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The 39 Steps (1959 film)
Encyclopedia
The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas
, starring Kenneth More
and Taina Elg
. It is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film
, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps
by John Buchan.
In the film, diplomat Richard Hannay returns home to London, only to become inadvertently embroiled in the death of a British spy investigating the head of an organisation planning to sell the secret of a British ballistic missile. Hannay thus travels to Scotland to escape the police, and attempts to complete the spy's work.
It is the first colour version of the Buchan's tale, and, unlike the mainly studio-bound original features extensive location shooting. Several large setpieces (such as Hannay's escape from the train on the Forth Rail Bridge and the music hall
finale) and much of the dialogue are taken from the original film. As with the Hitchcock version, the scenario was contemporary rather than the pre-World War I
setting of Buchan's original.
(More) is surprised to find that there is no baby in her pram. Curious, he meets her at the Palace music hall
where she has gone to see the act of Mr Memory (James Hayter). Afterwards, she goes back to Hannay's flat with him, where she reveals that she is a spy working for British Intelligence following a group called "The Thirty-Nine Steps"; all they know about their elusive leader is that he is missing the tip of a finger. The Thirty-Nine Steps are in possession of a set of top-secret plans for "Boomerang", a British ballistic missile project that could tip the balance of power in Europe. She tells Hannay that she must leave for Scotland
immediately, but while Hannay is out of the room, she is killed by two hitmen.
Fearing he will be accused of her murder, Hannay decides to continue her mission and catches a train
to Scotland from King's Cross railway station, evading the hitmen outside his flat by adopting a cunning milkman disguise.
During the journey, he has a chance encounter with Miss Fisher (Taina Elg
), a netball
coach at a boarding school for girls. He is forced to pretend they are lovers to avoid the police detectives who boarded at Edinburgh
. However, Miss Fisher gives him away and Hannay jumps from the stationary train on the Forth Bridge
.
He then meets Percy Baker (Sid James
), a helpful ex-convict lorry driver who advises him to stop at "The Gallows", an inn owned by Nelly Lumsden (Brenda De Banzie
), who was once accused of practising the occult. She helps him pass the police patrols by disguising him in a cycle party she is accommodating and creating a diversion with her husband.
Hannay eventually finds the house of the man he thinks he is looking for, Professor Logan (Barry Jones
), but finds out that he has been tricked; the man is actually the spy ring's leader. He escapes and informs the police, but is not believed and has to jump out of the police station window. Hannay escapes in the back of a passing sheep transporter. He then poses as a lecturer in a Highland
girl's boarding school, coincidentally where Miss Fisher works, and ending up giving a bizarre lecture on the Woods and the Wayside in August. Miss Fisher recognises him and he is again taken into custody, but this time by the two assassins posing as detectives. After he shouts out to Miss Fisher to telephone Scotland Yard
about the Boomerang, the assassins are forced to take her with them.
Hannay is handcuffed to Miss Fisher in a Ford Zephyr
with the hitmen, who are taking them back to London. A burst tyre gives Hannay his chance to escape, but only having one hand to drive with, he crashes the car, forcing him to wander through the bleak Scottish Highlands handcuffed to Miss Fisher. Eventually, they chance upon a bed and breakfast
run by Mrs MacDougal (Betty Henderson). Hannay hides their handcuffed condition and informs her that they are a runaway couple.
While Hannay sleeps, Miss Fisher frees herself from the handcuffs, but then overhears their pursuers inquiring about them and about The Thirty-Nine Steps. She realises her error and goes back to help Hannay, telling him the final rendezvous for the conspirators.
The finale is back in the Palace music hall where Hannay provokes Mr. Memory into telling him where "The Thirty-Nine Steps" are, just as the police arrest him. Mr Memory has used his formidable memory to memorise the Boomerang plans. However, before he can reveal the secret, Memory is shot by the ringleader and the secret is safe, as the main conspirators are either dead or in custody.
