Oooooo! I love this film. Clever. Mysterious. Subtly romantic. What's not to like? This was the best of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood films (though The Lady Vanishes is a close second). With the latest DVD prints, you'll find it a highly watchable film, not withstanding its vintage dating, from 1935.

Historical Background: Alfred Hitchcock began making films during the silent era for a British branch of Paramount, called Players-Laskey. His debut film, The Pleasure Garden (1925), was fairly impressive, but Hitchcock later considered his third film, The Lodger (1926), to be his first "true" film. It was a suspense thriller about a landlady who believes that one of her tenants might be the infamous Jake the Ripper. In that film, Hitchcock toyed with a notion that would recur in several later films, including The 39 Steps: the idea of an ordinary man being caught up in extraordinary events. During the rest of the silent era, Hitchcock labored in relative obscurity and never again equaled the success of The Lodger until Blackmail (1929). It was the first ever all-talkie British film as well as a signal success. It introduced another Hitchcock hallmark: the idea of danger lurking in situations that seemed quite calm and ordinary on the surface.

Hitchcock built his international reputation as a master of suspense primarily during the period from 1934-1938. There was The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1934, which Hitchcock would later remake in color in 1956. Next came The 39 Steps (1935), widely considered to be Hitchcock's best early film. Hitchcock was given only a rather modest budget for the film, but managed to deliver the studio a masterpiece. After proving that The 39 Steps was no fluke, with such fine pictures as The Secret Agent (1936), Sabotage (1937), The Young and the Innocent (1937), and The Lady Vanishes (1938), Hitchcock was invited to Hollywood by David O. Selznick. Hitchcock never looked back. He only returned to England for one movie after 1939, Frenzy, made some thirty years later, in 1972.

The Story: A Canadian man, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), living in London, plunks down a few coins for an evening of entertainment at the Palladium music hall, where some vaudeville acts are performing. It's an interactive kind of entertainment where the semi-intoxicated patrons hurl invectives at the performers. On stage, the barker introduces the next act: Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson), a man with encyclopedic knowledge of trivia. Members of the audience holler questions at the man, which he astutely answers or deflects. When he's asked, for example, if he knows Mae West's age, he replies, "Yes, but I never reveal a woman's age." Hannay throws up a question about the distance from Winnipeg to Montreal, a question one might anticipate only from a Canadian. Mr. Memory answers it with precise accuracy.

Suddenly, however, a brawl breaks out among the unruly patrons. When a shot is fired from a gun, the brawl turns into a stampede for the exit. As he is pushing his way through the exterior doorway, Hannay suddenly finds an attractive woman hanging onto his arm as though she were his date. When she asks if she can go home with him, he sees no reason to decline. When they reach his apartment, she introduces herself as Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) and claims to have been the one who fired the shot in the music hall, in order to create a diversion, because there were two men there trying to kill her. She claims to be a spy for hire, presently working for the British government. Hannay is naturally skeptical until he looks outside his second-story window and verifies that there are two thugs staked out on the corner, keeping an eye on his apartment. Annabella claims that she has discovered a ring of foreign agents, led by a man with a deformed pinky, planning to smuggle an important secret out of the country. There is a man in Scotland with whom she needs to make contact. The two head off to bed, separately, but before the night is out, Hannay is awakened when Annabella comes staggering into his room with a knife planted in her back. Hannay's only remaining clue is Annabella's map of Scotland, with one particular small village circled in red.

The apartment is still being watched and Annabella had warned Hannay that he, too, would not be a target for these ruthless killers. Hannay ingeniously borrows the milkman's uniform and cap to sneak away. Soon, however, he has the spies on his trail, not to mention the police, who want him for the murder of Annabella. Hannay figures the only way he'll be able to clear his name is to head to Scotland and try to expose the spy caper. He boards the train called the Flying Scotsman and ends up sharing a compartment with some lingerie salesmen. When the police board the train in search of him, Hannay tries to enlist the help of a beautiful blond passenger, Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), but she promptly rats him out, despite (or because of) the passionate kiss he had planted on her so as to pose as her husband. Hannay makes a getaway, however, hiding behind the girders of a bridge and then hightailing it out onto the Scottish countryside.

