If ever a film was in need of restoration it's this. Ironically one of the easiest Hitchcock films to see (because it's in public domain, you can usually pick up a copy in the drugstore for about $3), it's also impossible to find a print of it that's not hideous to look at and practically inaudible. For now, it still looks like the best film of Hitchcock's British Primitive period. Avoiding the clumsiness endemic to the likes of "Secret Agent" and "Blackmail" by pretty much dispensing altogether with character development or a comprehensible plot, it travels like "North by Northwest" along a series of loosely linked set pieces that without adding up to much provide an entertaining and intriguing passing show. Considerably jazzing up the proceedings is the zaftig, boyish young Peter Lorre, who with decadent charm (and not for the first or last time) transforms the putative villain into the tragic hero of the piece.
Review of The Man Who Knew Too Much
