WED, AUG 22, 7p:
MBC Interactive Archive Retrospective:
Highlights of World Cinema
THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE
1930s
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Directed by ALFRED HITCHCOCK, 1934/UK/75mins.
With Peter Lorre, Leslie Banks, Edna Best
The Man Who Knew Too Much, Spanish photoplay, 1934. #MBCarchive
An ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination. This fleet and gripping film is the first of the early thrillers the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, made during the fertile phase of his career spent at the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. Besides affirming Hitchcock’s genius, it gave the brilliant Peter Lorre his first English-speaking role, as a slithery villain. With its tension and gallows humor, it’s pure Hitchcock, and it set the tone for such films as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes.
-Criterion. Digitally restored and presented in 4K projection.
“THE SWIFTEST SCREEN MELODRAMA THIS COLUMN CAN RECALL”-New York Times
“The story is told in sharp, abbreviated sequences gathering speed steadily toward their explosive climax, makes The Man Who Knew Too Much one of the neatest melodramas of the year.’-TIME Magazine, 1934
With a sneak peek at the MBC Interactive Archive,
Master of Suspense, 1930s!
