Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30175 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-14
• Formats: Full Screen, Surround Sound, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Amazon.com
Hitchcock's first great romantic thriller is a prime example of the MacGuffin principle in action.

Robert Donat is Richard Hannay, an affable Canadian tourist in London who becomes embroiled in a deadly conspiracy when a mysterious spy winds up murdered in Hannay's rented flat--and both the police and a secret organization wind up hot on his trail. With only a seemingly meaningless phrase ("the 39 steps"), a small Scottish town circled on a map, and a criminal mastermind identified by a missing finger as clues, quick-witted Hannay eludes police and spies alike as he works his way across the countryside to reveal the mystery and clear his name. At one point he finds himself making his escape manacled to blonde beauty Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), whose initial antagonism is smoothed by Hannay's charm and the sheer rush of her thrilling chase. It's classic Hitchcock all the way, a seemingly effortless balance of romance and adventure set against a picturesque landscape populated by eccentrics and social-register smoothies, none of whom is what he or she appears to be.

Hitchcock would play similar games of innocents plunged into deadly conspiracies, most delightfully in North by Northwest, but in this breezy 1935 classic, Hitchcock proves that, as in any quest, the object of the search isn't nearly as satisfying as the journey.

The best known of Hitchcock's British films, this civilized spy yarn follows the escapades of Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who stumbles into a conspiracy that involves him in a hectic chase across the Scottish moors in a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued. Adapted from John Buchan's novel, this classic Hitchcock "wrong man" thriller encapsulates themes that anticipate the director's biggest American films (especially North by Northwest), and is a standout among his early works.

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Customer Reviews

Well Done Alfred...Another Hitchcock Classic.
As one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films, The 39 Steps keeps your attention from the first minute.

THE 39 STEPS was one of Hitchcock's first films to be a genuine success--and it's just as entertaining today as it probably was when it was first released. For the first time, Hitchcock employs the theme of the "wrong man" on the run not only from spies, but also from the police (which explains why he cannot go to them for help). In this case, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) becomes involved with a secret agent who spends the night with him and then winds up dead. Hannay soon finds himself on the run from other spies who think he knows too much and want him dead. Eventually, he finds himself handcuffed to Pamela (Madeliene Carroll), a young blonde who, in typical Hollywood fasion, fumes at him for most of the picture before they both realize that they're in love. THE 39 STEPS provides consistent entertainment as it zips frantically from one scenario to the next--just as Hannay gets out of one trap, he falls into another. (The most fascinating "episode" in the film occurs when Hannay spends the night at a farm in the Scottish countryside with a sternly religious farmer and his wife.) It is certainly the best of Hitchcock's "on the run" films; THE 39 STEPS is short, suspenseful (but never really frightening), at times drilly funny, and even romantic.

Do Not Buy This DVD
This is a wonderful movie, one of Hitchcock's best if you like vintage B&W flicks. The acting is superb, and it has an ample share of Hitchcockian humor.

But this particular version is the WORST digitization of a move I have ever seen. The images are muddy at best, and there is obvious and annoying digital noise visible throughout the movie.

By all means, buy the movie.

But don't buy this dog by Triad.

Excelent movie
I absolutely love this movie,it holds your attention all the way.Great story great acting I only have one complaint VERY POOR QUALITY picture....I could hardly see especially the night sceans most dissapointing.I'll have to wait until it comes on TV to watch it again.A sad customer.