The 39 Steps (Criterion Collection Spine #56)
by Alfred Hitchcock
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Frank Cellier, Ivor Barnard, Madeleine Carroll, Peggy Ashcroft, Wilfrid BrambellDirector: Alfred Hitchcock
Brand: Image Entertainment
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-02
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of The 39 Steps (Criterion Collection Spine #56)
Movie Review: A witty murder and spy movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This older film by Alfred Hitchcock is certainly a treat. The plot is unpredictable with many twists and turns, many of which are unexpected.
Whereas there is suspense, the premise behind the spies always seems a bit goofy. The spies often are as far from real spies as could be possible. In this film everyone admits they are a spy within minutes of having a conversation.
But it really isn't the plasibility of the plot that matters in these older suspense films by Hitchcock. It is the combination of humor and romance that usually surrounds the leading actor and actress as they fight the villians and grow to fall in love with each other. All of this leads to some witty entertainment as unexpected consequences act as plot twists and characters have to keep up.
There is an old saying that the director must stay one step ahead of the audience and if the audience ever gets ahead of the director, the film is lost. The nice thing about Hitchcock is despite the predicatability around the hero and heroine, who usually hate each other and then love each other, the circumstances they encounter are usually surprises that keep the viewer fully engaged.
This film in entertaining, with the scenes where the leading man and a possible romantic interest are handcuffed together and engage in one silly encounter after another as they run from the bad guys. You will like it.
Summary of The 39 Steps (Criterion Collection Spine #56)
The best known of Hitchcock's British films, this civilized spy yarn follows the escapades of Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who stumbles into a conspiracy that involves him in a hectic chase across the Scottish moors-a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued. Adapted from John Buchan's novel, this classic Hitchcock "wrong man" thriller encapsulates themes that anticipate the director's biggest American films (especially North by Northwest), and is a standout among his early works.Hitchcock's first great romantic thriller is a prime example of the MacGuffin principle in action. Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, an affable Canadian tourist in London who becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when a mysterious spy winds up murdered in Hannay's rented flat--and both the police and a secret organization wind up hot on his trail. With only a seemingly meaningless phrase ("the 39 steps"), a small Scottish town circled on a map, and a criminal mastermind identified by a missing finger as clues, quick-witted Hannay eludes police and spies alike as he works his way across the countryside to reveal the mystery and clear his name. At one point he finds himself making his escape manacled to blonde beauty Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), whose initial antagonism is smoothed by Hannay's charm and the sheer rush of her thrilling chase. It's classic Hitchcock all the way, a seemingly effortless balance of romance and adventure set against a picturesque landscape populated by eccentrics and social-register smoothies, none of whom is what he or she appears to be. Hitchcock would play similar games of innocents plunged into deadly conspiracies, most delightfully in North by Northwest, but in this breezy 1935 classic, Hitch proves that, as in any quest, the object of the search isn't nearly as satisfying as the journey. --Sean Axmaker
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