The Man Who Knew Too Little
| The Man Who Knew Too Little | |
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| Directed by | Jon Amiel |
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| Based on | Novel by Robert Farrar |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Robert M. Stevens |
| Edited by | Pamela Power |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Running time
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94 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $13.7 million |
The Man Who Knew Too Little is a 1997 American-German spy comedy film starring Bill Murray, directed by Jon Amiel, and written by Robert Farrar and Howard Franklin. The film is based on Farrar's novel Watch That Man, and the title is a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 film The Man Who Knew Too Much and his 1956 remake of the same title.
Wallace Ritchie (Murray) flies from Des Moines, Iowa, to London, United Kingdom, to spend his birthday with his brother, James (Peter Gallagher). As James hosts a business dinner, he sets Wallace up with an interactive improv theatre business, the "Theatre of Life", which promises to treat the participant as a character in a crime drama. Before the night begins, James hands Wallace a pair of Ambassador cigars, promising to "fire them up" before midnight in celebration of Wally's birthday. Wallace answers a phone call intended for a hitman at the same payphone that the Theatre of Life uses for its act.
The contact, Sir Roger Daggenhurst (Richard Wilson), mistakes Wallace for Spencer, the hitman he has hired and Wallace assumes the identity. The real Spencer (Terry O'Neill) picks up the phone call meant for Wallace and murders one of the actors, prompting a police investigation. Daggenhurst, his assistant Hawkins (Simon Chandler), British Defense Minister Gilbert Embleton (John Standing), and Russian intelligence agent Sergei (Nicholas Woodeson) plan to detonate an explosive device (hidden in a Matryoshka doll) during a dinner between British and Russian dignitaries, to rekindle the Cold War and replace their aging technology.
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Wikipedia