Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) spends an evening with spy Annabella (Lucie Mannheim), who tells him that important national security information is about to be smuggled out of England. After she’s murdered in his apartment, Hannay is on the run being pursued by the bad guys and the cops. The plot of an innocent man thrown into a web of intrique and danger through circumstances beyond his control is a favorite theme of Hitchcock’s, introduced in “The 39 Steps” and perfected in his later films, such as “North By Northwest.” Having Donat and Carroll handcuffed together while on the lam was a plot device introduced by Hitchcock that has been employed many times since by other directors. “The 39 Steps” is the best of Hitchcock’s early films, artfully weaving suspense, romance and comedy, that gives of glimpse of elements that would come to define Hitchcock’s work. (Look quick for Hitch’s cameo as a litterbug). (86 min.)
Unrated - 1935
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Starring:
Robert Donat
Madeleine Carroll
Lucie Mannheim
Godfrey Tearle
Peggy Ashcroft
John Laurie
Wylie Watson
Gus McNaughton
Jerry Vernon
Writers:
John Buchan (novel)
Charles Bennett (adaptation)
Ian Hay (dialogue)
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