The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

In Alfred Hitchcock's VistaVision and Technicolored suspense-thriller - it was an overextended, dramatic assassination mystery, and a colorful remake of his own political thriller film from 22 years earlier; it was the only movie in his entire filmography that he made twice -- the first was a decidedly B/W British version made in 1934, shorter by 45 minutes and less sophisticated technically, that starred Peter Lorre as the criminal villain named Abbott. American scriptwriter John Michael Hayes adapted the 1934 film's screenplay written by British screenwriters Charles Bennett and D. B. Wyndham-Lewis.

Hitchcock's film won the Academy Award for its sole nomination - Best Original Song ("Whatever Will Be") (aka "Que Sera Sera") sung by Doris Day, and it became her biggest career hit and her 'signature' song, as well as serving as her theme song for her TV show The Doris Day Show (1968-1973). It competed against songs nominated from Friendly Persuasion (1956), High Society (1956), Written on the Wind (1956), and Julie (1956). This was James Stewart's third film for Hitchcock (out of four total) - he had already made Rope (1948), and Rear Window (1954), and would go on to star in Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo (1958).

On a budget of $1.2 million, the film made $11.3 million (domestic) and was moderately successful. The film was effective in its use of on-location shoots, its evocation of international intrigue, mistaken identities and murder, and its placement of an innocent American family in harm's way both in Morocco and in London as they investigated an alleged assassination plot while trying to rescue their young son. One of its taglines was: "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!"

• the 1956 production opened with title credits that appeared over a view of a performing orchestra - it was a preview and foreshadowing of the film's exciting finale that was marked by clashing cymbals, accompanied by a title screen prologue: "A single crash of Cymbals and how it rocked the lives of an American family"
• the early part of the film introduced the American McKenna family from Indianapolis, Indiana; it was the first weekend in June of 1955, and the family had just attended a medical conference in Paris; after visiting Rome and Lisbon, they were now vacationing tourists on a bus traveling from Casablanca to the city of Marrakesh in French Morocco (in Northern Africa); the family consisted of surgeon-husband Dr. Benjamin "Ben" McKenna (James Stewart) (at Good Samaritan Hospital) and his wife, newly-retired singing star celebrity Josephine "Jo" Conway (Doris Day), with their 7 year-old son Henry or "Hank" (Christopher Olsen); Mid-western surgeon Dr. McKenna had been stationed in a Casablanca army field hospital during WWII

"An American Family" on a Bus from Casablanca to Marrakesh (l to r): "Jo," "Hank," and Ben McKenna

A Frenchman Intervening to Quell a Dispute With an Angry Muslim Husband

The Frenchman Identified as Louis Bernard (Daniel Gelin)

• during their trip, Hank walked down the bus aisle, and when the vehicle jolted, he staggered and reached out his hand and accidentally grabbed hold and pulled off the veil of one of the local Muslim women (Mahin S. Shahrivar); for a few tense moments, the Muslim husband (Abdelhaq Chraibi) threatened to assault Hank when a friendly, handsome young Frenchman passenger named Louis Bernard (Daniel Gelin) seated nearby intervened, calmed the angry man, and reassured the American family that the problem was resolved: ("There are moments in life when we all need a little help...The Moslem religion allows for few accidents"); the McKennas were thankful to the outgoing and unusually helpful Frenchman Bernard, who befriended them; once the bus arrived in Marrakesh, Louis Bernard promised to meet them later for drinks in their hotel suite, and take the family to an "intriguing" Arab restaurant for dinner where the manner of eating was "exotic"
• on their way to their high-class hotel in an open carriage-wagon ("a horse-drawn convertible"), the suspicious Jo cautioned her husband that Bernard was "a very mysterious man" who they knew nothing about; using her feminine intuition, she reminded Ben that Bernard had learned way too much about their family in a very short period of time (he was a "man who knew too much"), and she felt that Ben was too trusting of him: "He was asking all kinds of questions, and you were answering. You might as well have handed him your passport"; she rightly sensed that Bernard might have something to hide; not taking her seriously, Ben attempted to quiet her protective complaints by condescendingly retorting: "I have nothing to hide...You're sore because this fella didn't ask you any questions" - revealing his hidden contempt for his wife's popularity and fame
• [Note: their carriage-ride conversation revealed evidence that their marriage was not entirely one of domestic harmony; in retrospect, if he had heeded her cautionary advice, the entire plot against their family - the film's main story - could conceivably have been avoided]
• in front of the Hotel de la Mamounia in Marrakesh, Jo sensed that they were being watched by another departing couple, and she told Ben: ("We're being watched") - Ben reacted with further exasperation at his wife's imagined concerns
• later that early evening in the McKennas' suite with a view of a crescent moon and minarets in the city, Louis Bernard had joined the family for cocktails, and was on the balcony as the family was dressing to leave in the bedroom; in a domestic scene as Jo was readying her son Hank for bed (and had arranged for a baby-sitter), Jo began singing the melody of the song: "Whatever Will Be" to him as he joined in; Hank sang the line: "I asked my mother, 'What will I be?'", and Jo looked at Ben to receive his answer: "He'll make a fine doctor"; the two joined together for another verse (with Ben whistling the tune), and then sang the final line of the chorus together; on the balcony, Bernard praised Jo's singing, but avoided answering any of her questions about his past

