rating:
(out of
4 stars)United Kingdom; 1935
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; produced by Michael Balcon; written by Charles Bennett
Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
In the line of 'Vertigo', 'Rear Window', 'Psycho' and especially 'North by
Northwest' this is one of the best Hitchcock's out there. The comparison
with 'North by Northwest' is not a strange one. In both movies the hero is
chased by the police and chased by villains. I liked 'The 39 Steps' more
than I liked 'North by Northwest' and considering that is one of the
greatest Hitchcock's you know what that means.
A woman is killed in Richard Hannay's apartment, just after he took her home
from the Music Hall and she told him she was a spy. With the little
information he has he goes to find things out himself. Suspected from the
murder in his apartment by the police and followed by her real killers he
gets on the train to Scotland. On the train a woman turns him in. He
escapes, makes a big mistake I will not reveal and ends up with same woman
from the train. They are cuffed together by policemen. He escapes again and
because of that she must too. The woman still doesn't believe his story and
still wants to turn him in. A lot more is happening but to reveal that would
spoil the movie.
Like I said you can compare this movie with 'North by Northwest'. Cary Grant
is nice in 'North by Northwest', Robert Donat as Richard Hannay is great in
'The 39 Steps'. The woman from 'The 39 Steps', played by Madeleine Carroll,
is a lot more fun than Eva Marie Saint in 'North by Northwest'. Both
characters from 'The 39 Steps' have a lot more humour and together they are
very funny. A great direction by Hitchcock, a very clever story that is
still exciting over 65 years later and a very good cast makes this a
wonderful classic.