‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ surprised me quite a bit. I knew it was considered among Hitchcock’s best, remade from his own earlier film, and with James Stewart would have another great performance at its heart, but I was quite taken aback by Doris Day, the all-American, singing sensation, as his wife.
She begins the film all smiley, with perfect white teeth and chubby cheeks, as she (Jo MacKenna), James Stewart (Ben MacKenna), and their sickeningly cute boy, Hank, holiday in Marrakech. Gradually, as a peculiar Frenchman pulls them into a bizarrely mysterious plot, her mood darkens. When, suddenly, she discovers her son has been kidnapped so that her husband will not give away the piece of information passed to him when the Frenchman died, she gives a stunning, heart wrenchingly emotive performance of such incredible power that I think it’s possibly the best portrayal of a mother losing a son that I’ve ever seen.
The action then moves to London and we become involved in a diplomatic plot to assassinate the prime minister of some foreign country, but the Mackennas are only concerned with getting back their son, first confronting the kidnappers, then taking on the assassin at the Royal Albert Hall, before finally launching a rescue attempt within the embassy of the plotters. The film is incredibly dramatic and tense, taking over the lives of an ordinary America family, and producing some of Hitchcock’s finest moments. Perhaps most remarkably, it also gave the world the classic song, “Que Sera, Sera”!
There are many great Hitchcockian touches. A couple who keep staring at the MacKennas arouse our suspicions, only to find out they recognise Jo from her days as a singer, before then discovering they have kidnapped Hank and are involved in the plot. When trying to track down their son, Ben follows the wrong lead to a taxidermist, again encouraging us to make assumptions about how they are involved, before revealing that it was a complete mistake. The climactic scene at the Royal Albert Hall is a masterclass in building tension. We know the gunman will fire when the cymbals crash but we don’t know when that will come. In the meantime, Jo is crushing under the pressure of not being able to do anything, whilst Ben tries to track down the gunmen. No dialogue can be heard above the dramatic music (conducted onscreen by the film’s composer, Bernard Hermann, although the music for this scene was actually composed for the original film), but the editing superbly builds tension, providing various shots around the hall before slowly focusing on the cymbals, waiting beside the percussionist for their moment of glory. Later, in the embassy, the camera similarly wanders off around the building, searching for Hank with the same rhythm to the editing, informing the audience that the Mackeenas search for their son is just as dramatic and important as the assassination plot.
Due to Doris Day’s presence, the studio, Paramount, wanted a song to feature in the film that could be sold to market the film. The song that was provided was “Que Sera, Sera”, and whilst its introduction to the film, being sung by mother and son as they prepare to go to dinner, is very un-Hitchcockian and rather repulsively wholesome, it is later used to great dramatic effect as Jo gives a performance in the embassy where Hank is held (a slightly too contrived scene) and he whistles in response, betraying his presence. This, for me, demonstrates perfectly how Hitchcock was able to make highly distinctive films within the studio system, utilising any compromises to his benefit. Incidentally, the film went on to win the Oscar for Best Song.
I had never seen this film before but it really is a superb example of drama and suspense, and a fine piece of work from a peerless director.
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