The Balcony View From the Hotel

Jo Singing "Whatever Will Be" to "Hank" As She Prepared Him for Bed in the Hotel

• the family was startled when a sinister-looking man knocked loudly at their door [Note: He would later be identified as Rien (Reggie Nalder), a hired assassin]; he stated that he was looking for the room of "Monsieur Montgomery," and had the wrong room; Bernard witnessed the incident and then abruptly made a phone call and cancelled his dinner plans with them due to an "important matter"
• that evening in a local Arab restaurant in Marrakesh in a 'fish-out-of-water' dinner scene due to conflict with cultural norms in a foreign country, the McKennas were seated; the tall and lanky Dr. McKenna felt completely awkward sitting on low cushions, due to his long legs being unable to fit under the table; they were also unaccustomed to having their hands washed before eating without utensils; they were befriended by a couple seated behind them (Jo noted that they were the same couple from the front of their hotel), who claimed that they were fans of singer-performer "Jo Conway" - her former stage name; she described how she was temporarily retired from the musical stage due to her husband's medical work in the Mid-West: (Jo: "The Broadway musical shows are not produced in Indianapolis, Indiana. Of course, we could live in New York. I hear the doctors aren't starving there, are they?")
• the English couple introduced themselves as Lucy (Brenda De Banzie) and Edward Drayton (Bernard Miles) who worked for United Nations Relief, and they joined together at one table, to follow the local custom of eating their chicken dinner with one hand [Note - Spoiler: the Draytons were later revealed to be the real criminals - leaders of an anarchist terrorist group involved in an assassination plot.]
• the McKennas were shocked when Louis Bernard entered the restaurant to dine with an elegantly-dressed woman (Gladys Holland) at a corner table; it was unusual that without any explanation, he basically ignored the McKennas; Jo was able to calm down Ben who became "worked up" over the insult from Bernard and was inclined to get up and confront him; the female conversed with Bernard and asked him - in French: "C'est les deux que cherchez? (Is that the couple you are looking for?)," and he answered affirmatively
• the next day, the Draytons followed up on their offer to tour the McKennas through a crowded Marrakesh bazaar marketplace (with Hitchcock making his customary cameo appearance watching acrobats); they saw a white-robed, dark-skinned man, obviously with face paint, being chased by police; a second, faster white-robed person entered into the chase and stabbed the lead man in the back; the police continued their pursuit after the second man, not realizing that the dying victim had stumbled over into the open-air market square

The Stabbing of a White-Robed Individual by a Second Person

• the dying Arab approached toward the Draytons and the McKennas; Ben pointed him out to everyone: "Hey, hey look there! "; the victim reached out to specifically speak to Dr. McKenna and slowly collapsed to the ground; Ben reached out to the Arab with his hands, and his fingers slid off the man's face, rubbing dark face paint off onto his fingers; the removal of the face paint revealed that he was the Frenchman Bernard whom the McKennas had met earlier

In the Marrakesh Marketplace, The Whispered Cryptic Secret to Ben McKenna by Dying Louis Bernard
"Monsieur McKenna. I'm Louis Bernard"

