Review of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) by Regan J — 11 Jan 2008
This is hardly a cinematic tour de force in the vein of Rear Window or Vertigo, but it is one of Hitchcock's most tightly wound films from the 1950s, and James Stewart's performance is, as one might expect, spot-on perfect.
He shines particularly during the interrogation scene in Marrakech and after the abduction; his control during the unnerving circumstances is disorienting and complex - some of his best work, easily ranking with his performance in Anatomy of a Murder.
Doris Day is obviously much weaker. Hitchcock always had difficulty with his leading ladies after the departure of [Princess] Grace Kelly from Hollywood; Kim Novak and Eva Marie Saint were successes, while Vera Miles, Tippi Hedren, and Julie Andrews were less astonishing.
Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, and Daniel Gelin form a strong supporting cast, and Bernard Herrmann's score (particularly the appropriately thunderous and clattering production of the "Storm Cloud Cantata" by Arthur Benjamin and D.
B. Wyndham-Lewis) is an aural feast.
This review of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) was written by Regan J on 11 Jan 2008.
The Man Who Knew Too Much has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