, the 1959 film bases a number of scenes on the earlier production, including the music hall opening, the escape on the Forth Rail Bridge and the addition of a female "love interest" for Hannay. Director Ralph Thomas
stated in an interview that to distance it from Hitchcock's pre-war thriller, he tried to produce the film with the feel of a comedy. Andrew Spicer notes that "Critics detected a reassuring period feel to the visual style, with More as the pipe-smoking, sporting gentleman in a flat cap." He notes a contemporary review of Kenneth More "playing Hannay with a kind of tweedy casualness and dare-devil incouciance". Sue Harper suggests that to distance it from the "intractable precidents" of Hitchcock's adaptation, "Minor and unsuccessful adjustments were made." These include changing the scene at a crofter's cottage into a roadside cafe, changing Hannay's address of a political rally into giving a lecture at a girl's school and, in a nod to Buchan's novel, including several encounters with Scottish eccentrics.
More had carved himself a niche as a leading man of 1950s British cinema, having appeared in heroic roles in films such as Reach for the Sky and A Night to Remember. The casting of Finnish actress and dancer Taina Elg
, meanwhile, was unpopular with contemporary critics, who felt her performance to be unconvincing, feeling that "her beauty is frozen by the uncertainties of ignorance, if not of neuroticism". Other players were largely character actor
s with long associations with Pinewood Studios
and producer Betty E. Box.
In addition to the primary cast, the film features a number of small appearances
by British
actors who were to become famous in later productions, for instance Sid James
appears as a roguish lorry driver who helps Hannay, Joan Hickson
as a teacher and Brenda De Banzie
as a psychic. Bill Simpson
and Andrew Cruickshank
, both soon to appear together in Doctor Finlay's Casebook
had small roles, in Simpson's case his only film appearance. Peter Vaughan
had his first screen appearance in the film, playing a policeman on the train.
, with extensive location filming in the Highlands of Scotland
, including North
and South Queensferry
, Dunblane
, Balquhidder
, Altskeith
and at the Falls of Dochart in Killin
, as well as other parts of Stirling
and Perthshire
. The film also includes a large section at Waverley Station, Edinburgh, on the Forth Rail Bridge and on board a train hauled by an LNER Class A4
. The cinematography was by Ernest Steward
, and it was filmed in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio on Eastmancolor film.
, who composed prolifically for cinema and theatre in this period. The score was conducted by Muir Mathieson
. Many of the melodic themes throughout the film derive from pieces performed by the house orchestra during the early music hall scene, particularly the "Mr. Memory" motif. A review by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures also makes a comparison between the theatre and the film, noting "The score Clifton Parker has composed for the new version of The 39 Steps has a gay overture which also sets the right mood. It's short, not noisy, has musical wit, and promises comedy, not thrills."
A number of critics have pointed to the slow pacing of the film, noting a lack of suspense usually attributed to More's charming, but leisurely performance. Comparing it to Hitchcock's version A.H. Waiton writing in 1960 suggested: "the pace, as well as the execution is milder, more civilized and somehow less suspenseful than it seemed previously. Mr. Thomas's direction may be at the core of it all, but Kenneth More's polished performance seems lacking in urgency. He is a frowning, somewhat put-upon gent, but certainly not a citizen involved in a life-and-death matter." Reviewing it more recently for LoveFilm
, Mark Walker opined: "As a thriller it's hardly in the same league as North by Northwest
, but as a window on life in England and Scotland in the 1950s, this 39 Steps has much to recommend it."
Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull. He is perhaps best known for directing the Doctor series of films....
, starring Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
and Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
. It is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film
The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps
The Thirty-nine Steps
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an adventure novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in August and September 1915 before being published in book form in October that year by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh...
by John Buchan.
In the film, diplomat Richard Hannay returns home to London, only to become inadvertently embroiled in the death of a British spy investigating the head of an organisation planning to sell the secret of a British ballistic missile. Hannay thus travels to Scotland to escape the police, and attempts to complete the spy's work.
It is the first colour version of the Buchan's tale, and, unlike the mainly studio-bound original features extensive location shooting. Several large setpieces (such as Hannay's escape from the train on the Forth Rail Bridge and the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
finale) and much of the dialogue are taken from the original film. As with the Hitchcock version, the scenario was contemporary rather than the pre-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
setting of Buchan's original.
