A man in London tries to help a counter-espionage Agent. But when the Agent is killed, and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.
Richard Hannay is a Canadian visitor to London. At the end of "Mr Memory"'s show in a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith, who is running away from secret agents. He agrees to hide her in his flat, but she is murdered during the night. Fearing that he could be accused of the murder, Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring.Written by
Claudio Sandrini <pulp99@geocities.com>
In Chapter 10 of "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield recounts the admiration that he and his younger sister, Phoebe, have for this movie: "Her favorite is "The 39 Steps (1935)," though, with Robert Donat. She knows the whole goddam movie by heart, because I've taken her to see it about ten times. When old Donat comes up to this Scotch farmhouse, for instance, when he's running away from the cops and all, Phoebe'll say right out loud in the movie, right when the Scotch guy in the picture says it, 'Can you eat the herring?' She knows all the talk by heart." See more »
Goofs
The sideways shots into the car that Richard and Pamela are travelling in with the detectives uses the same view across a loch, even though the following shots show they are nowhere near water. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Richard Hannay:
Stall, please.
Music hall announcer:
Ladies and Gentleman, with your kind attention, and permission, I have the honor of presenting to you one of the most remarkable men in the world.
Heckler in Audience:
How remarkable? He's sweating!
See more »
Tight and delicious. Everything matters and nothing matters. An amazing commercial eye without detracting from the poetry. Poetry? Yes poetry. Robert Donat was one of the best actors of his generation - I wonder why he's not better known. Maybe he will be rediscovered. The 39 Steps, The Winslow Boy, Goodbye Mr Chips just to name 3 of his spectacular performances. Madeleine Carroll is perfect as an early, classy and icy Hitchcock blonde. The coupling of Donat and Carroll has all the signature traits of the Master and it's downright irresistible. Not to be missed.
67 of 71 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Tight and delicious. Everything matters and nothing matters. An amazing commercial eye without detracting from the poetry. Poetry? Yes poetry. Robert Donat was one of the best actors of his generation - I wonder why he's not better known. Maybe he will be rediscovered. The 39 Steps, The Winslow Boy, Goodbye Mr Chips just to name 3 of his spectacular performances. Madeleine Carroll is perfect as an early, classy and icy Hitchcock blonde. The coupling of Donat and Carroll has all the signature traits of the Master and it's downright irresistible. Not to be missed.