The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

dir Alfred Hitchcock

This has gotta be one of Hitchcock’s campiest. What the hell was going on in the 30s that made everybody nonchalant as hell? Everybody was so unphased by any mishap. The craziest shit is happening left and right in this film and no one seems to be bothered at all. Your shot at skiing ruined dramatically by a naughty dachshund? Whatever. A man is shot through the window while you’re dancing? Just let him slump. The dentist tries to force nitrous gas upon you? Casually choke him and hit him with his own drug. All of this happening, mind you, without a peep! Well, you get one little perfectly timed shriek at the end. It’s really more of a yelp. It’s too nonchalant to be a real shriek! It’s gotta be a British thing. Americans are hooting and hollering whenever we get the chance.

Side note: today I had a client who had the Peter Lorre stripe in his hair. The timing couldn’t have been better! 2026 is really the year of the stripes.