Classic 30s Movie: “The 39 Steps”
May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Felicity Flesher.
Title: The 39 Steps
Year: 1935
Writers: Charles Bennett, Ian Hay, adapted from the novel by John Buchan
Actors: Robert Donat, Madeline Carroll
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Plot Summary: A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to Scotland with an attractive woman to both clear his name and stop a spy ring trying to steal top-secret information.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 30s Movie
Hitchcock. If you only need one reason to watch The 39 Steps, let it be the Master of Suspense himself. Although he was already a well-established English director by 1935, it was this film that established him as a heavy-hitter internationally. In addition to being one of his best, it’s also a fairly emblematic Hitchcock film, showcasing many motifs he would come back to time and again: the wrongly accused man, the icy blonde, the sophisticated villain, and a vague MacGuffin. The 39 Steps proves its longevity not only in how often Hitchcock would return to it, but also in how many times it has been remade, how many countless other works it has inspired, and how memorable it remains to audiences today.
My Favorite Moments In The Movie
A superb transition:
I also love Hannay’s impromptu political speech.
And I’m a sucker for all of the physical comedy with the handcuffs including the couple trying to clamber over a fence together and when Hannay can’t avoid “helping” Pamela take off her stockings.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie
Richard Hannay: Beautiful, mysterious woman pursued by gunman. Sounds like a spy story.
Annabella Smith: That’s exactly what it is. Only I prefer the word agent better.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie
Simply, this film is about a man on the run, but it has so much more going for it than that. By the end of the film, we hardly care about this air base secret formula (perfectly defining the MacGuffin) because it has laid the groundwork for this adventure.
Our main character, Hannay, is the everyman backbone able to introduce us to these colorful characters he comes across — some out to get him, some who get in his way, and some who help and befriend him. All the while, he assumes multiple identities — milkman, political speaker, newlywed, etc. This character structure serves the fast pace of the film well, allowing us to enjoyably skip around from location to location and character to character without losing sight of our protagonist. The film is really made setpiece chunks — the music hall, the train, the Highland home, the political rally, etc. — another Hitchcock trademark (North by Northwest’s crop duster and Mt. Rushmore, The Birds’ jungle gym, Vertigo’s Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, and Mission).
It’s also worth noting how the film plays with genre. As a spy story, it’s sold as a thriller, but it slides so well between action-adventure, comedy, and romance. Given that the film opens on the lighthearted scene with the memory man in the music hall, it could easily be seen as a straightforward comedy until our lead picks up a dame at which point we might think it is a burgeoning romance until it switches things up and introduces her as a spy hiding out in the shadows. Even the ending (SPOILER), gives us this glimpse of how many genres it collapses by showing a man dying while showgirls brightly dance in the background and our leads hold hands in the foreground — violence, delight, and romance all in one frame.
Thanks, Felicity!
To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
We already have a set of classic 40s movies, 5os movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 30s movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got at least 22 movies in the works and hopefully!
Those who I put in bold have already sent me their posts. If you haven’t sent yours to me, please do so as soon as you can!!!
All Quiet on the Western Front — Michael Waters
Bride of Frankenstein — Marija Nielsen
Bringing Up Baby — Melinda Mahaffey
Captain Blood — John Arends
City Girl — Adam Westbrook
Dracula — Sheila Seaclearr
Duck Soup — David Joyner
Gone With The Wind — Mark Twain
Gunga Din — Steve Huerta
It Happened One Night — JoniB22
Make Way for Tomorrow — Susan W
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — Amber Watt
Rebecca — Katha
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves — Will King
Sabotage — Jeff Xilon
Stagecoach — Thenewlight
The 39 Steps — Felicity Flesher
The Adventures of Robin Hood — Clay Mitchell
The Petrified Forest — supergloss
The Women — Liz Clarke
Topper — Wayne Kline
I am still looking for volunteers. If there’s a 30s movie you’d like to write about, please post your suggestion in comments or contact me via email.
Thanks to everyone who steps up for this ongoing project!
For the original post explaining the series, go here.
For all of the 30s movies featured in the series, go here.
Click REPLY and see you in comments about today’s classic 30s movie!