The 39 Steps – The Thirtynine Steps (1935)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock | 86 minutes | thriller | Actors: Robert Donat, Madeleine Caroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, Helen Haye, Frank Cellier, Wylie Watson, Gus McNaughton, Jerry Verno, Peggy Simpson

Alfred Hitchcock has not only made unforgettable films, he has also brought a whole new dimension to filmmaking. Many techniques and stylistic devices that are now the order of the day were once introduced by Hitchcock. So is the MacGuffin; a plot trick where something at first glance seems very important, but later turns out to be completely irrelevant and only served to divert the viewer’s attention from the real action. The MacGuffin, as it were, drives the plot forward. For example, in “Psycho,” Hitchcock makes the viewer think for the entire first half that it’s about the stolen $40,000, while the sole purpose of the money was to get Marion Crane (and with her, the viewer) to the Bates hotel. The master of suspense made extensive use of this technique. For example, in “North by Northwest,” the MacGuffin is an undefined fictitious government secret. Just like in ‘The 39 Steps’, the film with which Hitchcock definitely established his name, also outside Great Britain.

‘The 39 Steps’ revolves around Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), a Canadian living in London. During a night at the theater that turns into chaos, he meets the mysterious spy Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) who tells him about ‘the 39 steps’, a mysterious spy society that is after a British state secret. But before Annabella can explain exactly what’s going on, she is murdered by enemy secret agents. Because Richard is now accused of the murder – after all, it took place at his home – he runs away in search of ‘the 39 steps’. He ends up in Scotland where he gets entangled from one predicament to another. He receives help from an unexpected source. Blonde Pamela (Madeleine Caroll), who previously betrayed him ruthlessly, later comes to realize that he is innocent. Together they try to unravel the riddle of ‘the 39 steps’.

After some careful attempts and minor breakthroughs, Alfred Hitchcock reached the first creative peak of his British period with ‘The 39 Steps’. It was probably the first fully successful film in his rapidly expanding oeuvre – Hitchcock began his career in the twilight of the silent film and had already directed eighteen films by the time of ‘The 39 Steps’. The commercial and critical success of this film cemented his reputation as a master filmmaker and enabled him to devote decades to an unparalleled series of gripping thrillers. Many of his most popular films, most notably ‘North by Northwest’ (1959), are based on ‘The 39 Steps’.

The film has many strengths, but what is most important is that a key element in Hitchcock’s oeuvre manifests itself for the first time here, namely the wrong man; the innocent passer-by being prosecuted or punished for a crime he did not commit (Hitchcock kept returning to this theme, most explicitly in 1956’s ‘The Wrong Man’). The cool, beautiful blonde also makes her first appearance in ‘The 39 Steps’. Madeleine Carroll served as an example for actresses such as Kim Novak, Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren. Together with the charming Robert Donat, who is in no way inferior to later leading men such as James Stewart and Cary Grant, she knows how to win over the audience.

As usual with Hitchcock with his MacGuffins, the revelation of what exactly ‘the 39 steps’ are – and with it the entire spy intrigue – is secondary to the flirtation between the two protagonists. At one point, Donat and Caroll are literally stuck together and with their bickering, colored by small erotic allusions, let the spy thriller develop into a wonderful love story. Like their relationship, the film proceeds in a kind of intoxication, in an incessant succession of action scenes and chases, interspersed with witty dialogues. The fact that not all events are fully explained and there are significant plot holes here and there, is taken into account.

‘The 39 Steps’, together with ‘The Lady Vanishes’ (1938), is regarded as Hitchcock’s best British work. Both films give a taste of what the master would still make in the US. Not only in terms of plot development, but also in terms of image and sound techniques. These are quite daring and experimental for the time. The penetrating scene in the Scottish countryside is special, almost a film in itself. Hitchcock also gives a socially critical touch to the whole, by denouncing the differences between rich and poor as well as the institution of marriage. As always, the British master was far ahead of his craftsmen and contemporaries. Those unfamiliar with Hitchcock’s work should first watch his films from the 1950s. Only then can you evaluate the master’s earlier work. ‘The 39 Steps’ is a gem and an absolute must for the movie viewer with some ‘prior knowledge’.