Bernard Miles, Brenda De Banzie, Daniel Gélin

A family vacationing in Morocco accidentally stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering.

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82% liked it

8,814 ratings

PG, 120 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: January 1, 1956

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (1,014)


  • December 14, 2008
    The original The Man Who Knew Too Much brought Alfred Hitchcock acclaim for the first time outside of the United Kingdom. Of course part of the reason for the acclaim was that folks marveled how Hitchcock on such a skimpy budget as compared to lavish Hollywood products was able t...( read more)o provide so much on the screen. The original film was shot inside a studio.

    For whatever reason he chose this of all his films to remake, Hitchcock now with an international reputation and a big Hollywood studio behind him (Paramount)decided to see what The Man Who Knew Too Much would be like with a lavish budget. This is shot on location in Marrakesh and London and has two big international names for box office. This was James Stewart's third of four Hitchcock films and his only teaming with Doris Day and her only Hitchcock film.

    I do wonder why Hitchcock never used Doris again. At first glance she would fit the profile of blond leading ladies that Hitchcock favored. Possibly because her wholesome screen image was at odds with the sophistication Hitchcock also wanted in his blondes.

    Doris does some of her best acting ever in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Her best scene is when her doctor husband James Stewart gives her a sedative before telling her their son has been kidnapped by an English couple who befriended them in Morocco. Stewart and Day play off each other beautifully in that scene. But Doris especially as she registers about four different emotions at once.

    Day and Stewart are on vacation with their son Christopher Olsen in Morocco and they make the acquaintance of Frenchman Daniel Gelin and the aforementioned English couple, Bernard Miles and Brenda DaBanzie. Gelin is stabbed in the back at a market place in Marrakesh and whispers some dying words to Stewart about an assassination to take place in Albert Hall in London. Their child is snatched in order to insure their silence.

    For the only time I can think of a hit song came out of a Hitchcock film. Doris in fact plays a noted singer who retired from the stage to be wife and mother. The song was Que Sera Sera and I remember it well at the age of 9. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing it in 1956, it even competed with the fast rising Elvis Presley that year. Que Sera Sera won the Academy Award for Best Song beating out such titles as True Love from High Society and the title song from Around the World in 80 Days. It became Doris Day's theme song for the rest of her life and still is should she ever want to come back.

    In fact the song is worked quite nicely into the plot as Doris sings it at an embassy party at the climax.

    Instead of doing it with mirrors, Hitchcock shot the assassination scene at the real Albert Hall and like another reviewer said it's not directed, it's choreographed. You'll be hanging on your seats during that moment.

    This was remake well worth doing.
  • November 8, 2008
    Hitchock's only remake of one of his own films raises the question of the superiority of his American work to his British work. This remak exceeds the original, more lavish with some of Hitchock's most powerful scenes ever. The films climaxes in the Albert Hall, one of Hitchock's...( read more) best ever set peices. With the all time great song 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)' performed by Doris Day. And the amazing score by Bernard Herrmann, who appears in the film directing the orchestra, is one of his best.
  • August 11, 2008
    A spectacle of suspense. Artful and at times very real. Doris Day is perfect in this role. And Jimmy Stewart is at his Jimmy Stewart-est, really, I think he's the only person who ever talked like that.
  • May 14, 2008
    This would be a 5 star movie if Jimmy Stewart had gone crazy Anthony Mann style.

    However the film we do have is a charming, sophisticated, funny, suspenseful film with Hitchcock operating at the height of his powers.
  • October 24, 2007
    A classic in its time. It now seems a bit dated and unbelievable. James Stewart's unique accent always grates me. His ignorance of local customs when visiting Morocco made him less of a hero. Doris Day is charming and effective in any movie; I liked her repeated performances of "...( read more)Que Sera, Sera", which must've sold a lot of albums at the time. Their kidnapped son Hank (Christopher Olsen) was annoyingly and exhuberantly performed; he didn't seem too upset being kidnapped.

    There were some effective scenes of mystery and suspense established by the master direction of Hitchcock. The market chase and murder was wonderful, especially when the dying man delivered his message. The finest scene was the assassination plot at the Royal Albert Hall. This movie looked very high-budget for 1956, with impressive production values.

    I laughed at all the rear-projected vehicle scenes, which almost every movie of the period used.

    I did not like the slow direction of many scenes; I realize it was used for suspense-building. But then we are thrown an abrupt wrap-up; it would've been nice to see more of a reunion of the boy with his parents - why not time for another Doris Day song?
  • October 29, 2009
    This Hitchcock film just wasn't working for me. Many of the scenes were long, drawn out and down right unnecessary at times. Instead of building suspense, it built annoyance. There also seemed to be a lack of real emotion from James Stewart and Doris Day and a lack of realistic m...( read more)otivation in the writing. Their son was kidnapped, but the situation never felt dire. For example, when they meet the Prime Minister at the Albert Hall after he was shot, instead of being in a panic because their son is still missing, they're as calm as can be. Wouldn't you be going crazy? In addition, the final scene was anything but exciting.
  • October 10, 2009
    I'm not very fond of this kind of story but Hitchcock always manages to make something even out of his worst films. Too bad the ending is VERY abrupt. I hate that about some older films.
  • September 22, 2009
    And Hitchcock again. Performances, cast, plot, suspense, direction and settings are all spectacular. Another great film by the master of suspense.

    85/100
  • September 4, 2009
    Again, very long feeling, but fairly interesting. I liked it.
  • September 4, 2009
    classic movie..watch it over and over

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The Man Who Knew Too Much Trivia


  • Which Hitchcock film was the first to be remade?  Answer »
  • In what Alfred Hitchcock movie can we hear the song Que Sera Sera by Doris Day?  Answer »
  • In which movie do Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart travel haflway around the world to recover their kidnapped children?  Answer »
  • Director Alfred Hitchcock made THREE versions of the film "The Man Who Knew Too Much".  Answer »

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