The 39 Steps (1935) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this months episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron don’t make the best spies as they discuss “The 39 Steps.”

The Picture:

Picture Title: The 39 Steps (1935)

Written by: Charles Bennett & Ian Hay, adapted from the novel by John Buchan

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, Helen Haye, Frank Cellier and Wylie Watson

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Trailer:

Our Favourite Trivia:

DIRECTOR CAMEO: Man tossing some litter as Richard and Annabella are about to board a bus outside of the music hall. Walking with him is screenwriter Charles Bennett.

This was Alfred Hitchcock’s follow-up to his first international success, “The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934).” It proved to be just as successful, quickly establishing him as a box-office draw.

The production company, Gaumont-British, was eager to establish its films in international markets, and especially in the United States, and The 39 Steps was conceived as a prime vehicle towards this end. The Man Who Knew Too Much had costs of £40,000, The 39 Steps cost nearly £60,000. Much of the extra money went to the star salaries for leads Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. 

Alfred Hitchcock always regarded this as one of his favorite movies.

The film’s plot departs significantly from John Buchan’s novel, with scenes such as in the music hall and on the Forth Bridge absent from the book. Hitchcock also introduced the two major female characters, Annabella the spy and Pamela, the reluctant companion. In this film, The 39 Steps refers to the clandestine organisation, whereas in the book and the other film versions it refers to physical steps, with the German spies being called “The Black Stone”

Before filming the scene where Hannay (Robert Donat) and Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) run through the countryside, Alfred Hitchcock handcuffed them together and pretended for several hours to have lost the key in order to put them in the right frame of mind for such a situation.

The bridge on which the train stops to search for Hannay is the famous railway bridge over the Firth of Forth, built between 1882 and 1890. It was then one of the most complicated works of engineering craftsmanship. It spans almost two and a half kilometers (one and a half miles).

The Random Draw for Next Picture:

Next up, we’ll be discussing “Champagne.”

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