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British-born director Alfred Hitchcock made two versions of this taut espionage thriller. The first served as his international breakthrough in 1934, and while the debate goes on over whether or not his 1956 Hollywood remake is better, there is no denying that the later, bigger-budgeted take finds the master at the height of his powers. After an American doctor (James Stewart) and his wife (Doris Day) accidentally stumble onto an assassination plot while vacationing in Morocco, their young son is kidnapped in an attempt to keep them from talking. Day's character is a singer, and with typical ingenuity Hitchcock makes her voice an integral part of the action. In the famous concert hall scene, her screams as she witnesses a stabbing coincide with the orchestra's crashing cymbals; later she sings the film's Academy Award-winning song, "Que Sera Sera" in a desperate ploy to locate her son. Kryssa Schemmerling

All Movie Guide

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. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 025192830723
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 2:00:00
• Sales Rank: 8,547

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Alfred Hitchcock Collection

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