24 November 2024
The 39 Steps (1935)
87 min.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
With Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, Wylie Watson.
"What are the 39 Steps?," you may ask.

We ain't telling.

But suffice it to say, this 1935 thriller is vintage Hitchcock.

Richard Hanney (Donat) is an innocent man accused of murder and drawn into an international spy project.

With his unwilling partner Pamela (Carroll), the chase leads from England to Scotland and back to England, with Donat trying to put all the pieces together and stay one step ahead of his would-be captors.

Gloomy Scottish moors enhance the action, while the climax is textbook Hitchcock.

There's a great, utterly modern scene with Donat & Carroll handcuffed together overnight at a Scottish inn.

Check it out.

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