• the Arab gasped: "Monsieur McKenna. I'm Louis Bernard"; with his left arm, Bernard pulled Ben down to whisper a secret into his ear: "A man, a statesman is to be killed, assassinated, in London. Soon, very soon. Tell them in London to try Ambrose Chappell"; during a close-up of Ben's ear, his eyes widened as he heard cryptic news of an impending assassination of an unnamed statesman in London; and then Bernard's grip on Ben's neck loosened as he died and fell back onto the ground; it was then that Ben discovered the knife that had been sticking out of Bernard's back
• Ben asked Jo for a small notepad and scribbled down bits and pieces of what he had heard; a uniformed French policeman approached and asked in French: "Did you know this man?", and after a translation, Jo answered affirmatively: ("Yes, we do know him, he's Louis Bernard, the French..."); the two were asked to proceed to police headquarters to make a statement, as Mrs. Drayton volunteered to take Hank back to the hotel room for them; as Ben and Jo walked to a police car, Ben (who was now the "man who knew too much") was mystified: ("Why was he killed?"); she correctly hypothesized that Bernard "was a spy or something like that"; and then Ben asked himself: "Why should he pick me out to tell?" and appeared cluelessly sympathetic to Bernard: "After what you said about him last night, the poor fella"
• in the police HQs, it was revealed by the French police inspector (Yves Brainville) to the McKennas that Bernard was a French Intelligence agent working there in Morocco, part of the Deuxime Bureau, better known as the "American FBI"; it had been learned that he had been investigating a potential murder of a statesman, and shared the secret of what he had discovered with Dr. McKenna: ("The dead man found out what he had been sent here to discover. That's why he was killed. He told you what he had discovered... Because he placed complete confidence in you")
• during the inspector's questioning, Dr. McKenna was interrupted with an ominous, blackmailing phone call from an unidentified French-accented individual threatening harm to his son Hank if he refused to keep quiet about Louis Bernard's whispered secret in the marketplace: ("If you tell even one word of what Louis Bernard whispered to you in the marketplace, your little boy will be in serious danger. Remember, say nothing"); Mr. Drayton attempted to phone the hotel to speak to his wife, but nobody reported seeing her; after threatening to go to their American consulate, the McKennas signed release papers and returned to the hotel
• on the way back to their hotel, Ben reluctantly showed Jo his notes on her notepad paper - the notes were verbatim what Bernard had whispered: "A man, A statesman is to be killed, Assassinated, in London, soon, very soon. Tell them in London to try Ambrose Chappell"; Jo offered sound advice - for them to turn the note over to the American consulate, leave town, and "not get any more involved," but Ben was very hesitant
• as Jo entered the hotel, Ben was shocked to hear from the hotel doorman (John O'Malley) that there had been no sign of Mrs. Drayton, and that Mr. Drayton had already checked out; in their hotel room, when Jo mentioned she was going to call Mrs. Drayton, Ben ordered her to not, and called her "excited and nervous"; he began pressuring her to relax by taking a strong sleeping sedative, and bargained that the "price of curiosity" would be for her to take the pills and then he would disclose something he hadn't yet told her
• after she complied, he described his sudden revelation to Jo that her intuitions had been right all along about Bernard; he had figured out why they had been approached by the overly-friendly Bernard before his death - they had been mis-identified as the Drayton couple that Bernard was suspiciously tracking: ("He started to talk to us, and the reason he started to talk to us was 'cause he was on the lookout for a suspicious married couple...it was a different married couple....He found them, all right. It was in the restaurant where we had dinner last night. And that's one of the reasons he was killed"); he also told her about the blackmail phone call at the police HQs about keeping silent, and then that he had deduced that their son Hank had been "taken away" (kidnapped) by the Draytons for blackmailing purposes; she was devastated both by the news and how she had been drugged by him, and at one point, threatened: "I could kill you!"
• once Jo revived, Ben explained how they couldn't tell the local police - since it would only further endanger Hank's life; he also discovered that the Draytons had taken Hank on their private airplane back to London where they lived; Ben had already packed them up and checked out, before they made a dangerous return trip back to England, in a plot of counter-espionage and intrigue, to avert a suspected assassination attempt in London, find Ambrose Chappell, and search for their kidnapped son Hank
• at the airport in England, Jo was greeted by crowds of fans and press photographers, even though she hadn't played in London for four years; Inspector Edington (Harry Fine) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) met them at the plane and escorted them to briefly meet Special Branch officer Mr. Woburn (Noel Willman), who then brought them to an interview conducted by Mr. Buchanan (Ralph Truman) of Scotland Yard; Buchanan revealed he knew about their situation, but became frustrated when Jo told him that they wouldn't tell him the whispered secret told to Ben by Louis Bernard; he demanded that the two stubborn McKennas divulge the message: "If you don't tell me all you know, you become an accessory before the fact of murder"; Ben falsely claimed that Bernard had spoken to him in French, and the couple decided to not cooperate with the authorities, but implied that they would investigate on their own
• at that moment, Jo received a phone call from Mrs. Drayton, and it was confirmed that "Hank" was OK when she briefly spoke to him; after the McKennas checked into their luxurious hotel suite, Ben perused the local London phone book, to locate the names and locations of any persons named "Ambrose Chappell"; Ben was interrupted mid-call with Ambrose Chappell by the unexpected arrival of Jo's old musical career acquaintances who barged into their suite: Val and Helen Parnell (Alan Mowbray and Alix Talton), Jan Peterson (Hillary Brooke) and blonde Cindy Fontaine (Carolyn Jones)
• Ben snuck out of the hotel through the service entrance to meet with the "Ambrose Chappell" that he had phoned, at their Camden Town address on Burdett St.; after walking down a long London-area street and fearing that he was being followed due to the echo of footsteps behind him, he realized that an Ambrose Chappell owned a Taxidermy Shop; inside, the workshop area was cluttered with stuffed animals and workers, and there were two taxidermists - an elderly Ambrose Chappell Sr. (George Howe) and a middle-aged Ambrose Chappell Jr. (Richard Wordsworth) (the one who had followed Ben on the street and entered the shop)
• after browbeating, frightening and subjecting the younger Ambrose to verbal abuse and unfounded accusations about a killing in Marrakesh and a kidnapping, Ben suddenly and shockingly realized that he was "in the wrong place" when employees in the workshop dropped their tools and came to their employer's defense by assaulting Ben and subduing him; Ben broke free and raced for the exit door

