| Photos (See all 64 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 3) |
| Robert Donat | ... | Hannay | |
| Madeleine Carroll | ... | Pamela | |
| Lucie Mannheim | ... | Miss Smith | |
| Godfrey Tearle | ... | Professor Jordan | |
| Peggy Ashcroft | ... | Crofter's Wife | |
| John Laurie | ... | Crofter | |
| Helen Haye | ... | Mrs. Jordan | |
| Frank Cellier | ... | The Sheriff | |
| Wylie Watson | ... | Memory | |
| Gus McNaughton | ... | Commercial Traveller (as Gus Mac Naughton) | |
| Jerry Verno | ... | Commercial Traveller | |
| Peggy Simpson | ... | Maid | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Ivor Barnard | ... | Political Meeting Chairman (uncredited) | |
| Charles Bennett | ... | Second Passerby Near the Bus (uncredited) | |
| Noel Birkin | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Ex-Det. Sergt. Bishop | ... | Police Sergeant (uncredited) | |
| Matthew Boulton | ... | Fake Police Officer (uncredited) | |
| Edgar K. Bruce | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Kate Cutler | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Philip Desborough | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Pat Hagate | ... | M.C. Who Introduces Mr Memory (uncredited) | |
| Alfred Hitchcock | ... | Passerby Near the Bus (uncredited) | |
| Carleton Hobbs | ... | Fake Policeman #2 (uncredited) | |
| Vida Hope | ... | Usherette (uncredited) | |
| Robert Horton | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Elizabeth Inglis | ... | Professor Jordan's Daughter (uncredited) | |
| James Knight | ... | Detective at London Palladium (uncredited) | |
| Hubert Leslie | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Miles Malleson | ... | Palladium Manager (uncredited) | |
| Quentin McPhearson | ... | Clergyman on the Flying Scotsman (uncredited) | |
| Phyllis Morris | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Frederick Piper | ... | The Milkman (uncredited) | |
| Hilda Trevelyan | ... | Innkeeper's Wife (uncredited) | |
| John Turnbull | ... | Scottish Police Inspector (uncredited) | |
| S.J. Warmington | ... | Scotland Yard Man (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Alfred Hitchcock | |||
Writing credits | ||
| John Buchan | (adapted from the novel by) | |
| Charles Bennett | (adaptation) | |
| Ian Hay | (dialogue) | |
Produced by | |||
| Michael Balcon | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
| Ivor Montagu | .... | associate producer (uncredited) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Hubert Bath | (uncredited) | ||
| Jack Beaver | (uncredited) | ||
| Charles Williams | (uncredited) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Bernard Knowles | (photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Derek N. Twist | (as D.N. Twist) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| Oscar Friedrich Werndorff | (as O. Werndorff) | ||
| Albert Jullion | (uncredited) | ||
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Pen Tennyson | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Albert Whitlock | .... | scenic artist (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| A. Birch | .... | recordist | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Philippo Guidobaldi | .... | miniature builder (uncredited) | |
| Jack Whitehead | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Reg Johnson | .... | assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Peter Sargent | .... | clapper-boy (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Marianne | .... | wardrobe | |
| Joe Strassner | .... | dress designer (as J. Strassner) | |
Music Department | |||
| Louis Levy | .... | musical director | |
| Louis Levy | .... | conductor (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Alma Reville | .... | continuity | |
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| The Fugitive | The Spider Returns | Three Days of the Condor | Saboteur | The Mysterious Pilot |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Mystery section | IMDb UK section |
Trust and betrayal have been a recurrent theme in several of Alfred Hitchcock's works. The 39 Steps, made in 1935, has the all the classic elements of the master filmmaker that set the standard for later Hitchcock films. The 39 Steps has the classic Hitchcockian theme of an average, innocent man caught up in extraordinary events which are quite beyond his control. The sexually frustrating institution of marriage is another major motif present in the film. The strained and loveless relationship between the crofter and his wife, the placid relationship of the innkeeper and his wife, the (physical) bond between Hannay and Pamela can be examined in terms of degrees of trust between the couples. In fact, the short 'acquaintance' between Hannay and Smith and Hannay and the crofter's wife are also built completely upon trust. It is these couples, and the chemistry between them (or the lack thereof) that drive the entire film.
Over a span of four days, the smart and unflappable protagonist, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is involved in a circular journey to prove his innocence and expose the hive of intrigue. He is involved in chases and romantic interludes that take him from London to the Scottish Highlands and back again and he assumes numerous identities on the way - a milkman, an auto mechanic, a honeymooner, a political speaker among others.
The opening of the film, the first three shorts do not show him above his neck. With his back to the camera, he is followed down the aisle to his seat. He is then assumed to be lost in the crowd. This gives the audience the feeling that he could be anybody. Later when he takes in the identities of a milkman, a mechanic, a politician one realizes that he is Hitchcock's archetypal 'everyman' who unwittingly finds himself in incredible dilemmas.
In one of the brilliantly managed sequences on the train, Richard Hannay throws himself at a lone girl and forces a kiss just as a detective and two policemen pass by their compartment. It reveals his desperation to remain free until he can prove his innocence. In the scene after Annabella staggers into his room with a kitchen knife in her back, Hannay sees her ghostly image (which is superimposed) talking to him, `What you are laughing at right now is true. These men will stop at nothing.' The double exposure achieves a result which is a tad chilling and sad. The hallmark of Hitchcock's style is his ability to completely shock his audience by deliberately playing against how they would be thinking. In such episodes as the murder of the woman in Hannay's apartment or when the vicious professor with the missing finger casually shoots Hannay, the action progresses almost nonchalantly leaving the viewers stunned.
A great story, interesting and likeable characters, slyly incongruous wit, classic Hitchcockian motifs and a great MacGuffin are just a few things that make the The 39 Steps the quintessential Hitchcock.