The 39 Steps (1935)

Back in the 1930's British films were not really held in high regard.  Chances were that any film made in England would not see any success whatsoever outside the British islands.  The reasons for this are easy to understand: few British actors were regarded as true stars, there were no internationally well-known directors, and the budgets they had simply paled in comparison to what Hollywood could produce.  What would it take to make the world take notice of any movie that came from Britain?

It took Alfred Hitchcock's first major international success, The 39 Steps. The stars aligned for Hitchcock to create a runaway success: the source was a popular hit novel, and the star was Robert Donat, who had just garnered a great deal of acclaim playing in the previous year's hit The Count of Monte Cristo.

The plot is classic Hitchcock: Donat plays a Canadian in London named Hannay.  He tries to help a woman who seems in distress, but she ends up murdered in his apartment.  Since he would be the main suspect he ends up on the run from both police and shadowy assassins as he tries to solve a mystery and clear his name.  Unfortunately he has precious few clues to help him solve the puzzle: a map of Scotland with one town circled, the fact that one bad guy has a bit of his pinky finger missing, and also the cryptic phrase "The 39 steps." 

From there Hannay ends up chased all over England and Scotland.  He is shot at, lied to, hunted, hounded, meets all kinds of strange and normal people, and ends up handcuffed to a woman who wants nothing more than to turn him in to the authorities.  Needless to say, this is a film that has a lot going on.  After seeing the movie you'll never want to condemn a man simply because of what you read in the paper. You'll always want to hear him out.

What does the movie do right?  Well, practically everything -especially when we consider that it was breaking quite a lot of new ground in 1935.  The acting was good, if a little bit over the top by Donat.  The script is wonderful fun, with a lot of great lines a memorable moments.  The action is right on target and breathtaking at times.  The camera work is wonderful, especially the outdoor segments at night that truly convey a feeling of darkness without obscuring our view of the actors.  And of course what brings it all together is the steady, strong hand of a genius director -Alfred Hitchcock.

What are the 39 steps?  I can't tell you that without giving away the mystery.  What I can tell you is that the movie The 39 Steps is simply great, and far ahead of its time.

Entertainment: 9/10
Artistic value: 4/10
Technical merit: 7/10

Overall: 7/10