Hannay finds a farm where a bible-thumping crofter, John (John Laurie), agrees to put him up for the night, though John is zealously protective of his pretty young wife, Margaret (Peggy Ashcroft), especially after she takes a shine to Hannay. In any case, the police come around in search of the fugitive and Hannay is on the lam again, now wearing John's dark coat for concealment. Hanney barely stays ahead of the police before he reaches the home of Professor Jordan (Godfrey Tearle), whom Hannay believes to be Annabella's contact person in Scotland. Unfortunately, Jordan instead turns out to be the man with the short pinky. Jordan shoots Hannay in the chest but John's Hymnal in the inner pocket absorbs the impact of the bullet. Hannay escapes and heads to the sheriff's station. The sheriff pretends to believe Hannay's story, just long enough to turn him over to agents from the London police. Hannay, however, makes another bold escape and is pursued.

Hannay manages to hide himself in the midst of a marching band and reaches a hall where a political rally is underway. He is mistaken for one of the candidates and gives one heck of a rabble-rousing populist stump speech. When Pamela arrives at the rally and recognizes him as the man who earlier accosted her, she informs on him once again. Hannay is hauled away to the police station and Pamela is required to go as well. Hannay is turned over to the London agents and both he and Pamela are to be driven to another town. Hannay begins to realize, however, that he's in the custody of the foreign agents, not the London police. When the car in which they are riding encounters a flock of sheep in the road, Hannay makes another getaway, dragging Pamela along with him because they are now handcuffed together. Pamela still believes Hannay to be a murderer and nothing he says can change her mind. Finally, Hannay has to let her believe so in order to get her to cooperate out of fear.

The pair eludes the pursuers, reluctantly on her part, by passing behind a waterfall and into the smog-filled evening on the Scottish highlands. They find their way to a hotel where Hannay forces Pamela to pose as half of a pair of newlyweds. In their room, for the evening, she thinks it best not to remove her wet skirt, but feels it necessary to remove her soaked silk stockings. That creates a rather provocative scene because her left hand is still handcuffed to his right one and removing stockings is a two-handed kind of activity. Despite his effort to behave in a gentlemanly way, his hand inevitably finds itself gliding the length of her leg, from thigh to toe.

During the night, while Hannay is sleeping, Pamela manages to squeeze her petit hand out of the handcuff. She's about to make a getaway when she overhears the two agents talking with the desk clerk. From their conversation, she finally realizes that Hannay had been telling the truth about his innocence and the spy plot. Now, at least, he has an ally rather than an obstacle. The two set off for the London Palladium, where Professor Jordan is due to meet up with a mystery person who will be smuggling the secret information abroad. You'll have to check the film out to discover how it all works out.

Themes: The film does have a primary theme, but to define it expressly would spoil the film's ending.

Production Values: What makes The 39 Steps a masterpiece? Well, here are ten reasons to consider:

(1) The basic premise, which might be called "innocent man on the run," is one that Hitchcock returned to several times and came as close to perfecting as any director. It's a premise that has inherent appeal for audiences, drawing viewers in emotionally, because viewers realize that the same kind of circumstances could happen to each of them.

(2) Hitchcock perfected, in this film, one of his signature tactics, which he called "MacGuffins," borrowing a phrase originated by Kipling. A MacGuffin was some unexplained point built into a film's plot to maintain viewer curiosity. A MacGuffin might or might not be explained at the film's conclusion. A MacGuffin could consist of a container, such as a briefcase, with mysterious contents, a recurrent tune that a character whistles or can't get out of his mind (this device appears in both The Lady Vanishes and the present film), some object or information mysteriously coveted by several characters for unknown reasons, a physical deformity (e.g., Professor Jordan's missing pinky knuckle), an unexplained term (e.g., "The 39 Steps"), or a mysterious character (such as Miss Annabella Smith, counterspy). Hitchcock was the master at riveting viewer interest with such points of intrigue.

(3) Although Hitchcock usually told his stories in an essentially linear fashion, to maintain a brisk pace, he was a master of plot loops, through which a story circles back upon itself in some manner. In The 39 Steps, for example, the story both begins and ends at the London Palladium. Another example is Richard and Pamela being repeatedly thrown together by circumstances. Richard meets Pamela by chance on a train and forces a minor, unwanted intimacy upon her. Later, they meet again, by chance, at a political rally and are soon handcuffed together. Circularities of these kind suggest the determined hand of fate. It begins to appear that fate is so intent on facilitating romance that it will throw together this pair as many times as is required. It's not uncommon for a film to include one such element of coincidence or circularity, but Hitchcock had no qualms about tossing in several such loops.

(4) Hitchcock maintains a feeling of menace in nearly every scene. No matter how ordinary or safe things appear on the surface, viewers know that something can go wrong at any moment.

