Our Take On: "The 39 Steps" [1935]

We can't answer that. It is only revealed by watching the movie or reading the book! We kicked off our 2016 season in Just Between Frames film club with the theme, 3^rd Generation: From Book-To Film-To Remake, and saw the original film version of The 39 Steps. The film is noteworthy on a number of points, but the first is that it is based on author John Buchan’s first novel by the same name.

It was the first of his novels to feature the heroic Richard Hannay, a character who would appear in four more of Buchan’s novels, including Greenmantle (1916). The 39 Steps has never been out of print – and it was written in 1915!  John Buchan was not only a best-selling mystery author, he was a highly-respected and successful Governor-General of Canada. Along the way, he was also created Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield (in 1935).

We talked about how Buchan’s story was an early example of adventurous spy novels, which were becoming a popular genre of fiction. The chase across the moors, the early-model airplane search, and Hannay’s daring escape on the Firth of Forth bridge (an engineering marvel at the time), are elements of the spy story that have carried on through all the James Bond films as well as other current spy films. All use whatever high-tech gadgetry is available at the time, and in the Bond films, his initial escape/pursuit has become a cornerstone motif for Bond movies – and it’s straight from films like The 39 Steps!

We felt the main reason for the cinematic appeal of such scenes was the skillful direction by a very early Alfred Hitchcock. This movie was in fact one of the films that established Hitchcock – particularly in Hollywood – even though it is a thoroughly British film. We spent time after the film learning more about this period in British filmmaking and at Hitchcock’s British period specifically. Many of the types of camera movements and lighting he uses here become staples in his filming technique when he moved on to Hollywood. We also learned that Hitchcock hated doing on-location shoots. He far preferred to have total control over the lighting, weather, and setting. Hitchcock began his film work in set design, so that, we felt, played a role in this feeling.

We loved the way that high action was blended with a wry humor, and some outright funny scenes. The whole loopy chase with the sheep when Hannay and Pamela are handcuffed together. (We later learned that Hitchcock gave them “a chance to get to know one another better” – by handcuffing them hours before the scene where they really needed to be handcuffed was shot. This was doubtless one of the many practical jokes Hitchcock was also know for around the set.

We really liked both Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll in the lead roles, and agreed that though her part was relatively small, seeing Dame Peggy Ashcroft as the young wife to the old farmer in the Scottish Highlands was an unforgettable part of the film. We also appreciated the refined evil glee exhibited by Godfrey Tearle in his portrayal of the sinister Professor Jordan. It was initially thought that Hitchcock did not do one of his famous cameos in this film, but according to the commentary, he is in the scene where Hannay and the mystery woman are trying to board the bus outside the theater in the beginning of the movie. Another Hitchcock tradition was observed when we saw that his daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, plays a small role in the film.

Overall, the group felt that this film did justice to the story, and could see why this would be considered a film classic. Several members expressed an interest in reading the book by John Buchan, and in taking out the “3^rd” version – the BBC TV-Movie, The 39 Steps from our DVD collection. (Side note: there was another film version done in 1978, but it was not as well-regarded as the original and this TV-movie.

Click here to go to our catalog and request the book by John Buchan.

Click here to go to our catalog and request the BBC TV-Movie of The 39 Steps.

And to see the same version of The 39 Steps that we did, click here!

Click here to go to IMDb’s listing for the version of The 39 Steps we saw: the 1935 one directed by Hitchcock!