The 39 Steps (1935)

Spies and a Dash of Romance

This tremendously entertaining spy film from director Alfred Hitchcock's British period set the standard for all man-on-the-run films. Based on John Buchan's novel of an innocent Canadian tourist in Britain thrust unexpectedly into the world of spies, it's hard to find a better one than this.

Robert Donat is the Canadian, Richard Hanney, who gets more than he's bargained for when a woman named Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) in fear for her life is killed in his flat after revealing to Hanney that she is a Secret Agent protecting the secrets of her country from a dangerous network of spies known only as the 39 Steps.

With a murder charge hanging over his head he must heed her words and make his way to Scotland and get to the bottom of the 39 Steps in order to clear his name. But when a misguided guess leads him right into the hands of the dangerous head of the network, Professor Gordon (Godfrey Tearle), the hunter now becomes the hunted.

He is helped along the way by a few kind souls who believe in his innocence. Peggy Ashcroft is memorable as a lonely farmer's wife who risks everything to help him escape. A kiss given by Hanney for her kindness is a poignant moment in a film both enjoyable and exciting. When he and a much more reluctant young woman named Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) are hancuffed together there is a shift in the film's tone as romance enters into the story.

The classy Carroll was a perfect match for Donat and the back and forth between the two is still enjoyable today. Sneaking off into the night while he is sleeping she overhears the men after him and comes back to help him, finally believing his colorful story of murder and spies. A tune stuck in Hanney's head will finally lead him to the "Memory Man" and a grand finale.

This is most definitely a film classic. Another good screenplay from Charles Bennet and good work from photographer Bernard Knowles, who always made the most of the sometimes meager budgets given he and Hitchcock in Britain, enhance a story with both tension and a dash of romance. Other than the Criterion Collection DVD, prints are less than grandiose but still watchable. The MGM video version is quite excellent. A must see film. July 21, 2008

The 86 Minutes

I was really looking forward to this movie since this Criterion dvd is rather costly and a rerelease with a flawless screening seemed like the perfect way to be introduced to this so-called Hitchcock classic. It's a real shame the film ends up being so damn twee.

The main problem is that the film is just too quaint. None of the bad guys feel like a real threat and are frequently fooled by Hanney's simple tricks, the stakes aren't exactly high and the MacGuffin is surely Hitchcock's lamest. The final scene in which a memory man (a pre-USB key device) recites a vital formula to no one of importance before dying is a dumb way to end the film. I was expecting some gripping set-piece like at the end of North By Northwest or Saboteur when the hero and villain went head to head at Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. But a single shot fired at the London Palladium? Come on!

And what's the deal with that silly chase sequence over the moors of Scotland. The stupid speeded-up footage makes it look like a Benny Hill skit sans music. Plus there absolutely aint no atmosphere to speak of. The only thing that really amused me was the chemistry between Hannay and Pamela, but that came too late in the movie.

They also changed too much from the book. Pretty much all that's left is the name Richard Hannay and the words 'the 39 steps'. Take away those and it's something completely different from John Buchan's book.

A true adaptation would have been much better. April 14, 2008

Hitchcock Genius, Criterion Perfection

A glittering restoration of a classic masterpiece, it belongs on the shelf of any Hitchcock enthusiast, beside the equally pristine Criterion "The Lady Vanishes." One can only hope for future titles, such as "The Lodger" and "Blackmail," to make it into these capable technicians' hands. The Master would have been pleased. December 21, 2007

Hitchcock at his finest

This is one of my favorite old films. The story is still relevant, absent cell phones, computers and GPS electronics. I also think the acting is good, especially that of Madeleine Carrol. I have read reviews critical of Robert Donat in this part, but I think he's great. The real star is Alfred Hitchcock. His directing and angles of shots is superb. The DVD copy is good and I'll watch it often. September 3, 2007

Hitchcock's Version - No Slavish Adaptation by the Master

Alfred Hitchcock's movie version of John Buchan's "39 Steps" is a good example of how a movie director can take as his source material a novel and radically alter it to make it into a completely different kettle of fish. He added two important female characters, love interest, comic touches, a good musical score, and a denouement that is better than his source material. What do you do if you are Richard Hannay, and you bring a woman home to your apartment, and she turns out to be spy who ends up with a dagger in her back? After all, before bringing her home, he had warned her, "It's your funeral."
Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, and Madeleine Carroll is the romantic interest. The movie was made while Hitchcock was still in Britain. Even then he was a playful witty moviemaker. The British music hall performer, Mr. Memory, a key player in the film was a Hitchcock addition to the Buchan story.
The black and white movie is suspenseful with its spies, chase scenes in the Scottish highlands, and its very resourceful hero. Later Hitchcock movies used the isolated and hunted hero, the ingenious amateur, who has to win over doubters (in this case, Carroll). The film doesn't seem dated and is well worth seeing.
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