Customer Reviews
Best British Hitchcock - By: IWFIcon, 16 Aug 2008 
Hitchcock always used to say that he saw no pointin adapting an excellent book for one of his films because if a novel was so good, what could he do to improve upon it?
As a result,in the 80 years since it's release there must have been a lot of disappointed people who have bought John Buchan's book on the strength of this film. For all intents & puposes, Hitchcock's version has become the one that all the others are judged on.
Robert Donat is superb as Richard Hannay, a man who ends up on the run when a spy, whom he had only met that evening, ends up deadin his flat. Hannay ends up fleeing to Scotland, determined to pass on the message about the 39 steps.
Along the way he picks up Pamela, another superb turn from Madeleine Carroll, who initially does not believe his proclamations of innocence but soon realises that Hannay was indeed telling the truth.
The interplay between Donat & Carroll is superb & adds a frission to the flim that was missingin Hitchcock's previous film The Man Who Knew Too Much, & the period of the film that sees them handcuffed together must be one of the most memorable parts of the entire Hitchcock cannon.
Betrayal, & a lack of trush, is at the heart of the film. No-one, except the Crofter's wife, initially believes Hannay's story (and notice how the milkman when Hannay escapes from his flat only belives him when he starts to tell lies) & it perhaps fitting that Mr. Memory (a music hall act used by the spies) perishes simply because his professionalism means that he cannot refuse to answer a question.
A wonderful script, tight editing & some memorable characters make this the definitive version of the 39 Steps story AND perhaps the best film of Hitchcock's early British years.
The 86 Mintues - By: Shawn Watson, 14 Apr 2008 
I was really looking forward to this movie since this Criterion dvd is rather costly & a rerelease with a flawless screening seemed like the perfect way to be introduced to this so-called Hitchcock classic. It's a real shame the film ends up being so damn twee.
The main problem is that the film is just too quaint. None of the bad guys feel like a real threat & are frequently fooled by Hanney's simple tricks, the stakes aren't exactly high & the MacGuffin is surely Hitchcock's lamest. The final scenein which a memory man (a pre-USB key device) recites a vital formula to no one of importance before dying is a dumb way to end the film. I was expecting some gripping set-piece like at the end of North By Northwest or Saboteur when the hero & villain went head to head at Mount Rushmore & the Statue of Liberty. But a single shot fired at the London Palladium? Come on!
And what's the deal with that silly chase sequence over the moors of Scotland. The stupid speeded-up footage makes it look like a Benny Hill skit sans music. Plus there absolutely aint no atmosphere to speak of. The only thing that really amused me was the chemistry between Hannay & Pamela, but that came too latein the movie.
They also changed too much from the book. Pretty much all that's left is the name Richard Hannay & the words 'the 39 steps'. Take away those & it's something completely different from John Buchan's book.
A true adaptation would have been much better.
Hitch's most enjoyable British film - By: Trevor Willsmer, 12 Dec 2006 Hitchcock's The 39 Steps still holds up remarkably well - indeed, it's one of the few of his films that is consistently delightful, not least because of a great script that improves immensely on Buchan's racist novel & fillsin the gaps between setpieces with equally good scenes filled with great dialog & memorable characters, from the milkman who aids Hannay's escape to John Laurie as the untrustworthy crofter & a luminous Peggy Ashcroft as his ill-suited wife. It also has a lovely feel for the unfriendly beauty of the Scottish landscape that gives the film a sense of scale & isolation lackingin most British films of its day.
Carlton's collector's edition boasts a fine transfer & a brief documentary on Hitchcock's British films as well a gallery of stills & production designs.
Great edition of wonderful film - By: thomas12321, 27 Nov 2006 This is the best I've seen from Hitchcocks British period. The plot has a lot of odd twists - some of them highly impropable. But it doesn't really matter - this is a film that should be enjoyed just for the ride. It is a movie that just sparkles.
Robert Donat I've never seen before but he seems to be an actor who instinctively knew what Hitch was after, & so suave, too, he beats Cary Grant!
This edition offers an extremely nice-looking print + some wonderful extras including a very informative documentary on Hitchcocks British films. At the present amazon bargain price you simply can't go wrong!
The British classic that really put Hitchcock on the map - By: Daniel Jolley, 07 May 2006 1935's The 39 Steps is the film that really put Alfred Hitchcock on the map as a world-class movie director. With its mixture of classic Hitchcockian wit, dark (and light) humor, & suspense, it brought to the fore the man's genius & set the stage for many a classic thriller to come. Robert Donat is excellentin the role of Richard Hannay, a young Canadian who finds himselfin between a rock & a hard place after his encounter with a young female spyin London, while Madeleine Carroll brings beauty, grace, & a sense of romance to Hannay's increasingly harrowing quest to not only prove himself innocent of murder but to safeguard the defense of Great Britain from foreign agents. All he has to go on are a cryptic reference to something called "the 39 steps," a name of a townin Scotland, & a warning to stay away from any man missing the upper digit on his right pinkie finger.
When the mysterious Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) invites herself home with him & tells him her fantastic story of intrigue & danger, Hannay doesn't quite believe her - until, that is, she turns upin the night with a knifein her back. Knowing that the killers are waiting for him outside (and also knowing how likely the police would be to find him guilty of the murder upin his flat), he quickly adopts the classic mantle of the innocent man on the run, desperate to ultimately prove his innocence. The journey he makes from London to a little townin Scotland is not an easy one, as Hannay finds himself running from the bad guys who want to kill him as well as the cops pursuing him for murder. Deceit & double-crossing as well as assistance from unexpected quarters keep things very interesting - particularly after he finds himself on the run yet again (after one of several narrow escapes), now handcuffed to the lovely & initially unsympathetic Pamela (Madeleine Carroll). The romantic element thus introduced into the film deviates from the original novel on which the screenplay was based, but it clearly strengthens the film, setting the stage for a most climactic conclusion.
One of Hitchcock's best-known British films, The 39 Steps doesn't prove as gripping or dramatic as many of the master's later movies, but the exquisite dialogue & direction do make for some memorable moments (none more so than Hannay's improvised speech at a political meeting, which definitely qualifies as a classicin my book), & the twists & turns along the way continuously ratchet up the suspense, with everything workingin concert toward a finish that does not disappoint.
