Grade: C
Synopsis: After unwittingly learning of an assassination plot, an American couple (James Stewart and Doris Day) discover their son has been kidnapped.
The Man Who Knew Too Much is director Alfred Hitchcock’s remake of his 1934 film of the same name. Unfortunately, while this update addresses the original’s biggest shortcoming, it also lacks its greatest strength.
The most glaring problem with the first film was the lack of characterization and screen presence for the two leads. This time around, the script does a great job establishing the characters before thrusting them into the action, and James Stewart and Doris Day both pack considerable star power. Thus, we really feel for them when their world is turned upside down, much more so than in the original, which barely gave us time to register the emotional impact of the film’s events.
As good as Stewart and Day are, however, they can’t compensate for the lack of a great antagonist. A hero is measured by the size of the villain and this version of The Man Who Knew Too Much lacks a suitable replacement for Peter Lorre, whose turn in the original made the film. This is most notable during the updated finale. Instead of the original’s shoot-out, Hitchcock has Day warbling “Whatever Will Be” at the top of her lungs while Stewart sneaks around a mansion looking for their son. With a great villain waiting in the wings, we’d be on the edge of our seat with tension, but as is, we’re just waiting for Day to shut up.
Hitchcock, by the way, seemed to realize this misstep, as he would cast the great James Mason as the villain for his next spy thriller, North by Northwest (1959).
