The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre

Don’t get too excited, this isn’t the much more famous 1956 version of this film that Hitchcock later remade with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day, this is the original which, while still pretty good, isn’t quite as good. Actually, I found a great quote from Hitchcock about it: He says that this film was “the work of a talented amateur and the second was made by a professional”. I like it.

While a family is on a skiing trip, they come across a dying secret agent and learn about an upcoming assassination plot. The bad guys know that they know, so they kidnap their daughter as insurance against any sort of spilling of beans.

Then the adventure begins and there’s lots of British-ey spy stuff. Kinda. It’s a pretty good movie. While I still prefer the remake, Peter Lorre is really good as the main villain, especially since this was apparently his first English film and he barely spoke the language at the time. And even then, he steals the show. Peter Lorre is awesome.