The Man Who Knew Too Much [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

The Man Who Knew Too Much [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

 Cast: Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks
, Edna Best
Edna Best
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
, Frank Vosper
Frank Vosper
, Hugh Wakefield
Hugh Wakefield
The Man Who Knew Too Much [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

The Man Who Knew Too Much [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

 Cast: Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks
, Edna Best
Edna Best
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
, Frank Vosper
Frank Vosper
, Hugh Wakefield
Hugh Wakefield

Blu-ray (Black & White)

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Overview

The first film version of The Man Who Knew too Much proved to be the international "breakthrough" film for British director Alfred Hitchcock, transforming him from merely a talented domestic filmmaker to a worldwide household name. While vacationing in Switzerland, Britons Leslie Banks and Edna Best befriend jovial Frenchman Pierre Fresnay. Not long afterward, Fresnay is murdered. He whispers a secret in Banks' ear before expiring. This is witnessed by several sinister foreign agents, who kidnap Banks' daughter Nova Pilbeam to keep him from revealing what he knows: That a diplomat will be assassinated during a concert at London's Albert Hall. Unable to turn to the police, Banks desperately attempts to rescue his child himself, still hoping to prevent the assassination. The film's now-famous setpieces include the "Siege of Sidney Street" re-creation and the climactic clash of cymbals at Albert Hall, followed by the crucial scream of Edna Best. German film star Peter Lorre made his English-speaking debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much, though he was still monolingual in 1934 and had to learn his lines phonetically. Written by A. R. Rawlinson, Charles Bennett, D.B. Wyndham Lewis, Emlyn Williams and Edwin Greenwood (an impressive lineup for a 75-minute film!), Man Who Knew Too Much was remade by Hitchcock himself in 1956.

Product Details

Release Date: 01/15/2013
UPC: 0715515100410
Original Release: 1934
Rating: NR
Source: Criterion Collection
Region Code: A
Presentation: [B&W]
Language: English
Time: 1:15:00
Sales rank: 9,908

Special Features

New Audio Commentary featuring Film Historian Philip Kemp; New Interview with Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; The Illustrated Hitchcock, an extensive interview with Director Alfred Hitchcock from 1972, conducted by journalist Pia Lindstrom and Film Historian William K. Everson; Audio excerpts from Filmmaker François Truffaut's legendary 1962 interviews with Hitchcock; Restoration Demonstration; ; Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Leslie Banks Bob Lawrence
Edna Best Jill Lawrence
Peter Lorre Abbott
Frank Vosper Ramon Levine
Hugh Wakefield Clive
Nova Pilbeam Betty Lawrence
Pierre Fresnay Louis Bernard
Cicely Oates Nurse Agnes
D.A. Clarke-Smith Binstead
George Curzon Gibson
Henry Oscar Dentist
Celia Lovsky Actor
Brenda de Banzie Actor
Bernard Miles Actor
Ralph Truman Actor
Daniel Gélin Actor
Mogens Wieth Actor
Alan Mowbray Actor
Hillary Brooke Actor
Christopher Olsen Actor
Richard Wattis Albert Hall Assistant Manager
Noel Willman Woburn, Special Branch
Alix Talton Helen Parnell
Yves Brainville French Police Inspector
Carolyn Jones Cindy Fontaine
Patrick Aherne Handyman
Frank Albertson Taxidermist
Frank Atkinson Edgar, a Taxidermist
Walter Bacon Church Member
John Barrard Taxidermist Holding the Panther
Betty Baskcomb Edna, the Church Organist
Eumenio Blanco Arab
Alexis Bobrinskoy Foreign Prime Minister
Lovyss Bradley Church Member
Emlyn Williams Actor
Bernard Herrmann Composer
Arthur Benjamin Composer

Technical Credits
Alfred Hitchcock Director,Producer
Michael Balcon Producer
John Michael Hayes Screenwriter
Angus MacPhail Screenwriter
Herbert Coleman Producer,Director
Farciot Edouart Special Effects
Gene Garvin Sound Effects
Frank Carroll Sound Effects
Edwin Greenwood Screenwriter
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis Screenwriter
Emlyn Williams Screenwriter
A.R. Rawlinson Screenwriter
Charles Bennett Screenwriter
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