The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)

Brilliant and touching

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

It's quite different from Alfred Hitchcock's 1930s version. The emphasis here is on spying and preventing the assassination of a Greek diplomat in 1914. The Balkans must hold together to give Britain time to prepare for the inevitable war. And it's complicated. Uncovering the villain and the villainous plot is not a simple matter of running into some guy with a bit of his finger missing. The plot is a tangled knot of fake identities and a confusion that results in both the police and the scurrilous assassins chasing Robert Powell (as Hannay) around Scotland and London.I'm not sure any of the versions I've seen follow the novel very closely. It's been years since I've read the book but I do recall that somewhere along the way Hannay had to take a job as a ditch digger. No such vulgar passage here.The novel aside, Hitchcock's version is an improvement over this one in many ways. The incident in which Robert Donat as Hannay spends the night in the home of a stingy, jealous farmer with a sympathetic wife is almost a short movie in itself, both suspenseful and dramatic. "Do ye eat the herring?" Nothing like that here.On the other hand, this is pretty tense on its own. Hannay escapes from a stalled train by climbing under a bridge, only it's not over the Forth of Firth. Nice shots of Hannay as a distant figure on the Scottish hills, running for his life, his long black coat flapping, while two marksmen try to bring him down.And the exciting climax would have suited Hitchcock to a T. A bomb that will destroy the Greek diplomat and the rest of Parliament with him is set to go off at 11:45. Hannay and the police must stop this from happening by defanging the explosive device then clambering out onto the face of Big Ben and wrestling with the mammoth minute hand. Someone falls to his death. Hitch would have loved it but this version is still well enough done to generate a lot of apprehension.

John Buchan's 1915 thriller novel The Thirty-Nine Steps has proved to be a rich ground for filmmakers. From Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 classic to its less stellar 1959 remake and a more recent BBC television movie, Buchan's thriller has been updated and revised time and again. Yet with the exception of the BBC's version, most have chosen to take the bare bones of the novel and create something new out of it. There's an exception to every rule and this 1978 adaptation would prove to be that in returning not just to the original time period of the novel but capturing it in spirit (if not in incident) better than its predecessors.It's perhaps best than the film owes less to Hitchcock and more to Buchan, especially given how the 1959 film turned out. Much of the flavor of the novel is captured here with the notion of a network of agents of a foreign power up to skullduggery and intrigue in the spring of 1914 which draws Richard Hannary, a mining engineer who has spent some years in Africa before coming to London, into a race against time. Though the film does pay homage to Hitchcock's film (and how could it not?), much of the film's incident can be traced to the original novel, if at times in a roundabout kind of way. The film does make additions including the characters of Alex Mackenzie and her fiancé along with some villains and indeed a totally new ending, these don't deviate hugely from what was originally written. The ending, the largest of the changes, is in fact something of an improvement over Buchan's own ending and it's no surprise that it has found some measure of iconic status in its own right. As a result, the film (despite the changes and additions it makes) might well be the most faithful adaptation of the novel we're ever likely to see.That said, there's plenty to recommend the film for besides that. Take Robert Powell, made famous for his roles in Doomwatch and Jesus Of Nazareth, as Buchan's archetypal innocent man on the run Richard Hannay, . Powell was perfect casting has the right amount of charm, intelligence and good looks to be believable in the role of unlikely action hero from the moment he opens his apartment door to the iconic closing sequence. Powell pulls the role off with great panache but also the occasional air of vulnerability, something that sets him apart from other Hannay's both before and after him. Powell though is the tip of the iceberg.The film's cast is a veritable who's who of British acting talent in the late 1970s though not always in large roles. The always excellent David Warner is in fine form as the traitor Sir Sir Edmund Appleton with Donald Pickering and Ronald Pickup superbly bringing his henchmen to life who chase Hannay across the country. Also pursuing Hannay is Eric Porter as Chief Superintendent Lomas while Hannay is aided by Karen Dotrice as Alex with Miles Anderson as her fiancé David Hamilton, all of whom do well even if they are times given limited material to work from. Sir John Mills appears as Scudder, the secret agent who sets invents in motion the events of the film, playing a more likable version of the character than presented in either the original novel or in the subsequent BBC version. The cast is rounded off by notable character actors including George Baker, Timothy West, Andrew Keir, David Collings, and Edward de Souza among others.The film's production values are splendid as well, capturing the pre-war period feel superbly. These range from the sets created by Harry Pottle to the various costumes and locations chosen which all evoke the era or at least what the viewer often thinks of as that era. Indeed that can be said of the entire approach to the film under the direction of veteran director Don Sharp which brings the right tone to the film. Combined together, they create a film that superbly brings the novel to life while also pastiches it. While perhaps overshadowed by Hitchcock's film, this 1978 take on the same source material may very well its equal. From Robert Powell and a superb cast to fine production vales and a script that treats Buchan's novel with respect, it manages to be faintly nostalgic but knowingly so in a sleeker and more modern packaging. It takes a very familiar tale and re-energize it into an engrossing and suspenseful watch. The result is not only a good way to spend 98 minutes or so but a fine example of the thriller genre.

!!No spoilers!! Now, I must confess, I like this film (I've probably just turned away thousands of people just by saying that!) but hear me out! I loved Hitchcock's 39 steps - it's a classic! And it's brilliant. And I love Buchan's book - it's exciting and a classic! I love the play 'The 39 steps' - it's hilarious! The secret is to NOT COMPARE this film to any of the above! Let it stand alone - there must be about 20 spin-offs and interpretations of Buchan's book by now - let this one be! Looking at this film, and this film alone, I would say it's rather good. The acting is very good - especially Robert Powell as the 30s gentlemen, and it's always a great pleasure to see John Mills. All round good acting.Secondly, the scenery is fantastic! Just because it's not in 'Modern, blu-ray super HD!' doesn't mean it's not stunning. It's not about the definition of the scenery- it's about how it's shown, and I think this presentation of the Scottish highlands is beautiful.Don Sharp's (the director's) camera-work may not be as epic as Hitchcock's, but it's a solid style and presents this whole 1930s world beautifully.All I can ask is that you give this film a chance - if you don't like it, fine. But treat it on its own, if you see what I mean - don't go off comparing it to God knows what! I hope you enjoy it. It's a good film.

I remember watching this film for the first time in India at the Lido in the city of Bangalore in the company of 18 people. I came away fascinated and the memory of the movie in the company of friends when you are a teen only adds to the nostalgia. Anyway, this is a period piece (pre WWI) whose plot is to drag England into a European war by assassinating the premier of Greece as he plans a speech at the parliament. They got the atmosphere down very well indeed with all the fog, gray London and the dampness of the English countryside. The Prussian agents are perfectly cast (stern and determined) as is the villain, David Warner (see him in Titanic, Holocaust, etc). Some sections of the film are very slapstick studio such as the rolling of a car in the thick of a London fog. All in all the atmosphere is very English and so is the direction. If it were not for the nice old motorcars, it'd be a period piece from the Victorian years. Anyway, this is early Georgian England in the wake of the Victorian era and consequently you'll see top hats worn by men and long bubble dresses worn by ladies (with umbrella and all). There are other nice touches in that an old bus with Shepard's bush written on the plates i thought was rather cute. The film is gripping and fast paced (and the English very well spoken and also with some South African slang such as 'dorp'). I wish there can be an NTSC version. However, it looks like IMDb needs to update the availability section because i purchased this film in DVD format at the Virgin store in London and the availability section makes no mention of the various formats.