James Stewart, Doris Day and the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’

Alfred Hitchcock directed the movies The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), each based on parts of the 1922 G. K. Chesterton book The Man Who Knew Too Much: And Other Stories. While similar in tone, the two movies are in fact distinct tales of distinct quality and character. We look today at the 1956 film starring James Stewart as Dr. Benjamin McKenna and Doris Day as Josephine Conway McKenna.

(From left, Doris Day as Josephine Conway McKenna, Christopher Olsen as Hank McKenna and James Stewart as Dr. Benjamin McKenna in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much).

Christopher Olsen portrays Hank McKenna, the son to Dr. Benjamin McKenna and his wife, Josephine Conway McKenna. The bond between Hank’s mother, a professional singer who sings Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) with him, offers an Academy Award note to the movie of a family from Indiana traveling internationally.

(Clockwise from lower left, Daniel Gélin as Louis Bernard, Bernard Miles as Edward Drayton, Brenda de Banzie as Lucy Drayton and James Stewart as Dr. Benjamin McKenna in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much).

As the McKenna family vacations in French Morocco with plans to visit Casablanca, Morocco and Marrakesh, Morocco, Frenchman Louis Bernard as portrayed by Daniel Gélin, intervenes on the family’s behalf as a sensitive cultural situation arises. The McKenna’s respond differently to the friendly yet evasive nature of the conversations, and dining arrangements, that follow.

(Reggie Nalder as French Marksman in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much).

Things spiral out of control quickly for the McKenna family as they dine with English couple Lucy and Edward Drayton, as portrayed by Brenda de Banzie and Bernard Miles. Things become tense when Louis Bernard dines in the same restaurant as the McKennas, dying in front of both couples and Hank McKenna in a busy market the next day. The dying sentiment shared with Ben McKenna sets in motion suspense, intrigue and mystery that include Reggie Nalder as a French Marksman.

(The dramatic cymbal scene in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much).

What a marksman has to do with a Cymbalist in the face of a kidnapping and threats in part conveyed through Scotland Yard, London and the Royal Albert Hall. The means of tying the many strings of the plot underlying the mystery, cunning and, yes, humor of the movie culminate in a movie that offers clever narrative in combining different elements of G. K. Chesterton that work in this 1956 suspense thriller, even today.

(From left, actor Daniel Gélin, actress Doris Day and director Alfred Hitchcock on the set of the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Man Who Knew Too Much).

The 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much offered much to recommend it. This isn’t necessarily the best movie Hitch ever made, though there is much credibility. The star power at the top of the film is immensely difficult to argue. I give The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring James Stewart and Doris Day, as directed by Alfred Hitchcock 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, April 7, 2021