Search - Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much on DVD

Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1934 DVD Release: 01/01/2003 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Studio: Diamond Entertainment Corp. Total Copies: 3 Genres: Spy Film, Thriller, Psychological Thriller See Also: The Man Who Knew Too Much, Alfred Hitchcock Collection, Vol. 3: The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Man Who Knew Too Much

The first film version of The Man Who Knew too Much proved to be the international "breakthrough" film for British director Alfred Hitchcock, transforming him from merely a talented domestic filmmaker to a worldwide household name. While vacationing in Switzerland, Britons Leslie Banks and Edna Best befriend jovial Frenchman Pierre Fresnay. Not long afterward, Fresnay is murdered. He whispers a secret in Banks' ear before expiring. This is witnessed by several sinister foreign agents, who kidnap Banks' daughter Nova Pilbeam to keep him from revealing what he knows: That a diplomat will be assassinated during a concert at London's Albert Hall. Unable to turn to the police, Banks desperately attempts to rescue his child himself, still hoping to prevent the assassination. The film's now-famous setpieces include the "Siege of Sidney Street" re-creation and the climactic clash of cymbals at Albert Hall, followed by the crucial scream of Edna Best. German film star Peter Lorre made his English-speaking debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much, though he was still monolingual in 1934 and had to learn his lines phonetically. Written by A. R. Rawlinson, Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham Lewis, Emlyn Williams and Edwin Greenwood (an impressive lineup for a 75-minute film!), Man Who Knew Too Much was remade by Hitchcock himself in 1956. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leslie Banks - Bob Lawrence
Edna Best - Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre - Abbott
Frank Vosper - Ramon Levine
Hugh Wakefield - Clive

This budget-priced DVD release of one of Alfred Hitchcock's early successes gives the material a straightforward presentation. The Man Who Knew Too Much has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with no multiple language options included. Bonus materials include background data on the movie, a collection of trivia facts, a text biography of Alfred Hitchcock, and a gallery of still photos. This film is currently in the public domain, and as a consequence, this is one of several DVD editions of the title currently on the market. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide