History Film / The39Steps1935

''The 39 Steps'' is a 1935 {{Thriller}} film directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock and starring Creator/RobertDonat and Creator/MadeleineCarroll. It is adapted from the 1915 novel ''[[Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps The Thirty-Nine Steps]]'' by Creator/JohnBuchan; later film versions were made in 1959, 1978, and 2008.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Hitchcock reused a number of themes and motifs from this film in ''Film/{{Saboteur}}'' and ''Film/NorthByNorthwest''.

* AdaptationalNationality: Hannay is Scottish in the novel, but the film makes him a Canadian visiting London, possibly as a nod to John Buchan's then-recent appointment as Governor General of Canada; or to make the character more appealing for American audiences [[note]]After the success of ''[[Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' in America, the studio told Hitchcock to make this film with an American audience in mind.[[/note]]; or perhaps to explain why Hannay is reluctant to go to the police at first, as he's only recently arrived in the country and has no one to vouch for him when he's framed for Annabella's murder.

* AdaptationalNationality: Hannay is Scottish in the novel, but the film makes him a Canadian visiting London, possibly as a nod to John Buchan's then-recent appointment as Governor General of Canada; or to make the character more appealing for American audiences [[note]]After the success of ''[[Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' in America, the studio told Hitchcock to make this film with an American audience in mind.[[/note]]; or perhaps to explain why Hannay is reluctant to go to the police at first, as he's a foreign citizen who's recently arrived in the country and has no one to vouch for him.

* BelligerentSexualTension: It's a 1935 movie, so it's downplayed, but it's still quite obviously happening between Richard and Pamela.

* ContraltoOfDanger: Annabella has a deep German-accented voice, matching her role as the spy who gets Hannay unwittingly wrapped up in international intrigue.

* CuffsOffRubWrists: Pamela does this when she removes her handcuff. Madeleine Carroll suffered at the hands of Hitchcock's quest for realism, right down to the real welts on her wrists from the long days of being handcuffed to Robert Donat.

* PushedInFrontOfTheAudience: Richard, running from the cops, dives into a building. He winds up on the stage at a political rally, where he's mistaken for the guest speaker. He gives a RousingSpeech.

* AdaptationalNationality: Hannay is Scottish in the novel, but the film makes him a Canadian visiting London, possibly as a nod to John Buchan's then-recent appointment as Governor General of Canada; or to make the character more appealing for American audiences [[note]]After the success of ''[[Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' in America, the studio told Hitchcock to make this film with an American audience in mind.[[/note]]; or perhaps to explain why Hannay is reluctant to go to the police at first, as he's a foreign citizen with no one to vouch for him.

* AdaptationalNationality: Hannay is Scottish in the novel, but the film makes him a Canadian visiting London, possibly as a nod to John Buchan's then-recent appointment as Governor General of Canada, or to make the character more appealing for American audiences, or perhaps to explain why Hannay is reluctant to go to the police at first, as he's a foreigner with no one to vouch for him. After the success of ''[[Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' in America, the studio told Hitchcock to make this film with an American audience in mind.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* PlayingGertrude: The Scottish farmer is supposed to be much, much older than his wife, but in RealLife, 38-year-old John Laurie was just 10 years older than Creator/PeggyAshcroft.

''The 39 Steps'' is a 1935 {{Thriller}} film directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock and starring Creator/RobertDonat and Creator/MadeleineCarroll. It is adapted from the novel ''[[Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps The Thirty-Nine Steps]]'' by Creator/JohnBuchan; later film versions were made in 1959, 1978, and 2008.

** It's also been noted that Creator/PeggyAshcroft doesn't really achieve the proper accent for a woman from rural Scotland. One blogger has described her accent as "buying a zone-hopping travelcard into a variety of geographical locations."

* CuffsOffRubWrists: Madeline does this when she removes her handcuff. Madeleine Carroll suffered at the hands of Hitchcock's quest for realism, right down to the real welts on her wrists from the long days of being handcuffed to Robert Donat.

* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Professor Jordan begs Richard to shoot himself, so he won't have to, implying that being DrivenToSuicide while on the run will give him some posthumous sympathy from the public. Though PragmaticVillainy is another explanation, as the suicide of a suspected murderer would [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident wrap things up nicely]] and make the police less likely to dig further.

** It's also been noted that Creator/PeggyAshcroft doesn't really achieve the proper accent for a woman from rural Scotland. One blogger has describe her accent as "buying a zone-hopping travelcard into a variety of geographical locations."

** It's also been noted that Creator/PeggyAshcroft doesn't really achieve the proper accent for a woman from rural Scotland.

* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Professor Jordan begs Richard to shoot himself, so he won't have to, implying that being DrivenToSuicide while on the run will give him some posthumous sympathy from the public.

* AdaptationalNationality: Hannay is Scottish in the novel, but the film makes him a Canadian visiting London, possibly as a nod to John Buchan's then-recent appointment as Governor General of Canada, or to make the character more appealing for American audiences. After the success of ''[[Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' in America, the studio told Hitchcock to make this film with an American audience in mind.

* PragmaticAdaptation: In the novel Hannay heads to the Scottish countryside to hide from both the police and the foreign agents pursuing him in London, and out of sheer bad luck walks right into his enemy's headquarters. The film gives Hannay a reason to head straight for the enemy's stronghold (Annabella's map) and a reason to walk right in (because she died before she could explain what it signifies, he thinks it shows a safehouse she was trying to reach).

* TheRainMan: Mr. Memory and his remarkable skill for memorizing arcane facts sort-of fits the bill. Today he would probably be considered to have some form of UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** Given that Hitchcock and the studio were aiming this film at the American market, and UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode had just gone into effect, it's amazing that they got away with having a woman insist on spending the night with a man she barely even met, then literally having the man and another woman sleeping in the same bed. The plot justifies both of these in an innocent way, but the subtext is still obvious.
** Similarly, in the scene in which Pamela removes her wet stockings (itself a pretty provocative image for 1935) Hannay's hand actually touches her bare legs several times because it's handcuffed to her hand. That kind of physical contact was normally not tolerated by British or American censors of the time, but Hitchcock snuck it in cleverly by using the handcuffs as an excuse for Hannay's hand to be down there.

''The 39 Steps'' is a 1935 {{Thriller}} film directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock and starring Creator/RobertDonat and Creator/MadeleineCarroll. It is adapted from the novel ''[[Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps The Thirty-Nine Steps]]'' by John Buchan; later film versions were made in 1959, 1978, and 2008.

''The 39 Steps'' is a 1935 {{Thriller}} film directed by Creator/AlfredHitchcock and starring Creator/RobertDonat and Madeleine Carroll. It is adapted from the novel ''[[Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps The Thirty-Nine Steps]]'' by John Buchan; later film versions were made in 1959, 1978, and 2008.