The 39 Steps (1935 film)
Encyclopedia : T : TH : THE : The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll.
There have been three major film versions of the book; Hitchcock's original is regarded by many critics as the best.
Context
The 39 Steps is the first in a line of Hitchcock films based upon the idea of an "innocent man on the run," including Saboteur and North by Northwest. Scholars of his movies regard this film as one of his best variations upon this particular theme.
Plot
Canadian Richard Hannay (Donat) is at a London theatre, attending a demonstration of the remarkable powers of "Mr. Memory" (Wylie Watson), a man with a photographic memory, when a fight breaks out and shots are fired. In the ensuing panic, he finds himself holding a frightened Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim), who talks him into taking her back to his flat. There, she tells him that she is a spy, being chased by assassins out to kill her. She claims to have uncovered a plot to steal vital British military secrets, implemented by a man with the top joint missing from one of his fingers, head of an espionage organisation called the "39 Steps".
The next day, Hannay wakes up to find her dead, stabbed with his bread knife. He sneaks out of the flat disguised as a milkman and takes a train to Scotland, where she had told him she was going to find the man. On the train, he sees the police on his trail. In desperation, he enters a compartment and kisses the sole occupant, the attractive Pamela (Carroll), in an attempt to escape detection. She however manages to free herself from his unwanted embrace and betrays him to the law. He jumps from the train onto the Forth Rail Bridge and escapes.
He stays the night with a poor older farmer (John Laurie) and his young wife (Peggy Ashcroft), who flirts with Hannay. The next morning, he leaves in the farmer's Sunday coat, and calls at the house the woman had told him of. There he finds the man with the missing finger-joint, the seemingly respectable Professor Jordan (Godfrey Tearle), who shoots him after a brief conversation and leaves him for dead. Luckily, the bullet fails to penetrate the farmer's prayer-book, left in a coat pocket, and Hannay flees once more. He goes to the police, but they refuse to accept his story, since they know Jordan well. Hannay jumps through a window and escapes into the crowd.
He tries to hide himself in a political meeting, but is mistaken for the keynote speaker; he makes a rousing impromptu speech, but is recognised by Pamela, who gives him up once more. They are both taken off by the "police", who are soon revealed to be agents of the conspiracy. They handcuff Hannay to the girl, but when the car is forced to stop, he drags her away. They travel cross country, and stay the night at an inn, the girl still not believing Hannay's story.
While he sleeps, she gets out of the handcuffs, but then eavesdrops on one of the fake policemen on the telephone downstairs; the conversation confirms Hannay's story. She returns to the room and sleeps on a sofa. Next morning, she tells him what she heard, and is sent to London to pass it on to the police. No secrets have been reported missing however, so they do nothing to help. Instead, they tail her to get to Hannay.
She leads them to Mr. Memory's show at the London Palladium, where the police close in on the fugitive. Seeing a signal pass between the criminal mastermind and Mr. Memory, Hannay realises the latter has memorized the secrets; he calls out a question about the 39 Steps. As Mr. Memory answers, his master shoots him, and tries to flee but is caught by the police. The dying Mr. Memory recites the information stored in his brain, a design for silent aircraft, and Hannay and the girl stroll off, hand in hand.
Acclaim
In 1999 it came 4th in a BFI poll of British films, while in 2004 Total Film named it the 21st greatest British movie of all time.
Differences from the novel
The film departs substantially from Buchan's novel and introduces a love interest which was not in the original novel. In this film, the phrase refers to the clandestine organization itself, whereas in the book and in the other film versions, it refers to physical steps, albeit located in different places and with different significance to the plot.
Remakes
The 39 Steps, a colour remake starring Kenneth More as Hannay, was made in 1959. Although quite different from Hitchcock's version, it keeps the ideas of the hero and his girl being handcuffed together, and the "Mr. Memory" character.
Another remake, The Thirty-Nine Steps, is considered much more faithful to Buchan's novel, although the ending is changed significantly; it was made in 1978 and starred Robert Powell, who would later reprise the character for the television series Hannay.
Acclaimed American screenwriter and director Robert Towne is currently writing and directing another remake set for release in 2006.
External links
- [The 39 Steps] at Filmsite.org - a detailed and annotated plot summary
- [Marian Keane essay about the DVD release at criterionco.com]
- [An analysis of The 39 Steps] in the context of Hitchcock's career
- Doctor Macro [film clip from The 39 Steps]
- [Free eBook: The Thirty-Nine Steps] at Project Gutenberg - John Buchan's original novel
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.