The Man Who Knew Too Much

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The Man Who Knew Too Much

PG

Released Jun 1, 1956

2h 0m

Mystery & Thriller

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88%

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43 Reviews

84%

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25,000+ Ratings

Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart) is on vacation with his wife (Doris Day) and son in Morocco when a chance encounter with a stranger sets their trip, and their lives, on a drastically different course. The stranger, killed in front of the family in the marketplace, reveals an assassination plot to the Americans. The couple's son is abducted in order to ensure the plot is kept secret, and suddenly the mother and father, with no help from the police, must figure out a way to get their child back.

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Critics Consensus

Remaking his own 1934 film, Hitchcock imbues The Man Who Knew Too Much with picturesque locales and international intrigue, and is helped by a brilliantly befuddled performance from James Stewart.

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Richard L. Coe

Washington Post

On the whole, The Man Who Knew Too Much is a dandy of its popular kind.

Mar 21, 2024

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TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

Instead of using music as a background for action, Hitchcock moves it up front... The chief drawback of these musical stage-waits is that they allow the audience to think back over the story and conclude that it doesn't make much sense.

Apr 28, 2020

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Don Gillette

The Hollywood Reporter

It's like a long novel that could be tightened, yet many would prefer it as it is.

Jun 5, 2018

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M. Oakley Christoph

Hartford Courant

Like all Hitchcock's plays the sudden twists are what make it filled with suspense and terror. Set abroad, from Morocco to London, and in color it is something to see.

Mar 22, 2024

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Jay Carmody

Washington Star

Hitchcock made the same picture in 1935, before he came to this country, but that should deter nobody. The story has been brought quite up to date, dressed in Vista Vision and color, and starts in Marrakesh.

Mar 21, 2024

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Jean-Luc Godard

Cahiers du Cinéma

Let us love Hitchcock when, weary of passing simply for a master of taut style, he takes us the longest way round.

Sep 1, 2021

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Lucas t

One word, only one word. MASTERPIECE.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/01/25

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Micah H

This is the movie that made me love the movies for the first time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/02/24

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Dan G

It's a good film, but doesn't belong at the "classic level" of Rear Window or Psycho. Jimmy Stewart & Doris Day are fine .... but even though the villains are conveniently ruthless in stealth and appearance, were you ever truly fearful for the son ? Not me. Nor does the story have the depth of Vertigo (a film I cannot understand, even after 4 viewings) or North By Northwest (a bit campy, yet still thrilling and compelling).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/02/24

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Tom W

So many bad decisions! I love Alfred Hitchcock but if I’m being objective, it just overall had far too many preposterous situations. Also Jimmy Stewart’s aggressiveness towards his wife is strikingly unfamiliar by today’s standards.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/23/24

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Jelisije J

A nice remake by Alfred Hitchcock to remake one of his old films with the same story but with better actors. The only downside this film pacing is just awful and the plot is very simple.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/24

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Luis M. D

This second version is certainly more colorful and shiny than the first one. The long picturesque scenes in Marakesh, Morocco, at the beginning successfully introduce the viewer into the story as would be tourists so they can identify more easily with the luck of the main protagonists. Even the plot has been simplified somehow to make it easier to follow and understand.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/16/24

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

James Stewart

Dr. Ben McKenna

Doris Day

Jo McKenna

Bernard Miles

Edward Drayton

Ralph Truman

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Daniel Gélin

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Synopsis

Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart) is on vacation with his wife (Doris Day) and son in Morocco when a chance encounter with a stranger sets their trip, and their lives, on a drastically different course. The stranger, killed in front of the family in the marketplace, reveals an assassination plot to the Americans. The couple's son is abducted in order to ensure the plot is kept secret, and suddenly the mother and father, with no help from the police, must figure out a way to get their child back.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham-Lewis, John Michael Hayes
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 1, 1956, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, 1.66:1

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