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This is the film in which Hitchcock stepped forth in command of all his talent in his new guise as the master of suspense. It had been preceded by “The Man Who Knew Too Much” but though that film was good it was still rough in places and lacked most of the Hitchcock touches which are all over “The 39 Steps”. It was a quantum jump forward and he would never look back.
The film is fast paced and doesn’t let up for its short duration as it puts its everyman protagonist, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), on a harrowing journey in which he must elude pursuers, adopting a number of brief disguises along the way. He must not only prove his innocence of a murder but also prevent a lethal spy ring from smuggling Air Ministry secrets out of the country. It’s fast paced and full of twists and turns and never let up for a moment.
The theme of an innocent man leading a private life being inadvertently thrown into harrowing circumstances that demand his utmost cleverness and perseverance became a consistent Hitchcock trope, reaching its peak in “North by Northwest”. There are also constant issues of trust and betrayal, another common theme of the director. In “The Man Who Knew Too Much” the woman was a nice mother, but here for the first time we have the more typical Hitchcock woman, Pamela, a beautiful, remote, unattached blonde (Madeleine Carroll). The chief villain is also intelligent, suave and polite. Some of the most dramatic scenes take place in or on well known British icons like the Firth Bridge and the London Palladium. Hitchcock is everywhere in this film.
Though it’s a suspense thriller it’s full of Hitchcock’s droll comic touches. In a very clever scene, Hannay, closely pursued by enemy agents, finds himself forced to give a speech to introduce a political candidate he’s never heard of and whose name he mispronounces. While speaking he says, “I know what it is to be lonely and helpless and have the whole world against me” which encapsulates his current predicament. He travels for a while in a train compartment with two women’s undergarment salesmen who blithely chatter and joke about their trade while he is just realizing the depth of his troubles in a moment noting how the world blithely goes on in its ordinary way while his is falling apart.
There are so many wonderful visual touches: The shadows and light through the windows in Hannay’s recently rented apartment where the furniture is still covered by drop cloths; the claustrophobic train aisle and the way the dining car waiter almost drops his tray several times; the way Hannay looks so small in front of a vast Tudor window, and so many more images.
Gaumont pictures spent a considerable sum on this film and deliberately hired Donat and Carroll because they were known outside of Britain, particularly in America. They work wonderfully well together.Though not budget busters, supporting players are excellent as well. The Scottish farmer’s wife is a young Peggy Ashcroft, who conveys much while saying little.The mysterious woman Hannay meets at the music hall speaks with a German accent and was played by Lucie Mannheim, a popular German actress who had recently fled the Nazis. (Though the nationality of the enemy is never names it’s broadly hinted to be Nazi Germany). Wylie Watson seems like he could have been a real “Mr. Memory” type. The budget also shows in the crowd scenes, especially in the opening music hall sequence with “Mr. Memory” and the final scene in the Palladium.
Though the plot has a few issues as plots in these kinds of films often do, one simply ignores them when the movie is this good. There is still one apparently big issue for parts of the audience and that is that some people simply have problems with films from the early thirties. This is understandable. When seeing films of this period you have to realize that many technical parts of film making were still being developed. Talking films were still rather new. The sound is thin and tinny and there is little to no background music . The black and white film was high contrast, lacking the more subtle grey shades that made later black and white films look more smooth and glossy. Editing can be a bit abrupt, though this film contains a brilliant edit where a scream fades into a train whistle. Amazon’s streamed version looks terrific.
So do expect that the technology is over eighty years old and make a mental adjustment. Then sit back and enjoy an absolutely smashing film.
EXTRA NOTE: “Mr. Memory” was based on an actual British entertainer, “Datas, the Memory Man” (William Bottle) who Hitchcock had remembered from his youth.
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Reviews with images
This version is bar none the best. Would highly recommend
Watch this Hitchcock classic many times! This version is bar none the best. Would highly recommend.
Top reviews from other countries
Bruno Raymond
It's Hitchcock during his formative years.
Reviewed in Canada on August 7, 2023
