While on vacation in Morocco, Dr.
Benjamin McKenna and his family accidently bump into Louis Bernard. He seems
friendly enough, but when he turns up dead the McKennas are suddenly thrown
into the middle of an assassination plot.
With The Man Who Knew Too Much master
of suspense Alfred
Hitchcock remakes his own 1934
film (of the same name), giving it more of a refined feel and look (and
personally, I like this newer version more). Hitchcock also worked with many of
his greatest co-collaborators on the film, including: composer Bernard Herrmann (who also makes
a cameo), cinematographer Robert Burks,
art directors Henry Bumstead
and Hal Pereira, and costume
designer Edith Head.
The film stars James Stewart
(making his third of four films with Hitchcock) and Doris Day (who may
have only appeared in the film so that she could sing the Oscar-winning song Whatever Will Be, Will Be Que
Sera, Sera – a song she originally did not want to record, which became the
biggest hit of her career). Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, and
Daniel Gelin
feature in support.
The Man Who Knew Too Much was not
available for many years after its release due to issues with the rights to the
film – the infamous ‘Five lost Hitchcocks’ which also included Rear
Window, Rope, The
Trouble with Harry, and Vertigo.
Hitchcock was able to buy back the rights, leaving them to his daughter. They were
rereleased in 1984. It is not one of Hitchcock’s many masterpieces, but it is
still one of his great thrillers. James Stewart is fantastic in it. It is a
must-see for fans of Hitchcock and Stewart.
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