The unspoken word

Down through the years, many people (including star James Stewart
himself) have mentionned or referred to the apparent fact that a great
deal of dialogue had been written for the climactic Albert Hall
sequence at the end of the American remake of 'The Man Who Knew Too
Much'. Thing is .. I can't quite believe this.

That is, I can't believe that the scene would have been originally
envisaged as having lengthy pieces of explanatory dialogue. However, I
can and firmly do believe that the makers (writers and director) knew
instinctively that (audible) dialogue would have slowed it down and
that the music (which was to be there anyway) would itself go a long
way to maintaining excitement and suspense .. which it does in spades.

And anyway, Hitchcock's mastery of 'pure cinema' would have certainly
told him of the immense power of the unspoken word.

Fergal #.