 Steps • Secret Agent • Sabotage • Young and Innocent • The Lady Vanishes • Jamaica Inn • 1940s: Rebecca • Foreign Correspondent • Mr. & Mrs. Smith • Suspicion • Saboteur • Shadow of a Doubt • Lifeboat • Aventure Malgache • Bon Voyage • Spellbound • Notorious • The Paradine Case • Rope • Under Capricorn • 1950s: Stage Fright • Strangers on a Train • I Confess • Dial M for Murder • Rear Window • To Catch a Thief • The Trouble with Harry • The Man Who Knew Too Much • The Wrong Man • Vertigo • North by Northwest • 1960s: Psycho • The Birds • Marnie • Torn Curtain • Topaz • 1970s: Frenzy • Family Plot |
Categories
1956 films | Best Song Academy Award nominees | Best Song Academy Award winners | Film remakes | Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock | Paramount films | Thriller films | Films shot in Morocco