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| A pretty gorgeous poster for Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps |
The 39 Steps is a fun escape movie by British master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window (1954)):
Mr. Hannay (Robert Donat (The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958))) gets into a terrible situation, when a beautiful woman is stabbed to death at his hotel. With foreign agents at his heels, he gets cuffed together with a tiresome woman (Madeleine Carroll (It's All Yours (1937))).
- SPOILER And, of course, it all ends in a characteristically Hitchcockian big 'bang'.
The film is entertaining but somewhat overrated: In 1999 the British Film Institute voted it the 4th best British film of the 20th century! Total Film magazine has also voted it among the best British films and best adaptations of all time.
39 Steps is written by Charles Bennett (Balalaika (1939)), with dialog by Ian Hay (Sabotage (1936)), based on John Buchan's 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps.
Hitchcock's best, in my opinion, are; Notorious (1946), Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Wrong Man (1956), and North By Northwest (1959) - all absolute masterpieces.
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| Wonderful artwork on this poster for Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps |
Watch an original trailer for the film here
Cost: 60k £
Box office: Unknown
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[The 39 Steps premiered 6 June (London) and runs 86 minutes. 39 Steps was a big British venture at the time: Donat and Carroll were cast because they were actors that enjoyed familiarity in the States. Shooting took place in Scotland and in England, including London. I can't find any box office figures for the film, - if you have found any, please, let me know where in a comment. Hitchcock returned with Secret Agent (1936). Donat returned in The Ghost Goes West (1935); Carroll in The Case Against Mrs. Ames (1936). The 39 Steps is certified fresh at 96 % with a 8.9/10 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The 39 Steps?
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