The 39 Steps
Ahh, Hitchcock. Looking over the list of his films, I feel like I have seen a lot of Hitchcock and now what his films are about; but then again there are so many famous ones I have not seen (North by Northwest, Psycho (!), Notorious, Spellbound etc. etc.)… How is it possible that a director can be so amazingly productive and still make so many movies? On top of that, unlike Woody Allen, he’s a little bit of a true pioneer. Instead of making films as an homage to others, Hitchcock is always only himself, no matter whether it’s silents, black and white talkies or modern color films; film eras Hitchcock has all seen and gone through successfully. You don’t even have to like Hitchcock to be able to appreciate this impressive achievement, after all, there were quite a few films of his that I personally did not like as much.
“The 39 Steps” is one of those films that I liked, but that did not impress me greatly. When I saw “Rear Window”, even though it was for the second time after we had to see it in class back then in high school, I was blown off my feet. Certainly, “The 39 Steps” had a wonderful, engaging story; while the main female character was annoying at best, the thriller qualities of the film could not be refuted. I was interested from the start to the end, and actually liked the end which tied in so beautifully with the beginning.
Apart from that, there isn’t much to say about this film anymore, except that it’s another nice addition to the Hitchcock list, with a perfectly lovely pair of main characters.