The 39 Steps (TV 2008)

Richard Hannay, a mining engineer on holiday from the African colonies, finds London socialite life terribly dull. Yet it's more then he bargained for when secret agent, Scudder, bursts ... See full summary »

Director:

James Hawes

Writers:

John Buchan (novel), Lizzie Mickery (screenplay)

Stars:

Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rupert Penry-Jones	...	Richard Hannay
Lydia Leonard	...	Victoria Sinclair
David Haig	...	Sir George Sinclair
Patrick Malahide	...	Professor Fisher
Patrick Kennedy	...	Hellory Sinclair
Eddie Marsan	...	Scudder
Alex Jennings	...	Captain Kell
Steven Elder	...	Vicar / Wakeham
Werner Daehn	...	Ackerman
Peter Stark	...	Engel
Del Synnott	...	London Constable
Roger De Courcey	...	Ventriloquist
David Gallacher	...	Professor's Butler
James Bryce	...	Concierge at Club
Stewart Preston	...	Waiter at Club

Storyline

Richard Hannay, a mining engineer on holiday from the African colonies, finds London socialite life terribly dull. Yet it's more then he bargained for when secret agent, Scudder, bursts into his room and entrusts him a coded notebook with map, concerning the impending start of World War I. In no time both German agents and the British law are chasing him, ruthlessly coveting the Roman numerals code, which Hannay believes he must crack himself. Masquerading as a liberal party pundit, Richard also gets stuck with parliamentary candidate Sir George Sinclair's sister Victoria. They must survive with the secrets and decide who they can trust and how to keep it from others.

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Plot Keywords:

false identity | beating | fall | number in title

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

28 December 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

39 Lépcsőfok

Filming Locations:

Argyll's Lodging, Stirling, Scotland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When leaving London Hannay does this from a Station similar to Euston on a train made up of uniform Caledonian Railway Carriages bound for Inverness. The Loco shown is Apple Green suggesting it belonged to the North Eastern Railway. Inverness was accessible only by the Highland Railway. To get there from London Euston in the days of the story it would have been a trip via the LNWR to Carlisle which would have then been picked up by a Caledonian Railway loco to Aberdeen or Perth where a change would be required to the Highland Railway or the use of a Highland Railway Through Carriage on the train. The train would have been a hotchpotch of LNWR, CR and HR carriages.

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Quotes

Richard Hannay: Well at least you're only a spy and not a suffragette.
Victoria Sinclair: Well, actually I'm a spy /and/ a suffragette.
Richard Hannay: Oh Lord!

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Connections

References North by Northwest (1959)

User Reviews

39 what?

I really don't understand why film makers feel the need to change the plot of books. Then if you apply this to an absolute classic it seems totally crazy. The result is like a mutant spawn from the Hallmark channel and Barbara Cartland. Now, I have nothing against either in their own right but for the BBC to claim to be the forefront of drama and then to produce this stuff is pushing it a bit far. I considered putting forward a number of goofs but lost count of the possible entries as there were so many, a simple check of locations and weather conditions would have given the story a little more credibility.All this is a shame as the actors seem to be trying their best to spark some excitement in the script.To avoid spoiling the end I will just add it needs to be seen to be believed, in fact it may even need more than that. There are much better versions of this book, in fact I think all of them are, even Kenneth More will be turning in his grave never mind Robert Donat!