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 that is trying to ... Read allA 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 that is trying to steal top-secret information.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 that is trying to steal top-secret information.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Commercial Traveller
- (as Gus Mac Naughton)
- Political Meeting Chairman
- (uncredited)
- Second Passerby Near the Bus
- (uncredited)
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Police Sergeant
- (uncredited)
- Palladium Doorman
- (uncredited)
- Fake Police Officer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBefore filming the scene where Hannay (Robert Donat) and Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) run through the countryside, Sir Alfred Hitchcock handcuffed them together and pretended for several hours to have lost the key in order to put them in the right frame of mind for such a situation.
- GoofsThe newspaper Hannay looks at on the Flying Scotsman is dated Wednesday and tells of the murder the night before, and when Hannay is arrested Sheriff Watson says it's for the murder of a woman on "Tuesday last." But when Hannay is telling Pamela in the inn when he last slept, he tells her it was last Saturday.
- Quotes
Richard Hannay: I know what it is to feel lonely and helpless and to have the whole world against me, and those are things that no men or women ought to feel.
- ConnectionsEdited into Everything Is Thunder (1936)
There is no director in the history of the cinema who liked a good chase film better than Alfred Hitchcock. This one's a beauty with a wrongly accused of murder Robert Donat, running from London to Scotland and back again to find some spies to clear his name. Along the way Donat picks up a lovely and first unwilling traveling companion in Madeleine Carroll who is arguably the first of his blonde heroines.
Donat and Ronald Colman rivaled for roles somewhat, they seem always to be cast as the same type of characters. Of course Donat worked primarily in the UK and on stage while Colman was strictly a movie actor since the silent days. Colman is the only other guy who could have done this and other Donat parts. It's a pity there are none like either of these guys around today.
When Geoffrey Tearle thinks he's disposed of Donat by shooting him, Donat's life got saved by a hymn book in his breast pocket. Whether that was a device in the original novel by John Buchan or something Alfred Hitchcock improvised the inspiration for it was definitely taken from the attempted assassination of former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. While running for president on the Progressive ticket that year, Roosevelt was shot in the chest in Milwaukee. What saved his life was a copy of his speech and an eyeglass case in his breast pocket.
The whole thing here is how the espionage is being carried out and I won't reveal it. But if you've seen Torn Curtain remember why Paul Newman was the only guy they could send on that espionage mission.
This is probably Hitchcock's best film from his pre-Hollywood period and shouldn't be missed.
- bkoganbing
- Jul 14, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Los 39 escalones
- Filming locations
- Glen Coe, Highland, Scotland, UK(Hannay arrives at Professor Jordan's home)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £50,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $52,623
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1