"Actor: Cicely Oates"

• The Man Who Knew Too Much | DVD | (31/01/2000) from £8.96   |  Saving you £1.03 (11.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Alfred Hitchcock himself called this 1934 British edition of his famous kidnapping story "the work of a talented amateur", while his 1956 Hollywood remake was the consummate act of a professional director. Be that as it may, this earlier movie still has its intense admirers who prefer it over the Jimmy Stewart--Doris Day version, and for some sound reasons. Tighter, wittier, more visually outrageous (back-screen projections of Swiss mountains, a whirly-facsimile of a fainting spell), the film even has a female protagonist (Edna Best in the mom part) unafraid to go after the bad guys herself with a gun. (Did Doris Day do that that? Uh-uh.) While the 1956 film has an intriguing undercurrent of unspoken tensions in nuclear family politics, the 1934 original has a crisp air of British optimism glummed up a bit when a married couple (Best and Leslie Banks) witness the murder of a spy and discover their daughter stolen away by the culprits. The chase leads to London and ultimately to the site of one of Hitch's most extraordinary pieces of suspense (though on this count, it must be said, the later version is superior). Take away distracting comparisons to the remake, and this Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone in Hitchcock's early career. Peter Lorre makes his British debut as a scarred, scary villain. --Tom Keogh

• The Man Who Knew Too Much | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £15.98   |  Saving you £1.01 (5.90%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The 1934 version of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' was an international hit for Alfred Hitchcock and transformed him from a British filmmaker to a worldwide household name. The story centres on a British family who befriend a jovial Frenchman while vacationing in Switzerland. The Frenchman is soon mortally wounded and before he dies whispers a secret to Banks. Foreign agents witness this incident and kidnap Banks' daughter to prevent him from revealing this terrible secret. The acting a

• 3 Classics Of The Silver Screen - Vol. 3 - Woman In Green / Young And Innocent / Man Who Knew Too Much | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £6.09   |  Saving you £-1.10 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The Woman In Green: Based on the Conan Doyle short stories 'Adventures of the Empty House' and 'The Final Problem' this film marks the last screen appearance of Professor Moriarty in the Basil Rathbone series. Holmes and Watson must solve the greatest crime wave since Jack the Ripper. A sequence of strange murders baffles the police. Holmes is called onto the scene and discovers the existence of a blackmail ring that uses a female hypnotist to further their skulduggery. Young And Innocent: Hitchcock's favourite film from his 'British period' is a spine-chilling melodrama centring around the murder of a young actress strangled with a raincoat belt - a clue which sets off a chain of life-threatening events. With its superb visual effects black humour and suspense. This is truly vintage Hitchcock. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934: A husband and wife's holiday in Switzerland goes horribly wrong when their daughter is kidnapped leading them into a web of mystery and intrigue...

• The Man Who Knew Too Much | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £8.38   |  Saving you £-2.39 (-39.90%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Alfred Hitchcock himself called this 1934 British edition of his famous kidnapping story "the work of a talented amateur", while his 1956 Hollywood remake was the consummate act of a professional director. Be that as it may, this earlier movie still has its intense admirers who prefer it over the Jimmy Stewart--Doris Day version, and for some sound reasons. Tighter, wittier, more visually outrageous (back-screen projections of Swiss mountains, a whirly-facsimile of a fainting spell), the film even has a female protagonist (Edna Best in the mom part) unafraid to go after the bad guys herself with a gun. (Did Doris Day do that that? Uh-uh.) While the 1956 film has an intriguing undercurrent of unspoken tensions in nuclear family politics, the 1934 original has a crisp air of British optimism glummed up a bit when a married couple (Best and Leslie Banks) witness the murder of a spy and discover their daughter stolen away by the culprits. The chase leads to London and ultimately to the site of one of Hitch's most extraordinary pieces of suspense (though on this count, it must be said, the later version is superior). Take away distracting comparisons to the remake, and this Man Who Knew Too Much is a milestone in Hitchcock's early career. Peter Lorre makes his British debut as a scarred, scary villain. --Tom Keogh