The Subtext of Secrecy in: The Man Who Knew Too Much

When the subtext of secrecy works well in a film, it can create new opportunities to thicken the plot, advance the story, breathe life into a character, or add witty metaphors to the dialogue. Subtext is one of the least utilized skills in screenwriting. However, The Man Who Knew Too Much, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a film that makes intelligent use of the device. What is subtext? It is the underlining meaning of words or actions.  Or in this case, it is the subjacent theme of sneakiness that flows and ebbs like turbulent waters through the course of this Hitchcock film.

In the early 1930’s Hitchcock worked with writer Charles Bennett on formulating a picture founded on the BULLDOG DRUMMOND narratives. Bulldog Drummond was a fictional British soldier who retired after the First World War. Since he was also wealthy, Drummond spent his time working as a private detective. However, when the deal for the Drummond narratives deflated, Hitchcock and Bennett kept the structure for the story, which included the kidnapping of an infant, intrigue, and spying. They reconfigured the tale, and the story later became the 1934 Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much.

The 1934 version was a hit in England and became a cinematic darling. The success of the film gave Hitchcock notoriety in America too. And later, in 1941, he considered doing a remake of the 1934 film, but he set the project aside. Consequently, Paramount Studios requested that the auteur of suspense remake one of his earlier films, and they decided that The Man Who Knew Too Much was the best picture to adapt to modern times. The remake was completed in 1956 and starred JAMES STEWART.  

Many close to Hitchcock believed he favored his original version of the movie. But he goes on record with the French filmmaker François Truffaut saying that he believed his 1956 version was a finer film than the original. Additionally, he said that, “the 1934 version of the film was the work of an armature and the 1956 version was the work of a professional.” And the rest, as we say, is history.

 The plot for the 1956 version of the film is quite fishy. While vacationing in Morocco with his family, Dr. Ben McKenna, played by James Stewart, learns of an assassination plot of a prime minister, but the doctor cannot confide in his wife, “Joe,” played by Doris Day, nor can he tell the authorities without risking the life of his young son, Henry “Hank” McKenna, who’s been kidnapped to ensure that Dr. McKenna keeps the murderous plot a secret. 

 The plot is built on a scaffold of classified information that creates the framework of mystery and suspense. As Dr. McKenna journeys through the film, he functions more like a private detective than a doctor, which rings true to the story’s origin in the Drummond narratives. The subtext of secrecy also helps the audience connect to Dr. McKenna’s story on a deeper emotional level. Hitchcock’s cloak and dagger method of storytelling raises questions for the viewer, and causes the audience to highly anticipate the subsequent scenes, which are also saturated with hush-hush undertones. There are several moments where Hitchcock uses the subtext of secrecy in this film to thicken the plot like a well prepared stew of intrigue. But he also paid close attention to how the undertone of secrecy would affect the relationships of the characters within the story.

  Here’s a brief look at some key moments of secrecy in the film:

1.      On a carriage ride, Mrs. McKenna becomes suspicious of their charming but mysterious new friend, the Frenchman, Louis Bernard. She feels that their family is being watched and that Bernard is hiding something. However, the good doctor thinks Bernard was just making small talk, and his wife shouldn’t worry about the stranger’s agenda.

Secrecy breathes life into Bernard’s otherwise bland character, and the layer of subtext between Dr. and Mrs. McKenna helps to complicate the plot. Since Bernard is the last person they expected to meet on their vacation, it naturally raises the questions, “Who is he and what does he want?” This layer of subtext also causes the audience to ponder what is taking place beneath the surface of the scene, and establishes the mood for mystery and suspense.

2.      Later, at dinner, when Dr. and Mrs. McKenna encounter the Draytons, a seemingly normal English couple, things are not what they seem. Mrs. McKenna knows they are being watched by the strange twosome. However, Mrs. Drayton cleverly covers her tracks claiming to recognize Mrs. McKenna from her operatic days on the professional concert circuit.

Although this scene is masked as an ordinary adult evening out on the Moroccan town, beneath the surface of polite conversation, light-hearted humor, and the follies that occur as the McKenna’s attempt to acclimate to unfamiliar dining etiquette, there lurks the Drayton’s sinister plot to kidnap Dr. and Mrs. McKenna’s young son, Henry.

3.      The next day, in the busy outdoor market place in Marrakesh, Dr. and Mrs. McKenna observe a dark skinned man being chased by police officers. Moments later, he is stabbed in the back by a mysterious assassin. With each dying step, the dark man makes his way toward Dr. McKenna until he collapses at his feet. As he falls to his knees, the dark man’s disguise is accidentally wiped away, revealing that he is actually the Frenchman, Louis Bernard.

Just before Bernard dies, he entrusts Dr. McKenna with a secret that thickens the plot, and keeping the dying man’s secret becomes a matter of life or death for the McKenna family. He’s an ordinary man who didn’t ask to get involved, but now Dr. McKenna knows too much. He’s up to his neck in danger, which will make the rest of his family vacation in Morocco very complicated. 

4.      When Dr. McKenna receives a mysterious phone call that his son Henry has been kidnapped, it shatters him inside. What loving parent wouldn’t be crushed if they discovered that their only son had been abducted while on vacation?

This makes the audience sympathetic toward the McKenna family.  Sometimes couples keep secrets from each other to protect their loved one from hurt, harm or danger. Dr. McKenna is no different. He doesn’t want his wife to experience the horror of knowing their son is in danger so he lies to her and keeps the secret to himself. This subtext of secrecy fuels a later scene when Dr. McKenna must reveal the truth to his wife, making his confession one of the most important moments of recognition in the film.

Even Dr. McKenna’s last line of dialogue is laden with classified information, “Sorry we’re late, but we had to pick up Hank!” Although his reason for being tardy seems simple enough, his friends have no idea of the complexity that lies beneath. So his last line of dialogue becomes a metaphor for the McKenna’s struggle to save their son, and is expressed without alerting their friends to the awful experience.

The subtext of secrecy is the emotional core of this timeless film. Since things are never what they seem in this story, it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, teetering on the seesaw of hope and fear—hoping that Hank will be found and fearing the worst if he does not. And by the end of the tale, we are satisfied when Hank is saved and the McKenna’s return to their friends and their vacation. Hitchcock does an outstanding job of utilizing the subtext of secrecy to create witty dialogue, thicken the plot and advance the story, making this classic tale of mystery and suspense a joy for audiences to watch generation after generation. 

--Keith A. Nixon

You can see The Man Who Knew Too Much on August 19, 2011 at the Louisville Palace Theatre, 8:00 PM. Running time: 1hour 20min.