The Man Who Knew Too Much

directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Category: "Suspense"
Year of Release:1956
Date Added:01/24/2008
Date Watched:12/27/1986
Description:Doctor Ben McKenna travels to Morocco with his wife Jo (who used to be a concert singer) and son Hank. On the bus they meet Louis Bernard, a mysterious Frenchman. They begin to get suspicious of him when he cancels their dinner date. At the restaurant, the McKenna’s meet the Drayton’s, a British couple who claim to work the the United Nations. The two couple go shopping in the market the next day. There’s a commotion, and Bernard staggers up to Ben, whispers in his ear and falls dead. The police arrive and take the McKenna’s to the station. Mrs. Drayton offers to take Hank back the hotel. While at the station, Ben gets a phone call from a man telling him not to reveal what Bernard said to him or Hank would suffer. The McKenna’s rush back to the hotel to find Hank missing and the Draytons long gone.

Ben tells Jo that Bernard had whispered to him about an assassination of a statesman to take place in London and tells him to start looking for Ambrose Chapel. The McKenna’s travel to London. They are met by Buchanan, a Scotland Yard detective who tells them that Bernard was working for them. But they don’t want to tell him anything for fear that Hank will be hurt. After some mistakes discover that the chapel is a small church. They arrive during a service and find Mr. Drayton is the minister. Jo goes for the police. Drayton gets rid of the congregation. When Ben confronts Drayton, a henchman knocks Ben out. Jo goes to Albert Hall to find Buchanan who is attending a concert with a prime minister. Ben breaks out of the church and follows her. (I guess the police who came to find out who was ringing the church bell told him where his wife had gone???)

Inside Albert Hall, Jo spies a man who she saw in Morocco. She follows him and sees him looking at the prime minister. She wants to warn Buchanan, but again fears for Hank. Ben shows up and starts looking for the assassin in his box. When Jo sees him pointing his gun at the prime minister, she screams. The prime minister jumps and is just shot in the arm. Ben wrestles with the assassin who falls to his death from the box.

The prime minister invites them to his embassy where he asks Jo to sing. Hank, who is upstairs, hears her and starts whistling. Ben rushes upstairs and finds him, but Drayton arrives and tries to use them as hostages. Ben pushes him down the stairs, and the family is reunited.
My Rating:6

Reviews for The Man Who Knew Too Much

Review - Man Who Knew Too Much, The

Rather lame. The story is that Bernard met the McKenna’s because he thought they were the suspicious couple he was looking for. For the McKenna’s to coincidentally meet the real couple, the Drayton’s, is pretty unlikely. The logic that convinced Ben to look in London for Hank even though he was kidnapped in Morocco was rather thin. The movie makes some jumps in story and logic and was just unconvincing. I never really felt engaged.

Reviewed by Roger on 2008-08-05 14:30:22

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