The 39 Steps

Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (1935) is a typical film for Hitchcock, full of the customary wit, intrigue, and restrained romance that he is celebrated for, all while ratcheting up the necessary suspense that is simply Hitchcockian. It is, justly, his breakthrough film, and a worthy classic.

Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) plays a Canadian in London who is unjustly identified as a murderer. He heads for Scotland in an attempt to secure his innocence, only to realize that those he sought refuge from may mean him more harm than the police that he flees. He is eventually handcuffed to the beautiful but naive Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) as the two of them must work together to evade the real killers.

Within this conventional (for Hitchcock) framework, Hitchcock explores concepts of institutionalized marriage and uncommon trust, in that all the married couples are presented as loveless entities that remain together despite each other rather than because of each other. Additionally, the handcuffs create an interesting, though obvious, metaphor in retrospect, since Richard and Pamela must trust each other with their lives just as all couples must trust one another. They are emblematic of all couples, that is, minus the constant interceder of death that chases after them. Still, it's a powerful metaphor, and one which is subtle enough that it does not reveal itself unnecessarily or take one out of the film.

Moreover, the film's ending is a classic example of the MaGuffin, and its integration is ingenious. The only fault, really, lies in how Hitchcock alludes to past information with superimposed faces in the beginning, which was incredibly jarring to me, and nearly had me turning off the film. After that, though, it's all a fun and thrilling affair.

The 39 Steps: 9/10