Good Evening

Ah, good old Hitchcock! His movies have left a stain on the history of cinema, all for the good and bad of it all. Some say he was a genius while others think he was crazy. That decision is up for the people to judge for themselves. However, movie experts have found his films interesting enough to take apart and examine every element inch by inch. Each one of his movies has a key list of elements to them: the wrong man plot, director cameo, demonic mothers, “doubling” between good and bad characters, formal challenges, gallows’ humor, influence of German Expressionism, MacGuffin, perversion in character relationships, red herring, silent, “pure” cinema, suspense instead of surprise, violence towards women especially platinum blondes, and voyeurism. Hitchcock’s movie 39 Steps is no exception to the rule.

The first thing to look at is the wrong man plot. That is the whole basis of the movie. The main character, Richard Hannay, is running away from the police because a spy named Annabella Smith is murdered in his flat. He has to get away from the police while finding the thirty-nine steps. He goes through great lengths to get away. People many try to help him escape while others turn on him for themselves. Nobody believes him at first. It is towards the end when Pamela and the police finally start to believe him. The wrong man plot seems to be popular in many films. One of the best examples of this is 1993’s The Fugitive with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Both The Fugitive and 39 Steps involve a man running away from the police because a woman they knew is found dead. Hitchcock takes the wrong man plot and makes it more entertaining with a nice mix of a spy film with 39 Steps.

The second element to the movie 39 Steps is the director cameo. Hitchcock seems to love putting himself in his movies. This film is no exception to the rule. When Richard Hannay and Annabella Smith run back to his apartment after shots are fired in the music hall, Hitchcock walks by and throws some litter on the ground. To me, Hitchcock’s cameos in the film seem to reassure the faint at heart that it is just a movie and there is nothing to be afraid of. Plus, it is fun to play “spot Hitchcock” in the beginning of his movies.

Along with all of the above, 39 Steps has some Gallows’ humor to it. In the beginning of the film, the audience heckles the announcer on stage. One woman shouts, “Are his feet as big as yours Telly?” To the modern person, that is a question of how big a guy is down there. Also, there are some little perverted jokes in the movie. One example is when the guys on the train are talking about bras and corsets. The man looking at the merchandise says, “Bring it back to me with it is filled.” That says to everyone that he wants to see a pretty girl in a bra one day. Later on, the men crack jokes about Annabella’s murder in Richard’s flat while they read the paper at the train station. Since the apartment is right next to the BBC, that is a good movie to put somebody to sleep. That proves to be a nice little double entendre with going to bed and killing a person. Hannay even takes stab of joking about murder and crime when he is trying to free himself and Pamela from the handcuffs that hold them together. Hitchcock seems to have a taste for dark humor.

Next up is the influence of German expressionism. For starters, the movie is in black and white. It does not end there. The whole is set up like a film noir just like the way the German expressionism has it. At first, Hannay believes that Professor Jordan will help him escape from the police and find the thirty-nine steps. As it turns out, the professor is the villain of the story and shoots him in the chest. After Professor Jordan shoots Hannay for learning about who he is Hannay escapes and goes to the Scottish police. He believes that they will help, but yet again he is mistaken. The police try and arrest for murder. Plus, Annabella seduces Hannay into this whole movie and the hunt for the thirty-nine steps.

39 Steps also has a MacGuffin to it. The object in question is the thirty-nine steps and the secret about England that Annabella tries to pervert from getting out. After she dies, Hannay takes over the mission. What are the thirty-nine steps? They are an organization of spies collecting information about a design for a silent aircraft engine. The professor was trying to take Mr. Memory out of the country so that the enemy can use the weapon for themselves. So in a way, Mr. Memory was the main MacGuffin of the whole movie.

The movie also has a perversion in character relationships. Pamela and Hannay are a great example of this. Their relationship starts when he tries to pretend to be making out on the train with her so not to get caught be the police. From there, she is handcuffed to him and made to pretend to be his wife. In a subtle context, it when all seem like Hannay is forcing his hostage to love him. It almost seems like a rapist to the victim in a way. Their relationship reminds of the play, Taming of the Shrew in a sick modern sense. However, it just makes it more entertaining to watch until the way end.

Then, there is the red herring. This is seen when Hannay uses the clothes of the milkman to escape from the men that were spying on Annabella. Also a little bit later, he forces a kiss unto Pamela on the train to elude the police. After that, Hannay finds in the diner car, makes it off of the train, and hides near the bridge just to escape. From then on, he uses every means possible to escape and survive. This red herring is pretty much the old saying of “kill or be killed” in this case. Hannay is going out all of the way to do that.

In the mix of Hitchcock’s film magic is suspense instead of surprise. It all started when Annabella is killed after dinner. After she dies, the phone rings. Richard peeks out the window and sees one of the men he saw earlier on the street on a pay-phone. From then on, the paranoia adds onto the suspense until the very end. The police chase Hannay from England to all over Scotland. Plus, there is the suspense when Hannay accidentally goes to Professor Jordan’s house while evading the police. The viewer is left wondering how Hannay is just survive and get out of all of this mess that Annabella has dragged him into.

Also along with everything else, there is violence towards women in 39 Steps. The first example is with Annabella Smith is stabbed in the back. Another one is when Hannay forces the kiss on Pamela on the train to elude the police. One can even argue that Margaret’s husband is violent towards her in the fact that he is controlling and uses religion to keep her in line. Later on, he slaps her in the face when she tells him that gave his coat to Hannay to help him escape. Finally, there is the relationship between Pamela and Hannay. Poor Pamela gets roped into this mess when Hannay forces a kiss on her. From then on, she is handcuffed to him and forced to pretend to be his wife after he threatens to kill her.

Finally, there is some voyeurism. Well, there is a little hint of it at least. When the crofter goes out to lock the barn, he peeks into the window and watches his wife, Margaret, and Hannay arguing. He does not seem to trust his wife with any man at all.

Hitchcock was genius of his time. Some people love him and others do not. To me, he is okay. I am not wild about him, but I will try to watch more of his films from now on when they do come to mind.