Plot
Coming to the assistance of a nanny who is almost killed during a bungled hit-and-run assassination attempt, Richard HannayRichard Hannay
Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist John Buchan. In his autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer...
(More) is surprised to find that there is no baby in her pram. Curious, he meets her at the Palace music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
where she has gone to see the act of Mr Memory (James Hayter). Afterwards, she goes back to Hannay's flat with him, where she reveals that she is a spy working for British Intelligence following a group called "The Thirty-Nine Steps"; all they know about their elusive leader is that he is missing the tip of a finger. The Thirty-Nine Steps are in possession of a set of top-secret plans for "Boomerang", a British ballistic missile project that could tip the balance of power in Europe. She tells Hannay that she must leave for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
immediately, but while Hannay is out of the room, she is killed by two hitmen.
Fearing he will be accused of her murder, Hannay decides to continue her mission and catches a train
LNER Class A4
The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognizable, and one of the class, 4468 Mallard, still claims the...
to Scotland from King's Cross railway station, evading the hitmen outside his flat by adopting a cunning milkman disguise.
During the journey, he has a chance encounter with Miss Fisher (Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
), a netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
coach at a boarding school for girls. He is forced to pretend they are lovers to avoid the police detectives who boarded at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. However, Miss Fisher gives him away and Hannay jumps from the stationary train on the Forth Bridge
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It was opened on 4 March 1890, and spans a total length of...
.
He then meets Percy Baker (Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
), a helpful ex-convict lorry driver who advises him to stop at "The Gallows", an inn owned by Nelly Lumsden (Brenda De Banzie
Brenda De Banzie
Brenda D. M. De Banzie was a British actress of stage and screen.She was the daughter of Edward De Banzie and his second wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908. In 1911, the family lived in Salford....
), who was once accused of practising the occult. She helps him pass the police patrols by disguising him in a cycle party she is accommodating and creating a diversion with her husband.
Hannay eventually finds the house of the man he thinks he is looking for, Professor Logan (Barry Jones
Barry Jones (actor)
Barry Jones was an actor seen in British and American films, on American television and on the stage.-Biography:...
), but finds out that he has been tricked; the man is actually the spy ring's leader. He escapes and informs the police, but is not believed and has to jump out of the police station window. Hannay escapes in the back of a passing sheep transporter. He then poses as a lecturer in a Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
girl's boarding school, coincidentally where Miss Fisher works, and ending up giving a bizarre lecture on the Woods and the Wayside in August. Miss Fisher recognises him and he is again taken into custody, but this time by the two assassins posing as detectives. After he shouts out to Miss Fisher to telephone Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
about the Boomerang, the assassins are forced to take her with them.
Hannay is handcuffed to Miss Fisher in a Ford Zephyr
Ford Zephyr
The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom. Between 1950 and 1972, it was sold as a more powerful six-cylinder saloon to complement the four-cylinder Ford Consul: from 1962 the Zephyr itself was offered in both four- and six-cylinder versions.The Zephyr...
with the hitmen, who are taking them back to London. A burst tyre gives Hannay his chance to escape, but only having one hand to drive with, he crashes the car, forcing him to wander through the bleak Scottish Highlands handcuffed to Miss Fisher. Eventually, they chance upon a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
run by Mrs MacDougal (Betty Henderson). Hannay hides their handcuffed condition and informs her that they are a runaway couple.
While Hannay sleeps, Miss Fisher frees herself from the handcuffs, but then overhears their pursuers inquiring about them and about The Thirty-Nine Steps. She realises her error and goes back to help Hannay, telling him the final rendezvous for the conspirators.
The finale is back in the Palace music hall where Hannay provokes Mr. Memory into telling him where "The Thirty-Nine Steps" are, just as the police arrest him. Mr Memory has used his formidable memory to memorise the Boomerang plans. However, before he can reveal the secret, Memory is shot by the ringleader and the secret is safe, as the main conspirators are either dead or in custody.
