Oh, good, another pointless remake that puts flashy technology and big-budget spectacle ahead of moviemaking fundamentals, and makes it all much longer than it should be to boot. Admittedly, critics and audiences generally seem to like it, but why does this even exist when Hollywood should be pursuing original ideas instead? Are even our greatest creators stuck in a rut?
We are, of course, referring to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, which hit theaters 70 years ago today in glorious VistaVision. A remake of the 1934 film of the same name, the original was directed by… Alfred Hitchcock, who felt that nearly a quarter-century of experience and new technology would allow him to improve on his effort. Black-and-white became color, 75 minutes became 120, and Leslie Banks, Edna Best, and Peter Lorre were replaced by Jimmy Stewart, Doris Day, and Bernard Miles.
