In the book-length interview Hitchcock/Truffaut (1967), in response to filmmaker François Truffaut's assertion that aspects of the remake were by far superior, Hitchcock replied, "Let's say the first version is the work of a talented amateur and the second was made by a professional."
[1][5] Bob and Jill Lawrence, a British couple on a trip to Switzerland with their daughter Betty, befriend Frenchman Louis Bernard, who is staying at their hotel.
She reaches the final but loses to a male sharpshooter, Ramon Levine, because at the crucial moment she is distracted by a chiming watch belonging to a Mr. Abbott.
Unable to seek help from the police, Bob and Jill return to England, where they discover that the group, led by Abbott, have hired Ramon to shoot a European head of state during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Before switching to the project, Hitchcock was reported to be working on Road House (1934), which was eventually directed by Maurice Elvey.
[7] The deal for an adaptation fell through, and the frame of the plot was reused in the script for The Man Who Knew Too Much, the title itself taken from an unrelated G.K. Chesterton compilation.
Lejeune of The Observer stating that she was "happy about this film [...] because of its very recklessness, its frank refusal to indulge in subtleties, to be the most promising work that Hitchcock has produced since Blackmail".
"[14] The New York Times praised the film as the "raciest melodrama of the new year", noting that it was "excitingly written" and an "excellently performed bit of story-telling".
The review praised Hitchcock as "one of England's ablest and most imaginative film makers" and stated that Lorre "lacks the opportunity to be the one-man chamber of horrors that he was in [M]" but "is certainly something to be seen," comparing him favourably to actor Charles Laughton.
[20] Despite this, various licensed, restored releases have appeared on DVD, Blu-ray and video on demand services from Network Distributing in the UK, Criterion in the US and many others.