The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Don Sharp

Writers:

John Buchan (novel)
Michael Robson (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 May 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Every second counts in the adventure of a lifetime!

Plot:

The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa...

Plot Keywords:

Scotland | Great Britain | Man Hunt | Waterfall | Boat

Cast

Robert Powell	...	Richard Hannay
David Warner	...	Sir Edmund Appleton
Eric Porter	...	Chief Supt Lomas
Karen Dotrice	...	Alex Mackenzie
John Mills	...	Scudder
George Baker	...	Sir Walter Bullivant
Ronald Pickup	...	Bayliss
Donald Pickering	...	Marshall
Timothy West	...	Porton
Miles Anderson	...	David Hamilton
Andrew Keir	...	Lord R
Robert Flemyng	...	Magistrate
William Squire	...	Harkness
Paul McDowell	...	McLean
David Collings	...	Tillotson

Also Known As:

The 39 Steps

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Iceland:12 | UK:PG (tv rating) | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Albert Bridge, Battersea, London, England, UK

Company:

Norfolk International Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As Hannay looks out the train window as Police Board the train, a "First Class" symbol appears on the window. This is in the BR "Totem" style, which did not appear until 1948 when the UK Railways were nationalized.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Hannay" (1988)

Not really a remake

It's hardly fair to compare this to the Hitchcock version (which was made when Buchan was not yet a well-known author). I think the Hitchcock film is the better as a film, although there are a few stodgy moments (with the crofter, for instance), but lots of lovely visual ideas to compensate (the Bridge scene, the missing digit, and the ending). But Hitchcock's is not a filming of Buchan's novel. It's something quite different. The first remake (with Kenneth More) was a remake of the Hitchcock film, not the book. With this version, we were told it would be faithful to the original, but, yes, the ending is stolen from an old Will Hay film (which was very much before its time, with its black humour). So this is not really a remake of the Hitchcock film, but neither is it faithful to Buchan (which I must re-read). But it is enjoyable, the period feel is good, and I personally like Ed Welch's concerto score.