| James Stewart, Doris Day , Brenda
de Banzie , Bernard Miles, Daniel Gélin, Ralph Truman , Mogens Wieth
.
The debate still rages as to whether Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake
of The Man Who Knew Too Much is superior to his own original 1934
version. This two-hour remake (45 minutes longer than the first
film) features more stars, a lusher budget, and the plaintive music
of Bernard Herrmann (who appears on-camera, typecast as a symphony
conductor). Though the locale of the opening scenes shifts from
Switzerland to French Morocco in the newer version, the basic plot
remains the same. American tourists James Stewart and Doris Day
are witness to the street killing of a Frenchman (Daniel Gelin)
they've recently befriended. Before breathing his last, the murder
victim whispers a secret to Stewart (the Cinemascope lens turns
this standard closeup into a truly grotesque vignette). Stewart
knows that a political assassination will occur during a concert
at London's Albert Hall, but is unable to tell the police: his son
(a daughter in the original) has been kidnapped by foreign agents
to insure Stewart's silence. The original script for Man Who Knew
too Much was expanded and updated by John Michael Hayes and Angus
McPhail. |