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The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS]
  

The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS]

VHS ~ Leslie Banks
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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3 used from £16.19

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Product details

  • 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
  • Language English, German, Italian
  • Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
  • Run Time: 75 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: 6300158438

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Product Description

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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The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS]
68% buy the item featured on this page:
The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS] 4.0 out of 5 stars (8)
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars This classic thriller firmly established Hitchcock's fame, 1 Jun 2005
By Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Man Who Knew Too Much [DVD] [1934] (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.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Carlton DVD copy of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is the best., 14 Sep 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Man Who Knew Too Much [DVD] [1934] (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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Classy Thriller, 17 Jan 2003
By J. Skade "joeskade" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Man Who Knew Too Much [VHS] [1934] (VHS Tape)
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. The pretext (MacGuffin) for all this, involving foreign agents and a planned assassination, is wisely glossed over as the film moves with breakneck speed from one excellent scene to another. Hitchcock's visual ideas are excellent and the acting is superb, particularly the marvellously villainous Peter Lorre who by turns repulses and charms and in the end is oddly moving.
The climactic seige is well handled with the police for once in a Hitchcock film being portrayed sympathetically. The deaths are more than just anonymous falling bodies and the battle is all the more gripping and horrifying.
The 1956 version has more character developement, is glossier and has certain scenes improved (the Albert Hall scene for example), but if forced to choose I'd take this version for its pace,vigour and for Lorre's performance (surely one of the best ever Hitchcock baddies).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars The young Hitchcock is peeping out of the egg
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. Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2005 by Jacques COULARDEAU

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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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