In the Taxidermy Shop, Ben Questioning Ambrose Chappell, Sr. & Ambrose Chappell, Jr.

• back in the hotel suite with her friends about an hour after Ben had left, Jo suddenly had a revelatory insight that Ben had misinterpreted Bernard's whisper by assuming that Ambrose Chappell was a person instead of a place: ("It's not a man, it's a place!") - and "Ambrose Chapel" was where Hank was being held hostage by the Draytons; she confirmed that 'Ambrose Chapel' was in the London phone directory; she hurriedly left and promised to return as soon as possible
• when Ben arrived back at his hotel suite, he was told that Jo had left 20 minutes earlier to visit Ambrose Chapel: (Helen: "It isn't a he! It's an it! A building"); after speaking on the phone together, the McKennas agreed to meet up there
• it was revealed that the Draytons were part of an anarchist terrorist group that was holding Hank hostage in the upstairs of the Chapel, with assistance from bespectacled Edna (Betty Baskcomb), the church organist; the group was plotting an assassination of some sort (the murder of a distinguished visiting foreign dignitary), set to take place at the end of a concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall that evening; the assassin - Drayton's hired gunman Rien - was the man who was seen at the McKenna's hotel doorway in Marrakesh; Rien was instructed to precisely time his murderous gunshot; it was planned to coincide with and be drowned out by a dramatic clash of cymbals at the end of the symphonic concert; marksman Rien was to share a concert hall balcony box with a Miss Benson (Barbara Burke) to lend him an "an air of respectability"
• after Ben arrived by taxi in front of the chapel, the McKennas entered (without police assistance) and sat in a back row of chairs during the singing of a hymn; they discovered that Mrs. Drayton was passing the offertory plate, and her husband was leading the church service; it was a stunning moment when Mrs. Drayton recognized them in the congregation, and tried to alert her husband; as Jo left a few moments later to phone Inspector Buchanan, Mr. Drayton noticed Jo slipping out, and cut the service short
• after the parishioners filed out, Ben was the only one left in the chairs; he confronted Drayton, and yelled out to Hank who responded from an upstairs room, but then Ben was knocked unconscious by one of Drayton's men; meanwhile, Jo could only speak on the phone to Inspector Buchanan's assistant Mr. Woburn, since Buchanan was attending a "diplomatic affair" at the Albert Hall; shortly later, a police car was dispatched to the chapel, but the officers soon left after they were unable to enter the emptied and locked Chapel without a warrant; they didn't realize that a car pulled away from the rear of the chapel, with Hank and the hostage takers (including the Draytons), and arrived at a foreign Embassy; later, Ben regained consciousness and was able to escape by climbing the church bell's rope
• except for the group holding Hank hostage, most of the main characters converged on London's famous Royal Albert Hall in a very suspenseful, wordless, 14-minute climactic sequence during a concert performance of Arthur Benjamin's "Storm Clouds Cantata" (by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Herrmann); both McKennas and Inspector Buchanan were keenly aware of the assassination plot
• as Jo entered the Royal Albert Hall, in the crowded lobby, she momentarily glimpsed, from her POV, the assassin, who warned her that if she divulged anything, her son would instantly be killed: ("You have a very nice little boy, Madame. His safety will depend upon you tonight"); then, after entering into the concert hall, she stood in the aisleway and surveyed the scene - determining the location of the dignitaries' box (the location of the Prime Minister (Alexis Bobrinskoy)) and where the assassin would be positioned; Jo observed the assassin seated in one of the upper balcony boxes (who was observing his target in the audience); her pained expression revealed her fear; up to this moment, Jo was completely anguished and powerless as she watched the plot unfolding around her

