The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) : Classic Movie Hub (CMH)

Buy The Man Who Knew Too Much Now at Amazon

1.00 out of 10 stars from
908 users

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Director(s)	Alfred Hitchcock
Producer(s)	Herbert Coleman (associate), Alfred Hitchcock (uncredited)
Top Genres	Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller/Suspense
Top Topics	Exotic Lands, Politics, Spies

Featured Cast:

See Full Cast

James Stewart
(as Dr. Benjamin McKenna)

Doris Day
(as Josephine Conway McKen...)

Brenda De Banzie
(as Lucy Drayton)

The Man Who Knew Too Much Overview:

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) was a Adventure - Mystery Film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and Herbert Coleman.

SYNOPSIS

Twenty-two years after his earlier version of this story of a family's accidental involvement in a political assassination plot, Hitchcock case Stewart and Day in the leads as an American doctor and his retired-singer wife. Shot in color and on location, this entertaining thriller moves swiftly to its justly famous climax at a concert of Arthur Benjamin's Storm Clouds cantata at London's Albert Hall. It is fascinating to compare the two film versions, which are sometimes identical in shot composition and action. For the most part, the second version is the superior production, blessed with a fine cast and a superb score by Herrmann (who makes his only film cameo as the concert conductor).

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1956 --- Ceremony Number 29 (source: AMPAS)

Award	Recipient	Result
Best Music - Song	Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans	Won

BlogHub Articles:

4K UHD Blu-ray Review: The Man Who Knew Too Much

By Devon Powell on Oct 30, 2025 From Hitchcock Master

Distributor: Universal Studios Release Date: October 31, 2023 Region ? 4K UHD: Region Free Blu-ray: Region A Length: 02:00:18 Video ? 4K UHD: 2160P (HEVC, H.265 ? HDR10) Blu-ray: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC) Main Audio ? 4K UHD: 2.0 English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio Blu-r... Read full article

SECOND TIME ROUND: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

By Carol Martinheira on Jun 27, 2025 From The Old Hollywood Garden

SECOND TIME ROUND: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) On June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 By CarolIn Uncategorized Image from Literallyanythingmovies.com blog I?ll be honest with you, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) was never one of my favourite Hitchcock films. I guess I l... Read full article

Doris Day and James Stewart as “The Man Who Knew Too Much”

By Stephen Reginald on Jul 16, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

Doris Day and James Stewart as “The Man Who Knew Too Much” The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) is an American mystery thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Doris Day. Other members of the cast include Brenda de Banzie, Bernard Miles, Daniel Gelin, and Hil... Read full article

The Directors' Chair: The Man Who Knew Too Much

By Theresa Brown on Jul 31, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

"THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH" ( 1956 ) ~ QUE SERA SERA ?Why would he pick me out to tell?? Why? Because you?re the affable, all-American James Stewart, that?s why. I?ve no real clue why Stewart?s picked, other than he?s a great foil to get pushed around by Hitchcock and international... Read full article

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) (3)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Mar 28, 2018 From 4 Star Films

Although Hitchcock did many riffs off the same themes, he very rarely tried to do the same film twice over. The Man Who Knew Too Much might be the one exception and even then if you place these two thrillers from 1934 and 1956 up next to each other, they’re similarities are fairly nominal. The... Read full article

See all The Man Who Knew Too Much articles

Quotes from

Edward Drayton: Remember, you will only have time for just one shot. If you need another, the risk is yours.
Rien: I don't take risks.

[to Drayton]
Ambassador: You have muddled everything from the start, taking that child with you from Marrakesh. Don't you realize that Americans dislike having their children stolen?

Dr. Ben McKenna: Sorry we were gone so long, but we had to pick up Hank!

Facts about

The plot calls for a man (Daniel Gélin in the role of Louis Bernard) to be discovered as "not Moroccan" because he was wearing black makeup. The makeup artists couldn't find a black substance that would come off easily, and so they painted the fingers of the other man (James Stewart) white, so that he would leave pale streaks on the other man's skin (according to Patricia Hitchcock, this idea was suggested by Daniel Gélin).

When Doris Day traveled to London to film some of the location scenes for this film, she was so popular with the British that when she arrived at her hotel, mobs of fans who had gotten word that she would be staying there had gathered. Pandemonium erupted when they saw her, and she needed a police escort to get in. Fans continued to surround the hotel, camping out, shouting her name, asking for autographs and hoping for a chance to see her. The hotel management finally had to ask her to leave.

Doris Day had a fear of flying that stemmed from tours with Bob Hope in the 1940s that resulted in some close calls in impenetrable winter weather. She almost turned down her role in this film because it required travel to London and Marrakesh. Her husband and manager, Martin Melcher talked her into accepting it.

Classic Movie Hub

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)