The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Charles Bennett (by) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis (by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Public Enemy No. 1 of all the world...

Plot:

A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet.

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Spy | Assassination Attempt | Shot To Death | Foreign Office

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Leslie Banks	...	Bob Lawrence
Edna Best	...	Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre	...	Abbott
Frank Vosper	...	Ramon
Hugh Wakefield	...	Clive
Nova Pilbeam	...	Betty Lawrence
Pierre Fresnay	...	Louis Bernard
Cicely Oates	...	Nurse Agnes
D.A. Clarke-Smith	...	Police Inspector Binstead (as D.A.Clarke Smith)
George Curzon	...	Gibson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Atkinson	...	Policeman Shot Behind Mattress (uncredited)
Betty Bascomb	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Tony De Lungo	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Clare Greet	...	Mrs. Brockett (uncredited)
Joan Harrison	...	Secretary (uncredited)
James Knight	...	Police Inspector (uncredited)
Arnold Lucy	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Mitchelson-Hill	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Henry Oscar	...	George Barber - Dentist (uncredited)
Charles Paton	...	Shopkeeper (uncredited)
Frederick Piper	...	Policeman with Rifle (uncredited)
H.G. Stoker	...	Police Chief at Siege (uncredited)
Jack Vyvian	...	Baker - Policeman Shot at Front Door (uncredited)
Percy Walsh	...	Detective Inspector (uncredited)
Hal Walters	...	Postman (uncredited)
S.J. Warmington	...	Rawlings - Gang Member (uncredited)
Edward Wild	...	Minor Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Charles Bennett		(by) and
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis		(by) (as D.B.Wyndham Lewis)
Edwin Greenwood		(scenario) and
A.R. Rawlinson		(scenario)
Emlyn Williams		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Ivor Montagu	....	associate producer
Michael Balcon	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Arthur Benjamin

Cinematography by
Curt Courant		(photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh Stewart		(as H.St.C.Stewart)

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Production Management
Richard Beville	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pen Tennyson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Proud	....	sets (uncredited)

Sound Department
F. McNally	....	sound recordist (as F.McNally)

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	miniatures assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ted Lloyd	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Peter Sargent	....	clapper-boy (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director
Charles Williams	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gaumont British Picture Corporation (presents) (as Gaumont British Picture Corpn. Ltd)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1934) (UK) (theatrical) (controlled throughout United Kingdom & Eire by) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Hills Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Take 2 Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Connoisseur / Meridian Films (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• United American Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Music (1998) (UK) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Video (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Carlton Video (2000) (UK) (VHS)
• Ryko Distribution (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Jef Films International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (8-disc Hitchcock Classic Collection)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Filmes Luís Machado (Portugal)
• G.B. Prod. (France)
• G.B. Prod. (USA)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• LS Video (video)
• Network (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

"El hombre que sabía demasiado" - Argentina, Spain
"A férfi, aki túl sokat tudott" - Hungary
"Czlowiek, który wiedzial za duzo" - Poland
"Der Mann, der zuviel wußte" - Germany
"Ha-Ish sh'Yada Yoter Me'dye" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"L'homme qui en savait trop" - France
"L'uomo che sapeva troppo" - Italy
"Manden der vidste for meget" - Denmark
"Mannen som visste för mycket" - Sweden
"Mies joka tiesi liikaa" - Finland
"O Homem Que Sabia Demais" - Brazil
"O Homem Que Sabia Demasiado" - Portugal
"O anthropos pou ixere polla" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full Range Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1935) | Finland:K-16 (1995) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #620) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1998)

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

The dentist scene in this film was originally intended to take place in a barber shop. However, Alfred Hitchcock saw the film I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), in which there is a scene exactly like it, so he changed it to a dentist's office. The film was originally intended to be another film in the Bulldog Drummond series entitled "Bulldog Drummond's Baby". However, Alfred Hitchcock and writer Charles Bennett did not get the rights to use the Drummond name.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where the man is shot through the window, near the beginning of the film, just before he is shot, he turns to face another man. At that time, you can see the beginnings of a blood stain on his shirt next to his lapel...before he's shot!

Quotes:

Abbott:You know, to a man with a heart as soft as mine, there's nothing sweeter than a touching scene.
Bob Lawrence:Such as?
Abbott:Such as a father saying goodbye to his child. Yeah, goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: The Parrot Who Knew Too Much (#1.4)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Storm Clouds Cantata

Classic Early Hitchcock...

Perhaps a bit hard to watch for younger generations, but this is the superior version of the yuppie couple whose only child is kidnapped and held for ransom (remade under the same title in the 50s by the same director, Alfred Hitchcock).

The film doesn't live up to "The 39 Steps" or "The Lady Vanishes" as one of Hitch's early works, but it is a superb example of classic low-budget filmmaking at its best. Yes, the effects (like the opening ski slope run) are incredibly laughable, but hey--it was filmed on a virtually empty budget by a relatively unknown director at the time with a low-budget cast in Britain.

Superb.

5/5 stars.

- John Ulmer