MovieChat Forums > The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Discussion > The ridiculous scene at the taxidermist ...

The ridiculous scene at the taxidermist office.

posted 13 years ago by Jimbo_BSD
18 replies | jump to latest

That was supposed to be funny right? Please don't tell me that was supposed to anything other than an out of place slapstick comedy scene. It was totally outside the tone of the rest of the movie and just odd. If that was intended to be anything other than comedy it was a horrible failure.

I don't know why he decided to put something so ridiculous right in the middle of a tense part of the film. It didn't fit at all.

Overall this is one of Hitchcock's worst films. 5/10

[–] GaelicLass 13 years ago

Not ridiculous at all but made sense. When he looked up the name Amboise Chapel taxidermist, it was possible a man who stuffs African animals might have a connection to Morocco. Made complete sense to me, and the people were kind of creepy which made them suspicious also, but I guess taxidermy isn't a career for anyone who doesn't have a sense of macabre about them. It was a way of drawing out the suspense and making the audience even more excited to know the end.

"Sometimes you have to know when to put a cork in it."
~Frasier

[–] heyuactor 13 years ago

It was a way of drawing out the suspense and making the audience even more excited to know the end.

Yes. The scene was not funny in the beginning and was suspenseful.
There was humor at the end of the scene, the animals, etc. Nothing wrong with that.
Hitchcock's sense of humor.

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

[–] SooBee (129) 5 years ago

It was nice to see the streets of Camden empty and basking in the sun - a rare occurrence!

[–] moviemaniac2002 13 years ago

Worth seeing, cause it features a brief appearence (as Chappell Jr ) of William Wordsworth, an unsung, unheard of, but brilliant actor...(check out his amazing performance in the British sci fi classic "The Creeping Unknown"(aka "The Quatermass Xperiment")

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

Worth seeing, cause it features a brief appearence (as Chappell Jr ) of William Wordsworth, an unsung, unheard of, but brilliant actor...

I LOVED him! He reminded me of Richard E Grant for some reason, or vice versa. Thanks for naming him.

Re-the OP: I LOVE, LOVED this scene. It's typical of Hitch's macabre humour. The way they rescus the marlin, the ocelot (?) and try to protect the lion from Dr McKenna only for the latter to get his hand stuck in the tiger's teeth! This matches the corpse wrestling scene in Frenzy. Citsiligarfilacrepus!

Away with the manners of withered virgins

[–] joeparkson 12 years ago

Hitchcock sprinkled levity in most of his movies. Sometimes the humor is broad, sometimes it's subtle.

I like the scene in "Psycho" where Marion Crane high pressures the used car salesman to buy a car from him.

I also liked the scene in the diner in "The Birds" where the customers are wondering why the birds are attacking humans while eating fried chicken.

Absurdity: A Statement or belief inconsistent with my opinion.

[–] psdhart 12 years ago

...(check out his amazing performance in the British sci fi classic "The Creeping Unknown"(aka "The Quatermass Xperiment")

i remember him now, he was the astronaut I think, that scene was so random

[–] wiiztec 12 years ago

I just saw this for the first time yesterday and I thought they were trying to saw his head off with the sawfish at first

[–] hubcap18 12 years ago

I thought that too, even though using a sawfish like that sounds like something one would see in the 1960's Batman series.

There were other funny moments, like the very last scene and Ben's numerous attempts to get in a comfortable position when he and Jo are sitting at the very low dinner table.

_______
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

Indeed it did not. It was like a poor man's version of a Pink Panther-style slapstick sequence. There was a little bit of ridiculous comedy with the old friends all sleeping at the hotel room as well. Odd tonal shifts for sure, in a movie that also featured an innocent young boy being kidnapped and almost murdered.

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[–] HoldTheCock 9 years ago

Do you even watch Hitchcock?

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 9 years ago

I have seen several Hitch films.

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[–] HoldTheCock 9 years ago

Well unless you've only watched the biggest Hitch films like Psycho and North by Northwest I'm not sure how you can say that it's an "odd tonal shift" that's out of place to a fault in the film. I'd say any Hitch film not containing a similar "out of place" scene with his trademark macabre sense of humor is the exception to his vast filmography. The Man Who Knew Too Much was not a one-off.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 9 years ago

I have seen Psycho and North by Northwest, yes; also Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train, Vertigo, Frenzy, and of course The Man Who Knew Too Much. Rear Window is the only one I really loved, though. Most of the others would go in the "liked" category, while TMWKTM and Frenzy would qualify as Do. Not. Want.

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[–] JPLogan54 9 years ago

This scene gave Hitch an opportunity to squeeze in his obligatory bird sighting as well with that ridiculous Pelican. Hilarious.

[–] seanthornton1231 9 years ago

Couldn't agree more. 5 out of 10 with some parts so ridiculous they were infuriating

[–] harro (508) 7 years ago

I think you criticism has been well and truly rebutted by most of the other replies. Never the less I'm sure everyone would have burst out laughing when Stuart yelled as he got his hand caught in the stuffed tigers teeth. But we still loved it and are glad it was in the film.

[–] ecarle (14979) 6 years ago

Hitchcock told various interviewers that he believed he had to put humorous scenes into his ultra-tense thrillers to let the audience relax for a bit, because otherwise, "they would laugh at a serious scene out of sheer tension -- they have to release it."

And The Man Who Knew Too Much is ultra-tense as Hitchcock films go. A young boy has been kidnapped and the parents must stay silent about an impending assassination to keep the boy alive. That's tense.

So we get this scene which creates MORE suspense(oops, Jimmy's at the WRONG Ambrose Chapel, but Doris is at the RIGHT Ambrose Chapel), plot complexity(one is a person, one is a building, hah!) and in the moments before it turns comic, some suspense that this is the right place and these are bad men. And then, yeah -- it turns into comedy. I never saw this with a crowd, but I'll bet that 1956 audiences laughed pretty hard because they wanted to release their energy as Hitchocck intended.

But if you don't like it today, well, not much I can do to change your mind.

So I won't.

Thank you.

PS. As a similar example of humor in a Hitchocck movie that I DID see, with a revival crowd, near the super-suspenseful climax of Rear Window; after Raymond Burr has almost killed Grace Kelly and before he comes over to kill James Stewart -- good ol' Thelma Ritter has a line about Burr like "Well, I'll bet he's not sticking around to get his rental deposit." Minor line -- HUGE, long laugh -- because the audience had to "let go."