Scotland At The Movies

23 March 2009, 18:37

The 39 Steps is a 1935 British thriller directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, and is based on the adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.
 
Though there have been four major film versions of the book, Hitchcock's original has been the most acclaimed, and remains so today. In 1999 it came fourth in a BFI poll of British films, while in 2004 Total Film named it the 21st greatest British movie of all time.

What’s it all about?

A man falsely suspected of killing a spy races across bonnie Scotland, just happening to be handcuffed to the beautiful blonde who turned him in.

On vacation in London, Canadian Richard Hannay becomes embroiled in a spy hunt when a German double-agent, Miss Smith, is murdered in his apartment. He is shockingly suspected of the murder, and in his search for the real murderer he abducts an attractive blonde named Pamela.

As the two travel through Britain, Pamela comes to trust Richard, and they slowly fall in love. Oh, if it only happened to every pair handcuffed together, imagine what it would do for crime rates in our country...

Cast

Robert Donat as Richard Hannay
Madeleine Carroll as Pamela
Lucie Mannheim as Annabella Smith
Godfrey Tearle as Professor Jordan
Peggy Ashcroft as Margaret, the crofter's wife
John Laurie as John, the crofter
Helen Haye as Mrs. Louisa Jordan, the professor's wife
Frank Cellier as Sheriff Watson
Wylie Watson as Mr. Memory

Trivia

The 39 Steps is the first in a line of Hitchcock films based upon the idea of an innocent man on the run, including Saboteur (1942) and North by Northwest (1959), with scenes actually shot in Scotland.
Alfred Hitchcock cameo: A signature occurrence in almost all of Hitchcock's films, and the portly filmmaker can be seen tossing some litter while Robert and Lucie run from the theatre at the beginning of the film.

When's it on?

The 39 Steps is on STV on May 3.
 

Last updated: 05 June 2009, 16:36