The Man Who Knew Too Much
Alfred Hitchcock, 1934

Just watched the original British version with Peter Lorre as the heavy. Charming 30s clunkiness from early in Hitch’s career. The orchestra scene was simpler, but delivered on the rising tension. What surprised me based on the relative restraint of the American remake was how the ending of this one turned into a shootout with quite a high body count. It also didn’t go easy on the kidnapped girl, who looked truly traumatized in the end even when her dad was telling her she was fine. Low-nonsense crime drama. Good stuff.

Asked ChapGPT to write me a haiku about Mr. Lorre:

Eyes wide and haunting,
Peter Lorre’s eerie presence,
Forever unique.

Not A+ work, really. How about:

More than just evil
Eyes reveal a broken heart
Disguised as weirdness