Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

jadavix "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is one of Hitchcock's more famous titles, perhaps because he used it twice. It was even parodied in a pedestrian Bill Murray flick from 1997 called "The Man Who Knew Too Little".The direction in this 1934 version is also very pedestrian. It is all too easy to forget it was made by a great filmmaker like Hitchcock. All too often it feels like the movie you are watching was filmed by someone else who brought a handicam on the set. There are no inventive camera angles, nor any cohesive tone to what you are watching.I thought this was supposed to be a suspense movie. Nothing in it generated any suspense from me - and nor, apparently, did it generate any suspense from the characters. They witness a murder and have their daughter kidnapped. They don't seem particularly upset about it.In an early scene, where people realise someone was just shot through the window in a room they are in, no one seems to put it together that they could have been shot too, and might still be. If someone was just shot in a room you are in, wouldn't you leave that room and go somewhere else?There is a scene right at the end of the movie where gunfire continues uninterrupted for over ten minutes and the camera shows us... something else. As a result, the constant shots become really irritating.

alexanderdavies-99382 This version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" may not be as lavish or have the technical qualities of the James Stewart remake but for plotting, storytelling and suspense, it is much better. The 1934 film is worthy of a higher rating than what it has on this website. I would give the film a 7.6 at least. A British family who are on holiday in Switzerland, befriend someone who is then murdered by a sniper. This occurs at the Swiss hotel during a party scene. No one suspects anything is wrong, until it is too late. It so happens that the murdered man was a secret agent who was on the trail of an international gang of political activists. After he has been silenced, the British family discover that their daughter has been captured by the gang. Peter Lorre gives the best performance in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" but Leslie Banks does well also. Hitchcock wisely keeps the plot fairly streamlined and without any unnecessary subplots to hinder the narrative. The film hardly steps out of the studio but it doesn't matter as the suspense and excitement is sustained effectively. Every scene counts for something as the parents frantically search for their daughter. There are many highlights. Leslie Banks discovering the hideout at a church and taking on all the villains at once. The scene where a gang member masquerades as a dentist and tries to kill Banks. Like the later version, there is a scene based at a theatre where during a concert, the political target for the gang is due for assassination. Hitchcock built up the suspense very well. The climax is very exciting as it comes down to a final confrontation between the police and the gang holding the kidnapped girl. Hitchcock didn't really direct action scenes as such but he does so here. The running time rushes by, which is always a good sign. One of the earliest masterpieces from Alfred Hitchcock.

Python Hyena The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934): Dir: Alfred Hitchcock / Cast: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Frank Vosper, Pierre Fresnay: Thrilling suspense by director Alfred Hitchcock regarding a planned assassination and a kidnapping. Leslie Banks and Edna Best learn of their daughter's kidnapping but cannot reveal any information about the planned assassination. Banks ends up captive after an attempt for answers but he holds strong pooling his resources particularly his hope in his wife. The climatic shootout with police is well executed but overlong with Banks making the obvious save of his son. Best is still available for a climax during an orchestra. She will be the strong factor while Banks is under restraint. Peter Lorre steals scenes as a hardened villain leading the terrorist group. What the climax proves is that even the most skilled and hardened of criminals cannot escape the reality of death. Frank Vosper is also featured among the supporting players. He will assist Banks in the investigation and even become involved in a violent key scene. Pierre Fresnay plays the initial murder victim who will pass valuable information onto the couple, which leads to the paranoia. Theme regards knowing information and what to do with it. For Hitchcock that information became subject to clever writing and tension. Classic shootout finale works despite many anti-climatic moments. Score: 9 / 10

SnoopyStyle British couple Bob Lawrence (Leslie Banks) and his wife Jill (Edna Best) are on a Swiss ski vacation with their daughter Betty. They befriend fellow resort goer Louis Bernard (Pierre Fresnay). Louis is shoot dead in a crowded dance floor. He passes information to the couple to get to the British Consulate. Then they get a note claiming to have kidnapped Betty. The couple returns to London without their daughter. Gibson from the Foreign Office thinks that Louis had uncovered a plot to kill a foreign dignitary but the couple won't give up the info with Betty's life on the line. Bob and his brother Clive start following the note and finds the kidnappers Ramon (Frank Vosper) and Abbott (Peter Lorre). They find out Royal Albert Hall is the location and Jill has to stop it by herself.Alfred Hitchcock's directing style is there. He's putting his camera moves into action. There are still aspects that are closer to silent pictures. Peter Lorre is the most compelling actor despite his limited English skills. In the end, this is interesting to see these camera moves but they may be distracting from the story. The work is still a little stiff. It does have the sly Hitchcock humor. This is good early Hitchcock.