Several of Alfred Hitchcock's movies have been playing on the high-definition cable stations this summer and in some ways it's like seeing them for the first time. In the case of the 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, it's like seeing it for the last, at least the 2nd half of the film. An Indianapolis doctor (Jimmy Stewart) and his wife (Doris Day) are on vacation in Morocco with their son when they meet a mysterious man. When he is murdered the next day, he whispers an assassination plot to the doctor with his last breath. The conspirators then kidnap the kid and the parents set out to find him . . .
The film is going perfectly fine while in Morocco with Stewart's lackadaisical charm providing enough humor to keep things interesting. Hitchcock creates a nice set-piece when the marketplace murder happens where he is strongly aided Bernard Herrmann's typically hypnotic, mesmerizing score. But when the film shifts to England, the pace grinds to a halt and there is basically no plot advancement for nearly an hour. Hitchcock also has a difficult time keeping control of the tone. An attempt at humor at a taxidermy shop fails to due to its overt silliness, especially when a parent's worst nightmare - a child's kidnapping - drives the plot. One of the major critiques of Hitchcock's filmography is its lack of moral seriousness and that is definitely true here.
The casting of Day, one of the biggest stars of her time, also feels like a lost opportunity. 
She's completely out of place in a Hitchcock film, evidently put there to only sing a song (Oscar winner "Que Sera, Sera") that sticks out like a sore thumb - just like Day. Hitchcock would cast his post-Grace Kelly blondes better. Stewart is terrific as usual, but is much better in his Hitchcock collaborations both before (Rear Window) and after (Vertigo) this one. And that's sort of the problem with The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock's only remake) - it reminds you of much better films. At its very best, the film feels like a dry run of Vertigo, with Stewart following people around as a similar musical score pushes him forward. Most directors would kill to make a film as good as a "bad" Hitchcock film. B
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Man Who Knew Too Much - B
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Priest's silence is deafening.
Looks like one I can skip. After an aborted screening of the EXTREMELY TEDIOUS Spartacus (1960, Stanley Kubrick), I need to rest my old movie glasses for a while. I did watch Double Indemnity again this week - my love for Billy Wilder grows and grows, although I prefer Sunset Boulevard to DI any day.
FYI - Watched A Prophet tonight (B+).....155 minutes!
I'm not sure if I'll sit through the entire running time of Spartacus again. I did record it off cable and go through my favorite scenes about a year ago. Good dialogue and acting, but it doesn't feel like a Kubrick film in any way.
I finally saw Toy Story 3 and was surprised how flat some of the early and middle scenes were. But the last 1/3 was profound and moving - just like everyone has said. B+
Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard are both in my top 50 all-time. The Apartment is Wilder's third best. I have a feeling you would find Some Like it Hot horribly overrated. You would probably like Stalag 17.
I love the Apartment as well, probably (among those I've seen) Wilder's deepest film.
Priest, if you still haven't seen sunset boulevard, you need to.
I did think SLIH was overrated:
http://www.doctorlawyerpriest.com/2008/04/some-like-it-hot-afi-series.html
I did post, actually, a pretty lengthy comment. It posted but didn't stick. Since we switched over, a couple times i've written something and it won't post for a day or two, then suddenly it will appear. I thought that would happen in this case.
While any chance to see Jimmy Stewart, especially when he's working with Hitch, is worth your time, I've never really cared much for this film (relatively speaking). Doris Day, who I actually like in some of her films (Don't Eat the Daisies, the Rock Hudson films), is, as the doctor mentions, out of her element here. Hitchcock loves to project all things sexual on to his blondes, but Day seems to have no smolder (see Tippi Hedren in Marni for a similar instance).
Interesting insights on the lack of moral seriousness. Some of his best films address a nihilistic moral ambiguity (Vertigo, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder). It plays much better when he's addressing it head on then when it seeps into his worldview as it does here. Since those other films tend to be later career, it may be that he gained either the credibility to address it or the self-reflection to understand that it was something he needed to address within his body or work. In any case, nice insight.
Lawyer, here's a couple earlier Hitchcock that hold up very, very well: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Spellbound (1945) and Notorious (1946). Notorious and Spellbound have the added bonus of Ingrid Bergman as well as Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, respectively. And Doubt is in my top 10 Hitch easily.
I also love The Apartment. I haven't seen Sunset Boulevard or Double Indemnity, but I will.
also, and this may have been your intention, doc, but that shot is very similar to this shot in vertigo (go to the 1:14 mark)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/14776/vertigo-rooftop-vertigo-dream
and is also similar to the shot where stewart falls in rear window.
Priest - you will LOVE Double Indemnity and especially Fred MacMurray's dialogue.
And Norman Lloyd falling off the Statue of Liberty in Saboteur. Not exactly my intention but hulu will help getting the images for an upcoming Vertigo post.
I like what a jerk Stewart is in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Interesting way to go, but it doesn't exactly work.
Post a Comment