Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much was one of the most successful of his British productions, so why did he choose to remake the 1934 suspense thriller 22 years later? The original was among Hitchcock's earliest talkie hits, earning raves from critics and performing very well at the box office. Considering he rarely made mistakes when directing a film, Hitchock's 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much sticks out as his only do-over.
Starring Leslie Banks and Peter Lorre, the original The Man Who Knew Too Much was way ahead of its time for the 1930s and previewed the sort of politically tinged crime film that would come to define most of Hitchcock's career. It was one of the first movies that allowed him to push the boundaries of storytelling in cinema, especially in the burgeoning sound picture market. In addition to featuring one of Hitchcock's most suspenseful scenes, the 1956 remake offered significant changes to the plot and story and was a much more polished vision that was more in line with Hollywood productions of its time.
Hitchcock Was Contractually Obligated To Make A Movie For Paramount
Between 1954 and 1958, Alfred Hitchcock directed five movies at Paramount Studios, and each one was under contractual obligation, meaning he was not allowed to work anywhere else. The first collaboration produced 1954's Rear Window, which has gone on to be considered one of Hitchcock's all-time best films. He followed that in 1955 with To Catch A Thief and The Trouble With Harry, making it a banner year for Hitchcock as a Hollywood director. Though Hitchcock never won an Oscar for his amazing work in the 1950s, this was the era that truly elevated him to auteur status behind the camera.
Still contractually obligated to Paramount, Hitchcock decided to remake The Man Who Knew Too Much since it would fulfill his debt to the studio. Furthermore, as revealed in the book Hitchcock/Truffaut, the celebrated director had been floating the idea of remaking the film ever since coming to the U.S. After a steady clip of movies from 1954 to 1956, the gap between The Man Who Knew Too Much and his next film, 1958's Vertigo, was a sign that the bloom had come off of the rose at Paramount. The 1960 film Psycho was entirely funded by Hitchcock himself, and Paramount only participated as a reluctant distributor of the director's darker vision.
Hitchcock Didn't Like The Original Man Who Knew Too Much
Similar to the highest-grossing directors of today, Alfred Hitchcock was a certified hit-maker for most of his long career. As such, the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much was a big success in the UK and is heaped with positive praise even today. Nevertheless, the "Master of Suspense" wasn't pleased with his work after the fact, and it was a major reason why he chose to remake The Man Who Knew Too Much as opposed to any of his other early movies. Speaking in Truffaut's book, Hitchcock explained that his work on the original was amateurish, and that the remake was a better illustration of his directing prowess.
