Behind the Scenes of The 39 Steps
June 27, 2012
Film Info
- United Kingdom
- 1935
- 86 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- English
- Spine #56
A heart-racing spy story by Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps follows Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) as he stumbles upon a conspiracy that thrusts him into a hectic chase across the Scottish moors—a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued—as well as into an unexpected romance with the cool Pamela (Madeline Carroll). Adapted from a novel by John Buchan, this classic wrong-man thriller from the Master of Suspense anticipates the director’s most famous works (especially North by Northwest), and remains one of his cleverest and most entertaining films.
Cast
| Richard Hannay | Robert Donat |
| Pamela | Madeleine Carroll |
| Annabella Smith | Lucie Mannheim |
| Professor Jordan | Godfrey Tearle |
| Margaret, the crofter's wife | Peggy Ashcroft |
| John, the crofter | John Laurie |
| Mrs. Jordan | Helen Haye |
| Sheriff | Frank Cellier |
| Mr. Memory | Wylie Watson |
Credits
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Adapted from the novel by | John Buchan |
| Adaptation | Charles Bennett |
| Continuity | Alma Reville |
| Dialogue | Ian Hay |
| Photography | Bernard Knowles |
| Art director | O. Werndoff |
| Editor | D. N. Twist |
| Sound recordist | A. Birch |
| Wardrobe | Marianne |
| Dress designer | J. Strassner |
| Musical director | Louis Levy |
Disc Features
- New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary by Alfred Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane
- Hitchcock: The Early Years (2000), a British documentary covering the director’s prewar career
- Original footage from British broadcaster Mike Scott’s 1966 television interview with Hitchcock
- Complete broadcast of the 1937 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Montgomery
- New visual essay by Hitchcock scholar Leonard Leff
- Audio excerpts from François Truffaut’s 1962 interviews with Hitchcock
- Original production design drawings
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Cairns
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