Towne, who wrote "Chinatown" and "Mission: Impossible 3," will write and direct the thriller for Carlton International Media, Daily Variety reported on its website.

"There is only a handful of individuals in our business with the talent, experience and insight to whom we would entrust a project of this magnitude, and Robert Towne is one of them," said Stephen Davis, Carlton America's president and chief executive officer.

Hitchcock's version of the spy film was made in 1935 and starred Robert Donat, Lucie Mannheim and Madeleine Carroll. Carlton owns one of the world's largest catalogs of classic movies. The company's vault also includes the 1959 version starring Kenneth More and the 1978 version by Don Sharp.