I'm a huge fan of Hitchcock's, but this one let me down. For the most part, it was quite dull, and really, not as gripping as many of Hitch's other fine films.
Johnny Jones (McRea) is a New York reporter sent to Europe as a foreign correspondent to inform America on the impending doom of the war. There, he meets Stephen Fischer (Marshall) and his beautiful and intelligent daughter Carol (Day). After attending a luncheon in which the host, Mr. Van Meer (Basserman) is said to be unable to attend, yet Johnny arrived with, he attends a press conference which leads to an assasination. Hot on the trail of the assasin with the help of Carol and her friend Scott ffolliot (Sanders), he soon discovers a kidnapping and a cover-up, and becomes a target of spies hoping to keep their business under raps. Throw in romance with Carol, double-crossing, and murder attempts...and, well, you kind of see where it goes from there, all leading up to an exciting climax that is, sadly, the only real highlight of the film.
I'm sorry to say I was disappointed by this. It was quite weak, considering how talented Hitchcock has shown the world he can be. All the big "thrills" (the assasination, the windmill, etc.) were weak, except the climax. In fact, at one point, my eyelids got pretty heavy. It's hard to believe this is the same director that had me glued to the screen with such classics as "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (the '56 remake) and "Rear Window," and showed impeccable skills in "Lifeboat." Well, we all have our flukes.
Now on to the acting. Joel McCrea, I'm sorry to say, didn't impress me, and fell pretty flat in his lead role. Laraine Day is so-so, a bit weak at times but still quite endearing and holds her own. I did like Robert Sanders, though, as the witty Scott ffolliot (yes, it is supposed to be lower-case). The rest of the cast did fine, and isn't much to mention.
My biggest indescretion was the light-heartedness of the film at time. One minute, Johnny, Carol, and Scott are pursuing assasins who are shooting at them, and the next moment, Carol and Scott are watching gleefully as Johnny chases his hat as it blows through the field, after they stopped to let the police continue the chase. A little unfitting. Not to keep comparing, but I was impressed with Hitch's way of holding emotions and tone of a movie in "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Doris Day, especially, remains distraught over her son's kidnapping well-after the first scene of her emotion, and though she doesn't become so weepy that she becomes a weak character (in fact, I think she's one of the better Hitch blondes), she remains realistic. The characters in this seem to forget the present reason for concern at times.
Overall, quite weak, except for the great climax, which I don't want to reveal much of, but believe me, it's one of Hitch's most exciting, and reminds me almost of one of those 70s disaster films (but well done.) If you can get through the rest of this, then that alone is worth a look, and the pretty grim, if not realistic closing. But, I'm sorry to say, Hitch sort of fell short with this one.
Johnny Jones (McRea) is a New York reporter sent to Europe as a foreign correspondent to inform America on the impending doom of the war. There, he meets Stephen Fischer (Marshall) and his beautiful and intelligent daughter Carol (Day). After attending a luncheon in which the host, Mr. Van Meer (Basserman) is said to be unable to attend, yet Johnny arrived with, he attends a press conference which leads to an assasination. Hot on the trail of the assasin with the help of Carol and her friend Scott ffolliot (Sanders), he soon discovers a kidnapping and a cover-up, and becomes a target of spies hoping to keep their business under raps. Throw in romance with Carol, double-crossing, and murder attempts...and, well, you kind of see where it goes from there, all leading up to an exciting climax that is, sadly, the only real highlight of the film.
I'm sorry to say I was disappointed by this. It was quite weak, considering how talented Hitchcock has shown the world he can be. All the big "thrills" (the assasination, the windmill, etc.) were weak, except the climax. In fact, at one point, my eyelids got pretty heavy. It's hard to believe this is the same director that had me glued to the screen with such classics as "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (the '56 remake) and "Rear Window," and showed impeccable skills in "Lifeboat." Well, we all have our flukes.
Now on to the acting. Joel McCrea, I'm sorry to say, didn't impress me, and fell pretty flat in his lead role. Laraine Day is so-so, a bit weak at times but still quite endearing and holds her own. I did like Robert Sanders, though, as the witty Scott ffolliot (yes, it is supposed to be lower-case). The rest of the cast did fine, and isn't much to mention.
My biggest indescretion was the light-heartedness of the film at time. One minute, Johnny, Carol, and Scott are pursuing assasins who are shooting at them, and the next moment, Carol and Scott are watching gleefully as Johnny chases his hat as it blows through the field, after they stopped to let the police continue the chase. A little unfitting. Not to keep comparing, but I was impressed with Hitch's way of holding emotions and tone of a movie in "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Doris Day, especially, remains distraught over her son's kidnapping well-after the first scene of her emotion, and though she doesn't become so weepy that she becomes a weak character (in fact, I think she's one of the better Hitch blondes), she remains realistic. The characters in this seem to forget the present reason for concern at times.
Overall, quite weak, except for the great climax, which I don't want to reveal much of, but believe me, it's one of Hitch's most exciting, and reminds me almost of one of those 70s disaster films (but well done.) If you can get through the rest of this, then that alone is worth a look, and the pretty grim, if not realistic closing. But, I'm sorry to say, Hitch sort of fell short with this one.