- Actors: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield
- Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
- Writers: A.R. Rawlinson, Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham-Lewis, Edwin Greenwood, Emlyn Williams
- Producers: Ivor Montagu, Michael Balcon
- Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition
- Language English
- Subtitles: Spanish, Japanese, Chinese
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Delta
- DVD Release Date: 24 July 1999
- Run Time: 75 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00000CQK0
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 206,272 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Alfred Hitchcock himself called this 1934 British edition of his famous kidnapping story "the work of a talented amateur", while his 1956 Hollywood remake was the consummate act of a professional director. Be that as it may, this earlier movie still has its intense admirers who prefer it over the Jimmy Stewart--Doris Day version, and for some sound reasons. Tighter, wittier, more visually outrageous (back-screen projections of Swiss mountains, a whirly-facsimile of a fainting spell), the film even has a female protagonist (Edna Best in the mom part) unafraid to go after the bad guys herself with a gun. (Did Doris Day do that that? Uh-uh.) While the 1956 film has an intriguing undercurrent of unspoken tensions in nuclear family politics, the 1934 original has a crisp air of British optimism glummed up a bit when a married couple (Best and Leslie Banks) witness the murder of a spy and discover their daughter stolen away by the culprits. The chase leads to London and ultimately to the site of one of Hitch's most extraordinary pieces of suspense (though on this count, it must be said, the later version is superior). Take away distracting comparisons to the remake, and this Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone in Hitchcock's early career. Peter Lorre makes his British debut as a scarred, scary villain. --Tom Keogh
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Carlton region 2 copy of "The Man Who Knew Too Much"(1934 version)is a much clearer copy of the classic film that the poor quality Laserlight version and is the one to get.An eccellent film,it has some great scenes and it was nice to see Peter Lorre again as one of the villians.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It is hard to overstate the importance of this film, for The Man Who Knew Too Much catapulted Alfred Hitchcock into the ranks of the directing elite and did much to define the very genre of the suspense thriller. The fact that Hitchcock remade this 1934 film twenty-two years later should in no way be interpreted to mean that this original version is an inferior film. Hitchcock may have looked upon the original as the work of a "talented amateur," but critics and fans hail the film as a great success that showed the master truly coming into his own - thanks in no small part to his being given almost complete control of the project.
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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The remake is much better...
Well, you can see why Hitchcock remade this film twenty years later. This original version looks amateurish and dated ,with the remake vastly superior in all departments. Read more
Published on 10 April 2006 by L. Davidson
Second (Edna) Best
Hitch always said, and said it to me, that this version of the film was a `dry run` for the 1956 version. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2006 by Sandra Shevey
Early touches from the master
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... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2004 by "marcusmuck"
A Classy Thriller
This is a superb thriller which entertains for every one of its eighty odd minutes. Leslie Banks and Edna Best play the parents searching for their kidnapped daughter. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2003 by J. Skade
Excellent.
If Carlton's DVD release (which I haven't seen) of this Hichcock classic (which I HAVE seen) is anything like the print they used for this VHS tape (which I own), it must be... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2000
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