The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection)
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: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
Published: 1999-11-01
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-02
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
Movie Reviews of The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection)
Movie Review: HITCHCOCK SHOWS US WHAT HE HAS IN STORE FOR US
Summary: 5 Stars
IN A NUTSHELL: Don't be put off by the first five minutes!
This is one sneaky thriller. At first it seems so slow and trite, almost ancient in its context, until suddenly, the momentum and urgency really builds-up. We see the first brillant execution on film by Hitchcock of the wrong man, fugitive on the run with a bomb ticking in his pocket scenario, and it all works. We have the train, knife in back, police, escapes from police, female loyalty, the wrong man, irony, satire and, an abundance of English and Scottish countryside settings. A sort of English version of "North-by-Northwest" or "East-by-Northwest". However, "39 Steps" does give the appearance of a film made a long time ago, which is probably its biggest departure from "North-by-Northwest". Naturally, I could not imagine "39 Steps" filmed in color. As an oddity, there was an early prototype of a helicopter during the manhunt scene across the Scottish landscape and it was a surprise in this 1935 film - a big surprise. Checking it out again, I have concluded that the helicopter must have been a minature, though I am not absolutely positive.
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT: PACE - PLOT - TICKING TIME BOMB + ACCIDENTAL ROMANCE
Richard Hannay [Robert Donat] basically has a girl with a knife in her back after an evening of intrigue and paranoia. But, obviously this woman, Annabella really is in danger since after all she is now dying with a knife in her back. As a suspect, and fugitive, in the same spirit as Roger O. Thornhill [Carey Grant] from "North by Northwest", Richard Hannay takes to the rails and the countryside to a spot on the dead girl's map. He knows a little but there is too much he does not know, like who his potential enemies might be which of course could be fatal. Naturally, after avoiding the police and almost getting caught several times, Hannay, with the reluctant help of a radiant blond, Pamela [Madeleine Carroll] slowly gets to the bottom of this intrigue. There is intrigue, comedy, accidental romance and most of all suspense --- EVER GROWING SUSPENSE. The climax of the film is set essentially where it began in what is one neatly and tightly plotted thriller.
ABOUT THE ACTORS: Madeleine Carroll and Robert Donat
The two leads, Robert Donat as Richard Hannay, and Madeleine Carroll as Pamela are rather reminiscent both physically and as characters, to Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill and Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall. There is even one very provocative scene where Pamela, takes here stockings off to dry by the fire, while Richard's hand is still handcuffed to her's as she peels down her stockings. This was filmed very slowly and close-up, which by 1935 standards is rather risque, and which identifies her clearly as quite a romantic female lead. A little later, still handcuffed, the pair are actually sleeping in the same bed, albeit not under the sheets or completely undressed. When Pamela does manage to get free of the handcuffs, she participates in a plot development which her regained freedom allows, and then returns to bed. Only this time, at the foot of the bed, since she is no longer forced by the handcuffs to be in the same bed as Richard. This plotting probably allowed them to get by the censors. Similarly, now no longer bound by cuffs, she replaces her stockings without the company of the camera, as if to again demonstrate the necessity for the provocative close-up shown earlier.
"39 STEPS" -- AHEAD OF ITS TIME:
There are many modern devices used in this film with great effect. To name a few;
-- Extensive mixing and combining of matte backgrounds, minatures and the real thing, to increase realism and the illusion of a multitude of different exterior settings over a wide expanse. This includes waterfalls, sheep herds blocking traffic to allow hero and heroine to escape, varied scottish and english countrysides from trains, cars and on foot and numerous interior destinations from these hair-raising jaunts.
-- The idea that military secrets and Englands air defense in particular could be threatened and that the consequences implied were truly dire. This at a time when most air-forces including Englands and Germany's were comprised of short range, slow-moving bi-planes, with some monoplanes on the drawing boards.
-- Very subtle, seemingly accidental sexuality and romance without the appearance of being nominal or gratuitous woven into the plot.
--Plus, unreliable narrators, improbable behavior, dumb-luck [good and bad] and the intervention of nice people, like the couple that ran the inn or the woman that gave Richard her husbands overcoat and an escape opportunity from the police.
All of the above transfers into 83 minutes of fast-paced drama and comedy, action, danger, romance and sexuality. And in the end, the film goes right back to where it began, which illustrates that nothing in this film is gratuitous or wasteful. Truly a 5-Star effort by Alfred Hitchcock, plus his find cast and production team.
-----CAST
Robert Donat - Richard Hannay
Madeleine Carroll - Pamela
Godfrey Tearle - Prof. Jordan
Lucie Mannheim - Miss Smith/Annabella
Wylie Watson - Mr. Memory
-----PRODUCTION CREW
Alfred Hitchcock - Director
Michael Balcon - Producer
Ivor Montagu - Producer
Charles Bennett - Screenwriter
John Buchan - Book Author
Ian Hay - Screenwriter
Alma Reville - Screenwriter
Bernard Knowles - Cinematographer
Louis Levy - Composer (Music Score)
Derek N. Twist - Editor
ABOUT THE VIDEO: Get the "Criterion" DVD release
The version I viewed was on video and it had many issues that detracted from the viewing experience such as, fuzzy images, blurry sound, artifacts and flutter in the picture, which did vary somewhat in intensity throughout the film. It seems like this film would be worth getting on DVD from "Criterion" despite the higher cost.
ALSO CONSIDER SEEING:
The 39 Steps (1959, Ralph Thomas)
North By Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)
Silver Streak (1976, Arthur Hiller)
The Fugitive (1993, Andrew Davis)
Summary of The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection)
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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