If his 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much didn’t cement Alfred Hitchcock into cinemagoers’ minds as the “master of suspense,” his 1935 The 39 Steps most certainly did, a British film which was as big a hit in the United States as it was in Britain. Hitchcock’s first film with an innocent man caught up in extraordinary circumstances and his first to feature a cool blonde as a foil to the male protagonist, The 39 Steps is a model of suspenseful cinematic ingenuity and one of the films of Hitchcock’s British period that made Hollywood eager to claim his talents for its own uses.
The 39 Steps (Blu-ray)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1935
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 86 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: PCM 1.0 English
Subtitles: SDH
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Review Date: June 21, 2012
The Film
5/5
After some shots are fired at a British music hall, the mysterious Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) takes theatergoer Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) into her confidence when it’s obvious she’s being followed. She’s learned of an organization called “The 39 Steps” which is run by a dangerous man holding vital air defense secrets which could bring ruin to England. She doesn’t give his name, only that he has a missing right pinky finger. Before she can give further details, she’s murdered in Hannay’s apartment, and now with the suspicion for her murder falling on him, he must make his escape. On a map of Scotland she had marked the village of Alt-na Shellach which is where Hannay heads, but his inexperience with cloak and dagger techniques keeps him continually falling into the hands of either the police or his enemies. Even a lovely blonde (Madeleine Carroll) that he meets on a train is eager to give him up, even when they get handcuffed together and must lug each other around attempting to evade their pursuers.
Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial hand is so sure and strong here that the tension begins building almost within the first ten minutes of the movie, and it never lets up until the final speech by a dying man brings the story (adapted from John Buchan’s novel by Charles Bennett and Ian Hay) to its close. Though much of the movie was filmed inside a studio, a few location shots and some deft production design give the moors of Scotland an endless and foreboding depth. But as with all of his best pictures, Hitchcock knows when to tighten the screws (numerous chases and escapes, a shot to the heart that’s very convincing that our hero has been killed) and when to lighten the mood (a rollicking, boisterous crowd at the music hall, the enthusiastic political rally which Hannay surprisingly takes over, the bedroom semi-farce by the battling couple) all handled in this movie with the same dexterous hand of a grand master that he’d show in almost all of his best future films whether working on a tight budget or with vast millions at his disposal.
And Hitchcock is blessed with a sensational cast, too. Robert Donat is a marvelous everyman: bewildered to find himself in an impossible situation but determined to extricate himself through his own devices and never falling into self-pity or defeat. It’s a pity Hitchcock never got to work with him again. Madeleine Carroll takes her own sweet time winning audience sympathy; it seems almost silly that she can’t fathom the danger of the predicament she’s gotten herself wrapped up in, but once she’s finally come around to the truth, she’s a plucky and effusive heroine. In the small role of a Scottish farmer’s wife who reads Richard’s innate goodness and decency correctly almost from the beginning, Peggy Ashcroft is hauntingly wonderful, one of the most memorable characters in a film stuffed with them. As her jealous and brutish husband, John Laurie is most effective while Godfrey Tearle is an unctuous, smarmy villain. And as the man who holds the key to the mystery, Wylie Watson has very valuable moments at several junctures of the movie.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 is faithfully represented in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. There’s a pleasant clarity to the image although it’s never razor sharp. There are a few scratches here and there, but the grayscale is nicely represented even with black levels which aren’t the deepest possible. The film has been divided into 12 chapters.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The PCM 1.0 (2.3 Mbps) audio track is very representative of its era with a definite lack of low end and little resonance to sound effects like crowd noises and gunshots. Still, the dialogue is always discernible, and the Criterion engineers have done a smashing job ridding the audio track of glaring hiss, pops, and other age-related artifacts. It’s a solid depiction of the sound of movies from its period.
Special Features
5/5
The audio commentary is by Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane. It’s a scene analysis-style commentary which some might take as a tad dry and less informative than Bruce Eder’s similar job on The Lady Vanishes. Still, she makes references to influences from the film found in later Hitchcock works, and it’s definitely worth a listen.
“Hitchcock: The Early Years” is a 2000 documentary that focuses on Hitchcock’s British period with clips and discussion of many of his silent and sound movies from this era. It runs 24 ¼ minutes in 1080i.
“Cinema: Alfred Hitchcock” is the raw black and white interview footage from 1966 conducted by Mike Scott which was used in a television documentary. These interviews run 40 ¼ minutes in 1080i, and he discusses everything from his earliest years in silent cinema through his breakthrough with The Lodger and other pictures. Though mostly focusing on the British films, other allusions to such later movies as The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and the then soon-to-be-released Torn Curtain are also made.
“Borders of the Possible” is critic Leonard Leff’s video analysis of the movie running 24 minutes and presented in 1080p.
A design gallery offers art director O. Werndorff’s sketches and the actual sets that resulted from them in a page-through gallery for the viewer.
The audio excerpts of the interview between Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut held in 1962 are presented. The comments about The 39 Steps run 22 ¼ minutes though the listener is cautioned that the translator’s necessary interaction with the two directors makes listening a bit of a struggle. (Better to read the resultant book.)
The Lux Radio Theater adaptation of The 39 Steps was presented in 1937 with Robert Montgomery and Ida Lupino in the leading roles. It is presented here with commercials intact.
The enclosed 18-page booklet contains a cast and crew list, some arresting stills from the movie, and filmmaker David Cairns tribute to the film and its director.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4.5/5 (not an average)
For many the preeminent film of Alfred Hitchcock’s British period, The 39 Steps is as thrilling and amusing as ever in this new Criterion Blu-ray edition. With many of the DVD release’s extras ported over along with some new additions, this set is a no-brainer for fans of Alfred Hitchcock or great suspense films of the classic period. Highly recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
