The Man who knew too much: the secret agent

This tape contains two classic Hitchcock tales, ‘The Man who knew too much’ (1934), and ‘The Secret agent’ (1936). In ‘The Man who knew too much’, a child is kidnapped by spies to ensure his silence, but he springs into action. There are memorable sequences in the film involving a dentist, an East End mission and the Albert Hall. This film was later remade by Hitchcock in America, but the earlier version is more acclaimed. Peter Lorre is excellent as the sneering villain. Cast also includes Leslie Banks and Edna Best. In ‘The Secret agent’, the scenario is an ambiguous one of double identity and meaning. Brodie (Geilgud), is a British novelist turned spy who travels to Switzerland under an assumed name. With him is his fictional wife, (Madeline Carroll), and an eccentric hired assassin known as “The General”, (Peter Lorre). Their mission is to find and kill a German spy, but first they must guess who he is. Based on the novel “Ashenden” by Somerset Maugham, ‘Secret Agent”, has many features of the quintessential Hitchcock.