Alfred Hitchcock’s remake of his
own 1934 film of the same name is not one which will remain in my memory for
long. Lacking the tension and intrigue of his best work, The Man Who Knew Too Much is nonetheless a solid thriller, albeit
one with flaws. A family are vacationing in Morocco when they briefly meet a
mysterious Frenchman who is inquisitive as to their past, present and future.
Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart) talks freely with the man while his ex-actress
wife Jo (Doris Day) begins to wonder why the man is taking such an interest in
the couple and their young son Hank (Christopher Olsen). The McKenna’s meet a
friendly English couple (Brenda De Banzie and Bernard Miles) who take Hank with
them on a tour of the market. When Hank doesn’t return and the Frenchman
Bernard turns up dead, the couple embark on a dangerous mission of counter
subterfuge amidst an assassination plot to bring their son home.
The plot of this thriller is a
bit like Taken for adults. If you
removed all the xenophobia and hitting people in the face from the Liam Neeson
film and added some middle class sensibilities and brains then you’ve pretty
much got the same film. Sort of. Much like Taken
I was disappointed with The Man Who Knew
Too Much although I didn’t want to end my own life when I saw Hitchcock’s
movie.
