Filling in the Gaps: The 39 Steps
Every cinephile has gaps in their resumes. Films they feel they should have seen but have not. The classic movies that inspire many of today’s films and pop culture references are often known only by reputation or by famous snippets. In this feature I will attempt to fill in my own gaps, while keeping in mind the modern viewer and how the films might interest them.
I like to call myself a Hitchcock fan. I’ve been watching the great director’s classics like Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo since I was a child. I’ve seen them countless times. But these well known masterpieces are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography.
Alfred Hitchcock directed over 50 movies during his career but is mostly known by casual viewers for his historic half dozen or so. Even among more avid film watchers, he is probably known for less than 20 of those films. But there are so many of them, that it’s likely that no one but the most avid of Hitchcock fans has seen them all.
Prior to viewing The 39 Steps, I had not seen any of Hitch’s early work from the pre-Hollywood days in London. Most of his best known works were made after he arrived in America and won the Best Picture Oscar for Rebecca. But he made over 20 movies before leaving England. If The 39 Steps is any measure of his pre-Hollywood output, I am looking forward to seeing much more of it.
The 39 Steps is often credited as the template for the modern suspense thriller (as well as some of Hitchcock’s subsequent and better known releases). You’ve seen this story before. The every-man main character is caught up in a nefarious plot, wrongfully accused of a crime, and has to evade both the police and the criminals while he tries to prove his own innocence.
It’s a standard template for a suspense movie for a reason. The concept is so relatable to our own paranoia and fits so well into the medium of film that you can’t help but be caught up in the whirlwind of a story.
In The 39 Steps, we meet Hannay (Robert Donat), a Canadian citizen visiting London, who winds up in the middle of a crossfire while attending a theater show. In the escape he helps what he believes to be a damsel in distress (but is really a spy) home to his apartment as she fears that the men who were shooting were after her. Before you know it, Ms. Smith (Lucie Mannheim) winds up dead and the police believe Hannay did it.
So, Hannay goes on the run to Scotland using what little information he could get out of the pre-mortem Ms. Smith, to look for the evil spy master in an attempt to clear his name. Along the way there is a daring train escape, a hilariously tense stay at a Scottish farm, and a prolonged section of the movie where romance develops while Hannay is unexpectedly handcuffed to innocent bystander Pamela (Madeline Caroll).
The suspense is clearly the key to this movie’s lasting appeal. Hitchcock may not have refined his auteur tools quite as much here as he would in later movies, but the skill set is still on full display. But you also shouldn’t sell short the amusing interplay between Hannay and Pamela which acts as the movies heart. The movie simultaneously represents both the grimmer aspects of Hitchcock’s filmography while also being laced with some of the romanticism and dark humor that often run through many of his movies.
As far as modern audiences go, this movie is definitely fresh and relevant today in its storyline and characters. It doesn’t feel too dated in that aspect. Some of the technical points of the movie (pacing, editing, sound design) clearly mark it as a 30’s production outside of the Hollywood system, but the movie doesn’t suffer for it.
If you’ve never seen a Hitchcock movie before this may not be the best place to start. For a more refined version of a similar story go watch North by Northwest. But if you’ve seen the Hitchcock classics and want to start diving into some of his older work, this seems like a great place to start.
The 39 Steps
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Rovert Donat and Madeleine Carroll
Recommended for: Suspense lovers and Hitchcock enthusiasts
Tim Levers is a contributor at MNN, a devout worshiper of cinema, and a life-long movie geek. Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action, Drama, Classics, Horror. Love them all. All genres have the ability to produce a great film.