Jo Observing the Assassin with Miss Benson, Who Was Observing His Target In an Upper Balcony Box - Foreign Prime Minister (Alexis Bobrinskoy)

• meanwhile, Dr. McKenna arrived at the Royal Albert Hall after freeing himself, and he and Jo met briefly in the aisleway and the two exchanged information - viewed from mid-distance and without audio dialogue, as the two gestured frantically at each other; she pointed to the balcony seating where the assassin had been sitting (although he had by now slipped into the shadows); after separating, Ben rushed upstairs to try to intervene and find the assassin, but was impeded by police guarding the Prime Minister's box; the intensity built as there were various views and establishing shots of the stage, the conductor, the two balcony boxes, the musical sheet music, the Covent Garden Chorus, and the orchestra (and the percussion section with close-ups of the cymbals)
• the final climactic moment came when the assassin's gun barrel was visible pointing out from behind a red curtain in the balcony box, as simultaneously, there was a close-up of the cymbalist ready to clash his cymbals together; at the moment of the potential fatal shot, Jo let go a terrifying, shrieking scream, upsetting the gunman's timing and causing him to miss his mark; it was another example of Jo's intuition helping to save the family; the targeted statesman was only grazed in the arm; Dr. McKenna raced into the box, jumped onto the assassin and fought with him - Rien fell to his death when he tumbled from the balcony onto the floor below

The Assassin's Gun-Barrel Pointing Outward From Behind Curtain	Assassin Rien Aiming His Weapon at the Prime Minister	The Target - The Prime Minister's Torso
Jo McKenna's Scream That Disrupted The Assassin's Gunshot	The Clashing Cymbals	Prime Minister Shot in the Right Arm

• as the grateful, slightly-wounded Prime Minister left the Concert Hall, he briefly met the McKennas and promised to visit with them and formally thank them the following day at the Embassy
• hiding out in a foreign Embassy, the Draytons were notified by the enraged and dastardly Ambassador (Mogens Wieth), the one who had hired them for the assassination job, that their attempt had failed, and that their highly-recommended hired assassin Rien from Marrakesh was dead; the Ambassador ordered Mr. Drayton to "remove" Hank from the Embassy and keep him silent (in other words, kill him)
• Inspector Buchanan informed the McKennas that the Draytons were inside the Embassy (presumably where Hank was captive), but that it was exempt from investigation due to its foreign sovereignty; Ben phoned the Embassy and Jo was able to convince the Prime Minister that they could see him that evening instead of the following day

In the Embassy, Jo Singing "Whatever Will Be" In the Embassy

The Abducted Hank on the 3rd Floor of the Embassy Alerted to the Sound of His Mother's Tune

• in the film's second and climactic high point, Ben and Jo were fortuitously invited by the Prime Minister to attend a reception that evening at the Embassy; once they arrived, Jo was asked to entertain the guests at the piano; she sang the film's Academy Award-winning Best Song: "Que Sera, Sera" ("Whatever Will Be, Will Be") - Hank's favorite bedtime tune; meanwhile, Hank was being held captive in a locked room on the third floor by his kidnappers, the Draytons; the camera moved up the flights of stairs to the third floor, to indicate how the sound traveled - Hank heard his mother's echoing voice (another saving moment for Jo) and was overjoyed; he exclaimed to Mrs. Drayton: ("That's my Mother's voice! That's my Mother singing!"), and she encouraged him to whistle back in response
• the sound of Hank's whistling led Ben to slip out of the mini-concert and proceed to his son's upstairs location; meanwhile, Mr. Drayton was plotting to murder Hank and take him out of the Embassy, as Mrs. Drayton became anguished about what might transpire; she protectively intervened and encouraged Ben - who had broken through the upstairs locked door - to quickly run off with his son; in the hallway, Mr. Drayton appeared with a gun and proposed to exit the Embassy by using both Hank and his father as human shields; as they descended the Embassy's two sets of stairs, Dr. McKenna pushed Drayton from behind, who rolled down the second flight of stairs and accidentally shot himself with his own gun
• the family was reunited once again, and returned to their hotel suite, where Jo's friends were sleeping and still awaiting her; Ben apologized - with a tremendous understatement: "I'm sorry we were gone for so long, but we had to go over and pick up Hank"