Hitchock's early British films are characterized by a sudden pace, a constant internal movement that never holds for a second. It is really fun to watch, though it does leave necessary moments of reflection to the side. It is, almost like a Marvel movie, akin to an amusement park ride, but about half as long and more entertaining. Marvel movies are fun but they are almost never clever, almost never take pride in their own narrative intelligence, they instead go through storytelling motions like a bored child forced to try out for a spelling bee. 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' takes pride in its wit, visually it is often fascinating, and yet there is still a lot missing. Why are any of the characters doing things this way? Why would the villains not get rid of the protagonists the first chance they get? Its clues of international espionage are boring, and while its costarring leads have a discernible amount of love to their interactions, and of course they have strong motives for all their movements, there is no subtlety or edge to their characters. There is no downside to the way they act. I liked 'The 39 Steps' more, although it may mostly be its ingenious romantic subtext, and as well 'The Lady Vanishes', as it is simply a superior movie, but both came after 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' and both are indebted to the experience Hitchcock gained while making it. He also remade it, in an American version, which I have not yet seen.