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The 39 Steps

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
64K
YOUR RATING
1 sheet 27 x 41
Three Reasons Criterion Trailer for The 39 Steps
Play trailer1:29
1 Video
99+ Photos
Conspiracy ThrillerSpySuspense MysteryWhodunnitCrimeMysteryThriller

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.

  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • John Buchan
    • Charles Bennett
    • Ian Hay
  • Stars
    • Robert Donat
    • Madeleine Carroll
    • Lucie Mannheim
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    64K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • John Buchan
      • Charles Bennett
      • Ian Hay
    • Stars
      • Robert Donat
      • Madeleine Carroll
      • Lucie Mannheim
    • 320User reviews
    • 136Critic reviews
    • 93Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    The 39 Steps: The Criterion Edition
    Trailer 1:29
    The 39 Steps: The Criterion Edition

    Photos148

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    Top cast32

    Edit
    Robert Donat
    Robert Donat
    • Hannay
    Madeleine Carroll
    Madeleine Carroll
    • Pamela
    Lucie Mannheim
    Lucie Mannheim
    • Miss Smith
    Godfrey Tearle
    Godfrey Tearle
    • Professor Jordan
    Peggy Ashcroft
    Peggy Ashcroft
    • Crofter's Wife
    John Laurie
    John Laurie
    • Crofter
    Helen Haye
    Helen Haye
    • Mrs. Jordan
    Frank Cellier
    Frank Cellier
    • The Sheriff
    Wylie Watson
    Wylie Watson
    • Memory
    Gus McNaughton
    Gus McNaughton
    • Commercial Traveller
    • (as Gus Mac Naughton)
    Jerry Verno
    Jerry Verno
    • Commercial Traveller
    Peggy Simpson
    • Maid
    Ivor Barnard
    Ivor Barnard
    • Political Meeting Chairman
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Bennett
    Charles Bennett
    • Second Passerby Near the Bus
    • (uncredited)
    Noel Birkin
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    Ex-Det. Sergt. Bishop
    • Police Sergeant
    • (uncredited)
    Wallace Bosco
    • Palladium Doorman
    • (uncredited)
    Matthew Boulton
    Matthew Boulton
    • Fake Police Officer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • John Buchan
      • Charles Bennett
      • Ian Hay
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before 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.
    • Goofs
      The 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.

    • Connections
      Edited into Everything Is Thunder (1936)
    • Soundtracks
      Russian Dance
      (uncredited)

      Arranged by Hubert Bath

    User reviews320

    Featured review

    The Quintessential Hitchcock

    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.
    • Amit_Verma
    • Apr 28, 2003
    • Permalink

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    FAQ32

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 31, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Zoneify
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Treinta y nueve escalones
    • Filming locations
      • Glen Coe, Highland, Scotland, UK(Hannay arrives at Professor Jordan's home)
    • Production company
      • Gaumont British Picture Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £50,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $54,096
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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