The Man Who Knew Too Much [1934] (NTSC)

The Man Who Knew Too Much is a very British film, as personified by the suave, cool, and urbane hero who keeps a stiff upper lip throughout his ordeal. And quite an ordeal it is, as he finds himself hip-deep in a diplomatic brouhaha that could conceivably start another war. It all starts innocently enough, on a family vacation in Switzerland. Bob Lawrence (Leslie Banks), his wife Jill (Edna Best), and their daughter Betty (Nova Pilbeam) are having a grand old time, even enjoying the company of a Frenchman, Louis Bernard (Pierre Fresnay). Then Bernard is killed (in a wonderfully subtle way), and his dying words charge Bob to find a hidden document in his room and take it to the British Consul. The bad guys, led by Abbott (Peter Lorre, in his first English-speaking role), are right behind him, though, and prevent him from delivering the important message by kidnapping his little girl. The Lawrences return to Britain without Betty; unable to tell the authorities the truth, Bob sets out to find and rescue his little girl on his own and stop the planned assassination of an important diplomat if he can - but his daughter's safety comes first. The film builds to a wonderfully suspenseful scene as the assassin takes his place, but the movie doesn't end there. The completely satisfying conclusion comes only after a protracted shootout between the cops and the bad guys.

It's a wonderfully made film featuring a tight plot, a number of budget-friendly camera tricks (quite impressive for 1934), and great performances all around. Leslie Banks is wonderful as Bob Lawrence, but Peter Lorre pretty much steals the show. It has been many years since I saw the 1956 remake starring Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day, so I can't really compare the two versions of the film. Many Hitchcock fans have a special regard for the original, though, because this film provides us with a glimpse at the legend that is Hitchcock in the making. Even if you're not a Hitchcock fan (if that is even possible), watch it for Peter Lorre - he is nothing less than the icon of polite, soft-spoken villains.


The young Hitchcock is peeping out of the egg   January 27, 2005
Jacques COULARDEAU (OLLIERGUES France)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

It's probably not a great film, but it is an early creation by Hitchcock and we can already see some of his art coming out. The action has a rhythm that does not accept any slack moment. Every gesture, word or attitude of all actors are absolutely calculated to be meaningful. No waste of time, no waste of film. The story is meaningless in itself, but it was meaningful in 1934. The danger of a new war was coming and it took some courage to say so as soon as 1934, as soon as Hitler appeared. The role of Switzerland is here shown with clarity. It is a neutral country, hence a country where spies of all sorts can meet and settle their accounts. What's more, Hitchcock had a sense of humor. There are a couple of funny scenes at the beginning of the film that are quite simple and effective, but Hitchcock is already a master because it is when he makes us laugh at something that the plot thickens and the action jumps into gear. Humor is there to distract us and to make us be more surprised by the dramatic turn of events. There is also a certain distanciation between Hitchcock and the British. The scene where the poor father is trying to commuinicate with a German-speaking young Swiss cop, in English or in French, not understanding that it is German he needs is absolutely ironical. How can you pretend to be the masters of the world if you can't even communicate with people in the proper language ? And how can you keep the world safe if you can't even have some security in The Albert Hall where an assassin can enter, kill or try to kill and disappear ? And how can an assassin miss his target because one woman in the audience yells a warning ? Are assassins that emotional and influenceable ? The world is no longer what it used to be. But to apply this kind of humor in 1934 at the war danger that Hitler represented is quite amazing : it sure is a warning about what we could lose if we were not cautious, prudent, careful and vigilant : we could lose the possibility to just laugh at things, a greater loss than anything we could imagine.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU


Early touches from the master   October 13, 2004
7 out of 10 found this review helpful

I started watching and was put off by the bad effects at the beginning, (close-ups of characters with superimposed backgrounds cutting to wide-angle stock footage of alpine scenery) but as the story unravels it gets better. It's ambitious in places- sometimes too much so.

The plot too is a bit dodgy- it starts off presumably at the Alpine Winter Olympics with the main characters' daughter (Nova Pilbeam) almost killing a French downhill skier by running in front of him whilst pursuing her errant dog- everyone laughs it off and lights up a smoke! Obviously crowd barriers weren't invented at the time?

The girl then proceeds to wander into a clay-pigeon shooting contest (is that in the Winter Olympics?) being held on the balcony of a hotel (?!) where she puts her mother (Edna Best) off her shot thus giving the contest to an obviously untrustworthy German.

The wife then goes off with her arm around the Frenchman- but it's all done with impeccable British panache and they all light up again and laugh.

But then things really kick off- the wife dances with the Frenchman and suddenly he's shot through the glass window before uttering some obscure warning (where have I seen that before?). Truly Hitchcockian.

The baddies were BADDIES in those days and easy to spot. Either Germanic or Eastern European. Peter Lorre is supreme and steals the show- a sympathetic suave character.

The little girl is then kidnapped to keep her parents quiet (it's all to do with an attempt on a foreign dignitary's life)- the topic of children being kidnapped is close to any parents heart- what would you do under the same circumstances?

The father (Leslie Banks) takes matters into his own hands and with the help of a bumbling side-kick 'Uncle' rescues her. It's quite touching really although as a dad he is be a bit hard on her at the end.

Along the way there's some comedy- after the comical 'Uncle' has his teeth unnecessarily extracted by a sinister dodgy dentist our hero tells him to "stay outside and keep your mouth shut".

Well, I didn't write it!

The plot often bypasses incidentals to get to the point - but it's always rivetting stuff.

The ending finishes with a bloodbath- the well armed insurrectionists against the good old unarmed British Bobbies (they couldh've done with the SAS in those days!). Thankfully they nip to the local army barracks for rifles and blitz the baddies.

There's a superb feminist ending- how many films even today finish like this?

Unfortunately on my copy the sound quality isn't tip top and there are no real extras.