Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Movies » Reviews » The 39 Steps (movie)

The 39 Steps (movie)

10 Ratings: 3.4

A movie

Synopsis: Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is a Canadian rancher on vacation in London who sees a vaudeville act at the Palladium in which Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson) draws on his photographic memory to answer... Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is a Canadian … see full wiki

Tags: Movies, Drama Movies, Action Movies, Horror, 1930s, 1930s Movies, see all

Cast: Miles Malleson, John Laurie, Wylie Watson, Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Godfrey Tearle, see all

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Genre: Drama, Action, Adventure

Release Date: January 1, 1935

MPAA Rating: PG

1 review about The 39 Steps (movie)

Showing 1-1 of 1

Sort by:

This 1935 Alfred Hitchcock thriller is certainly worth a look.

Dec 25, 2009

by drifter51

Rating:

Recently I read the review by cpw1952 of Scottish author John Buchan's 1915 adventure novel "The Thirty Nine Steps" here on Lunch. This of course was the book that director Alfred Hitchcock turned into a full-length motion picture in his native Great Britain back in 1935. Quite coincidentlally around the same time my sister-in-law lent me her collection of Alfred Hitchcock's classic British films. This confluence of circumstances prompted me to at long last watch "The 39 Steps". This was something I had been threatening to do for years. In the past I had attempted to watch some other early Hitchcock films but I always found it extremely difficult to keep up. I am pleased to report that for the most part this was not the case with "The 39 Steps". This is a film that grabbed my attention in the opening scene and simply never let go.

According to Neil Sinyard's 1986 book "The Films of Alfred Hitchcock" "The 39 Steps" is "perhaps the most famous and acclaimed of his British films and one of the best thrillers of the decade". It is easy to see why. Richard Hanney (Robert Donat) is the chief protagonist in this film. Hanney is a Canadian vacationing in London who inadvertantly finds himself entangled in a plot to steal state secrets that will have international ramifications if successful. He gets mixed up with a mysterious female spy while attending a show at the London Palladium. The beautiful young lady begs him to take her home and reveals that two men are trying to kill her. Ultimately she is stabbed to death in Hanney's apartment but not before she reveals a few tidbits about the plot. She mentions something called "The 39 Steps" and that the only person who could stop the plot resided in Scotland. After she is killed Hanney finds a map on her person that reveals the whereabouts of the person in Scotland she was referring to.

Hanney quickly goes on the lam when he realizes that he is being pursued not only the killers of the spy but also by the police who have reason to believe that he is responsible for the murder of the young lady. He heads to Scotland and finally catches up with a respected professor but quickly discovers much to his chagrin that this is the man who is the chief architect of the plot! Hanney manages to escape once again but finds himself handcuffed to a woman (Madeleine Carroll) who refuses to believe his fantastic story and thinks him a murderer. The story eventually leads back to the London Palladium for a spectacular and unexpected resolution to this tale.

While certainly not one of his finest films "The 39 Steps" offers a unique opportunity to examine Alfred Hitchcock's technique at a very early stage in his fantastic career. I found this film to be quite compelling from start to finish. An absolute must for film buffs of all ages and an interesting flick for general audiences as well. Recommended.