(5) Hitchcock was an unparalleled master of film pace, owing in large measure to skillful editing. One of his most appealing tactics is beautifully displayed in The 39 Steps. A charwoman walks into Richard Hannay's room in London and finds the corpse of the spy, Miss Annabella Smith, with the knife embedded in her back. We see the charwoman scream but instead of hearing her scream, we hear the wail of a train whistle, as the scene transitions to Hannay departing for Scotland. The film's brisk, tension-packed pace is also what allows Hitchcock to get away with minor technical problems or problems of plot logic. Viewers don't take notice of little inconsistencies because they're too keyed up. Such flaws only become evident if a viewer goes back and analyzes the film scene by scene.

(6) There's a recurrent motif relating to performances within the performance. The film both opens and closes at a vaudeville performance at the Palladium. Near the middle of the film, Richard Hannay has to play the part of a political candidate and extemporize a stump speech (which he does very well). Professor Jordan knows how to play a part as well, disguising himself as an upstanding member of his community. There's also an extended reference, in Hannay's dialog with Pamela, to another kind of staged show, Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

(7) Creating romantic and sexual tension by having two attractive characters handcuffed together is such a provocative tactic that it has been used repeatedly in cinema. I'm uncertain if the present film was the one that first introduced the idea, but an example of a more recent application of it is Richard Gere tethered to Kim Basinger in No Mercy (1986). Though Hitchcock was known first and foremost for suspense, he was also a master of dark romantic comedy. In The 39 Steps, he blends the two genre together but, incredibly, first-time viewers will not know until the final few frames which of the two genre is the dominant one in this film.

(8) The fog-bound Scottish landscapes create a very eerie feel for the film, all the more so with the fine digitally remastered DVD prints now finally available. The carefully structured mise-en-scene of the interior settings also add to the intrigue.

(9) There are a lot of very effective odd camera angles, skewed angles, first-person perspectives, and even trick shots in The 39 Steps. One shot, for example, begins inside a moving vehicle and then pulls back to observe the vehicle disappear into the distance!

(10) Hitchcock was a master at casting his films, which is ironic, since he was known to refer to actors as "cattle." The 39 Steps very much benefits from superlative performances. The chemistry between Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll is outstanding. There's a romantic tension between the two that spills over into sexual tension in one scene, despite that scene involving nothing more explicit than a woman removing her silk stockings. For that matter, the chemistry earlier in the film between Donat and Peggy Ashcroft, as Margaret, the crofter's wife, is palpable as well. Madeleine Carroll went on to roles in such films as Secret Agent (1936), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), and My Favorite Blond (1942). At the moment, she's my favorite blond! Peggy Ashcroft had a successful career that included roles in such films as The Nun's Story (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), A Passage to India (1984), When the Wind Blows (1986), and Madame Soustzka (1988). Robert Donat is handsome and has a gentle, melodious voice. He was perhaps best known for his roles in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) and Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), but also played in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Knight without Armor (1937). The Citadel (1938), and The Winslow Boy (1948). Supporting roles in Hitchcock films are relatively more important and involve better-developed characters than in an average film. Worthy supporting performances are turned in by Gus McNaughton and Jerry Verno as passengers on the Flying Scotsman, Wylie Watson as Mr. Memory, and, especially, John Laurie as the devout John

In the way of weaknesses, two main ones are frequently cited, though neither detracts materially from enjoyment of the film.

(1) Hitchcock didn't adhere very precisely to the novel for his adaptation, but the fact of the matter is that the novel is not of such stature or renown as to warrant a lot of concern over lack of faithfulness. The changes introduced by Hitchcock broaden the story's appeal.

(2) There are some technical limitations evident here and there in the film. One special effect involving a helicopter is pretty shoddy. There are a couple of moments during the film when you can spot evidence of the presence of the crew, if you're so inclined. You'll probably have to slow the playback down to slow motion. In one early scene, for example, Annabella Smith asks Robert to turn the mirror in his room so that it faces the wall. If you watch carefully, you can briefly see the film crew in the mirror as it turns. Big deal!

Bottom-Line: Each of the strengths listed above deepen this film's appeal and together ensure that it all adds up to a pretty terrific package, especially if its era is taken into account. The 39 Steps is undoubtedly one of the best films of the thirties. With the new DVD renditions, it looks no worse than many films from the fifties. Depending on which version you buy or rent for this film, you may or may not get a documentary extra on Hitchcock's early years as a filmmaker. More importantly, you may or may not get a pristine transfer of the film. The Criterion DVD is superlative and includes the documentary. The LaserLight DVD also offers a very good transfer from the best available sources, but has no extras except a trailer for another Hitchcock film, North by Northwest. VHS and some of the other DVD versions of this film are much poorer quality.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older