Can't go wrong with Hitchcock

"beautiful, mysterious woman pursued by gunmen. sounds like a spy story."

Hitchcock's man-on-the-run thriller The 39 Steps is precursor to North by Northwest. One of the most entertaining Hitch movies, pretty much acts as a prototype for the rom-com thriller genre. Fun (quite British), perfectly paced thriller with smart twists & turns. Such playful chemistry between Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll.

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

So back before the internet was invented you used to just go to a bar and shout your questions at a sarcastic British guy on stage? That’s cool.

Alfred Hitchcock makes The 39 Steps positively flicker with possibilities, and it deserves acknowledgement as one of the crowning achievements in his filmography rather than just one of his most significant pre-Rebecca accomplishments. It’s unjust to dismiss the greatness of conception that flows through the movie which detects him deftly mixing elements of comedy and action to tremendous effect.

The film effectively is performed as a chain of captivating events as well as functioning as a general observance on him demonstrating his exceptional abilities and experimenting with techniques that would come to be hallmarks of his work. His performers would perhaps come to hold a higher status and the production values more remarkable, but this adaptation of the 1915 novel from John Buchan is tremendous.

The 39 Steps is about Hannay, a man on the run accused of murder and out to clear his name. Simplistic and straightforward, this is Hitchock fleshing out a formula that he would later master in grander scale. So it doesn't have the complexity that Hitchcock would go for in his latter fugitive tales, but this doesn't detract from this entralling thriller in the slightest. The leads have great chemistry with some witty exchanges between them. I also love how the romance isn't overdone like so many adventure films of this kind. This leads to a final frame that perfectly hit the right note for me. In typical Hitchcock fashion, the climax is excellent and quite memorable as it reaches its crescendo.

It's only like 87 minutes as well so it hardly drags. It's a quick hit of well crafted entertainment. Great movie.

Hitchcock Ranked List

john buchan: so there’s this guy and he’s accused of a murder he didn’t commit so he’s on the run from the law.
hitchcock: go on.
john buchan: and he meets this girl on a train.
hitchcock: oh, i fucking love trains. what happens next? 
john buchan: they end up handcuffed together. 
hitchcock: holy shit. 
john buchan: and then they go to a hotel, and there’s only one room...with one bed...
hitchcock: you sir are hired!
john buchan: but there’s also a man who’s missing half his pinky finger and a whole bunch of spy stuff, if you’d just let me explain.
hitchcock: none of that matters to me at all.

I’ve been wanting to watch this since I read some film theory nonsense about objet petit—the unattainable object of desire, also known as a macguffin—that drives the plot forward but in itself isn’t entirely relevant, and of course, one of the examples I heard of was the 39 steps. My first Hitchcock did not disappoint! I dont have much to say besides that this was easier to follow and also more fun I think than most spy movies I’ve seen (not that I’ve seen many). And I suppose I hope people have learned how to look less suspicious in the past 85 years because this man literally was on the run and each time he saw a newspaper was like 😳👀🤭😬

Without ever really producing a conventional spy thriller, Hitchcock proceeded to make a film where the concept of the double agent is exploded entirely, so that Richard Hannay’s identity changes almost scene by scene. One moment he’s an innocent, the next he’s hamming it up as a killer, the next he’s pretending to be a parliamentary candidate, the next he’s a lover on the run. Hannay was the model for many subsequent Hitchcockian protagonists, but whereas a character like Roger Thornhill functioned as a satiric takedown of the American ‘dream life’, Donat’s performance is of a man trying to reconcile himself to the new uncertainties of life in the run-up to the Second World War- a Brit turned Canuck who lambasts the idle rich but shares their affect. Set against the dark streets of London and the imposing Scottish glens, this drama of identity is perhaps the first of Hitchcock’s movies that feels classically Hitchcockian.

wait is this where the one bed trope is from? anyway love hitchcock movies w significant train scenes

Cool old movie, with some signature Hitchcock-isms popping up here and there in their incipient stages, and with Robert Donat doing the worst "Canadian" accent of all time?

Cool old movie, with some signature Hitchcock-isms popping up here and there in their incipient stages, and with Robert Donat doing the worst "Canadian" accent of all time?

the main dude is vibing the whole movie, just vibing through life not a care in the world kissing here kissing there running away from police here being accused of murder and then giving a political speech to a bunch of strangers there... i should take notes and start to romp around like this tbh

This guy is way too chill.

Scavenger Hunt #70: Pre 1950s Criterion Collection
Criterion Challenge 2021: 1930s
All the flourishes of Hitchcock from train scenes to hapless, wrongly accused murder suspect, espionage, and live performance climaxes. You can tell it's early Hitch; the cement is drying but not quite set.

There's definitely a lot to like about this (the central performances, the rapid pace the film moves along at, the Scottish Highland setting and its wonderful outdoor photography), but the screenplay is on the weak side and is ultimately too conveniently plotted. The direction is there, the screenplay is not.

This is probably my least favourite Hitchcock film so far. It is hardly a compelling or complex mystery. The action mainly consists of one guy running across the moors as some other guys chase him. Rinse and repeat several times and you have The 39 Steps. There were a few funny moments such as the protagonist having to improvise a speech, but overall it is quite unmemorable.

Swyers Film Library Rewatch 5/352

Remarkable film with a well-deserved title of "classic". Mastermind Hitchcock keeps audiences nearly a century in his future on the edge of their seats. Music seemed absent at key places and present at wrong ones. Technical marvel nonetheless.

Yeah. I mean Hitchcock so. I found it a little boring for Hitchcock but it was still pretty alright.