The Man Who Knew Too Much

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

A remake of one of his own, earlier, films, Alfred Hitchcock's Jimmy Stewart/Doris Day helmer The Man Who Knew Too Much is the inspired and calculated story of an average family on vacation, who, like many of Hitchcock's "average" characters, gets caught up in some kind of web of murder and intrigue. When Stewart and Day, as Mr. and Mrs. McKenna have information on an assassination attempt passed on to them by a dying man, their boy is kidnapped and ransomed for their silence. It's up to the McKenna's to try and get him back, and stop the assassination.

I think Jimmy Stewart was one of Hitch's greatest leading men. Even though he had a lot of that "Aww... Shucks" demeanor to him, he was believable in almost any role Hitch put him in, and he tried many. The story and acting are top notch, as always, though the use of Que Sera Sera got on my nerves (even though it would go on to be a hit, following its introduction in this film). There's really nothing to complain about, this film is part of Hitch's golden years.