The 39 Steps

A model escape thriller or a dark screwball comedy? Of Hitchcock’s early works, The 39 Steps is definitely the film that most obviously anticipates North by Northwest, compared with which we are better informed about the central crime/MacGuffin and, instead of grappling with unanswered questions, we can enjoy the smoothness with which the individual scenes follow each other, thus ensuring continuous forward motion. The environment changes constantly and new characters appear, differing in their nature and nationality (Canadian, English, Scottish). A significant slowdown occurs only due to several longer explanatory dialogues in the second half. Unlike Hitchcock’s later works, greater openness (or less sophistication, if you prefer) is evident in The 39 Steps. It is not necessary to read only between the lines to find Hitchcock's sense of humour (black) or his opinions of the fairer sex (treacherous monsters) and rural areas (backward hicks). Thanks to a parody of speeches whose emptiness masks their indolence, there is even a bit of political satire, which is not a common feature of the director’s work. 80% (20/04/2020)

It’s a bit of a paradox, but Ondříček’s four-actor, respectful parody of “39 Degrees" on the stage of Dejvice Theatre seemed to me just a tad better than the original. Not only was Jarda Plesl even more Robert Donat than Robert Donat himself, but mainly there are the little birds. Now to the movie itself. Everything that makes Hitch Hitch is present in pretty much its pure essence (including the illogicalities – a forty mile dash with the police on their heels etc.). But it just doesn’t really work here. To be more precise – it’s just not quite working out between Donat and Carroll, she overshadows him quite a bit. Which drags down the movie as a whole, am I right sir? On the other hand, the pace is so dizzying that I only realized that after the screening anyway. (02/01/2009)

That's exactly how I imagine a nickel-and-dime novel. The author of "Thirty-Nine Steps" is the Scotsman John Buchan. This, his first adventure with the mustachioed action hero, Richard Hannay, was first published as an ongoing series in Blackwood's Magazine in the summer of 1915. Later, four more novels with Hannay in deep waters were published. Charles Bennett, a favorite collaborator of Hitchcock, adapted the first part for film. Undemanding viewers were satisfied, and over time the novel became a classic, and further adaptations were soon to come (1959, 1978, and 2008). What about the cast? Although Robert Donat was one of the lucky bunch that gathered over The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), he did not confirm his qualities as a solo actor and, although he was briefly paid as a star, the very next year he spoiled the film Knight Without Armour (1937) with Marlene Dietrich. Lucie Mannheim? As a guest star from Germany, she got surprisingly little space. (09/01/2019)