 The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) When Doris Day, as Jo McKenna, former stage phenom and current wife of Dr. Ben McKenna (Jimmy Stewart), discovers that son Hank has been kidnapped, she freaks out more convincingly than Burt Reynolds when they canceled "Evening Shade." To cap it off, she then proceeds to react perfectly off Jimmy Stewart's perfectly perfect reaction (his brilliant mixture of horror, concern, and protectiveness) while showing the rapid effects of a sleeping pill he gives her. It's a fantastic scene, in a film stuffed with fantastic scenes. This is the second time I've seen The Man Who Knew Too Much, and I could see it again in a heartbeat. Basic premise: Dr. McKenna has taken his wife and son on a trip to North Africa, and there they meet a mysterious Frenchman named Louis Bernard (Daniel Gelin). Doris Day is immediately suspicious of him, but Jimmy Stewart disagrees. Then someone turns up in the market with a knife jammed in his spine, stumbles over to Dr. McKenna, and whispers something in his ear. Suffice it to say that Mrs. McKenna was right about Louis Bernard, but not for the reasons you'd expect. This scene, beautifully acted by Stewart (as usual) leads seamlessly into Hank's kidnapping which leads seamlessly into a cat-and-mouse with the kidnappers and a creepy assassin (Reggie Nadler, looking suspiciously like Pete Postlethwaite), which leads seamlessly into a fantastic set piece at an opera house, which leads seamlessly into the suspenseful climax, at an embassy dinner of all places. The story is classic Hitchcock, the innocent man sucked into a web of intrigue and murder, whose only choice is to become a hero despite himself. I'm no Hitchcock apologist, having suffered through The Trouble With Harry, The Lady Vanishes, several film school professors with a fetish for Strangers on a Train, and, most recently, an amateurish "classic" called The 39 Steps. But at a certain level the formula works, because it allows the audience to identify with the shocking, bizarre, impossible, and sometimes frustrating permutations of his films. That doesn't mean he can't be cold and calculating – in fact, for a while I was convinced that Hitchcock was a heartless technician. I have since reconsidered, and would say he was something of an erratic genius, often getting everything wrong in the service of a great idea but sometimes managing to squeeze out a truly incredible film. And yes, I am definitely in a position to tarnish/Tarn-x Hitchcock's reputation, seeing as how I'm so hugely successful as a filmmaker. Tangent aside, what's great about this film is the twist on the old formula: instead of an innocent man sucked into sinister circumstances, it's a couple. Stewart and Day are given equal time, and, bravo feminism, it is Day who ultimately saves the word that her name is – and twice! The Stewart-Day chemistry is very compelling. You believe that they are married, that she gave up the limelight for a life in Indiana, and that there are still some home fires burning betwixt 'em. I also cannot overstate how good Stewart is in this film, and in pretty much every film I've ever seen him in. He's so much more than the stumbling, stuttering old fool imitated by Dana Carvey, but you already knew that so let's move on. Supporting actors are good, too, especially the menacing Assassin (who, very creepy, is never named), and Brenda DeBanzie and Bernard Miles as the friendly couple who, like everyone else in this film, is at first not who you expect, and then not who you thought you were expecting once you thought your expectations had been denied. If this film were made today, it would have to end with the villain getting impaled on a lamppost or something. Thankfully, the climax is intense, surprising, and even delightfully euphoric, without resorting to cheap scares, false notes, or physically impossible action. The only thing that holds this back from perfection is a single bizarre scene of vaudevillian farce that seems awkward and out of place, as well as the fact that this film is one tiny step below the brilliance of Rear Window.
Review by Crimedog |