Adaptation
The film sets Buchan's 1915 novel in a contemporary (1959) setting. As the Rank Organisation owned the rights to the Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 black and white adaptationThe 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
, the 1959 film bases a number of scenes on the earlier production, including the music hall opening, the escape on the Forth Rail Bridge and the addition of a female "love interest" for Hannay. Director Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull. He is perhaps best known for directing the Doctor series of films....
stated in an interview that to distance it from Hitchcock's pre-war thriller, he tried to produce the film with the feel of a comedy. Andrew Spicer notes that "Critics detected a reassuring period feel to the visual style, with More as the pipe-smoking, sporting gentleman in a flat cap." He notes a contemporary review of Kenneth More "playing Hannay with a kind of tweedy casualness and dare-devil incouciance". Sue Harper suggests that to distance it from the "intractable precidents" of Hitchcock's adaptation, "Minor and unsuccessful adjustments were made." These include changing the scene at a crofter's cottage into a roadside cafe, changing Hannay's address of a political rally into giving a lecture at a girl's school and, in a nod to Buchan's novel, including several encounters with Scottish eccentrics.
Cast
- Kenneth MoreKenneth MoreKenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
as Richard Hannay - Taina ElgTaina ElgTaina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
as Fisher - Brenda De BanzieBrenda De BanzieBrenda D. M. De Banzie was a British actress of stage and screen.She was the daughter of Edward De Banzie and his second wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908. In 1911, the family lived in Salford....
as Nellie Lumsden - Barry JonesBarry Jones (actor)Barry Jones was an actor seen in British and American films, on American television and on the stage.-Biography:...
as Professor Logan - Reginald BeckwithReginald BeckwithReginald Beckwith was a British film and television actor, who made almost one hundred film and television appearances in his career.-Filmography:* Freedom Radio * Scott of the Antarctic...
as Lumsden - Faith BrookFaith BrookFaith Brook is an English actress who has appeared on stage, in films and on television.Her father was the actor Clive Brook, and her brother Lyndon Brook was also an actor. Her first credited film appearance was The Jungle Book in 1942...
as Nannie - Michael GoodliffeMichael GoodliffeLawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was an English actor best known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working class parts....
as Brown - James Hayter as Mr. Memory
- Duncan LamontDuncan LamontDuncan William Ferguson Lamont was a British actor. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, but brought up in Scotland, he had a long and successful career in film and television, appearing in a variety of high-profile productions....
as Kennedy - Jameson ClarkJameson ClarkJameson Clark was a Scottish character actor who appeared in 22 films and made many appearances on television.-Career:...
as McDougal - Andrew CruickshankAndrew CruickshankAndrew John Maxton Cruickshank was a Scottish supporting actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series, Dr Finlay's Casebook, which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until 1971.-Life and career:Andrew Cruickshank was born to Andrew and Mary...
as Sheriff - Leslie DwyerLeslie DwyerLeslie Dwyer was an English character actor of film and television. He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his first film in 1921...
as Milkman - Betty Henderson as Mrs. McDougal
- Joan HicksonJoan HicksonJoan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
as Miss Dobson - Sid JamesSid JamesSid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
as Perce - Brian OultonBrian OultonBrian Oulton was an English character actor.Born in Liverpool, he made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor...
as Mr. Pringle
More had carved himself a niche as a leading man of 1950s British cinema, having appeared in heroic roles in films such as Reach for the Sky and A Night to Remember. The casting of Finnish actress and dancer Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
, meanwhile, was unpopular with contemporary critics, who felt her performance to be unconvincing, feeling that "her beauty is frozen by the uncertainties of ignorance, if not of neuroticism". Other players were largely character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
s with long associations with Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
and producer Betty E. Box.
In addition to the primary cast, the film features a number of small appearances
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actors who were to become famous in later productions, for instance Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
appears as a roguish lorry driver who helps Hannay, Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson
Joan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
as a teacher and Brenda De Banzie
Brenda De Banzie
Brenda D. M. De Banzie was a British actress of stage and screen.She was the daughter of Edward De Banzie and his second wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908. In 1911, the family lived in Salford....
as a psychic. Bill Simpson
Bill Simpson (actor)
William Nicholson Simpson was a Scottish film and television actor, most famous for his portrayal of the title role in the long-running BBC TV series, Dr. Finlay's Casebook.-Beginnings:...
and Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew Cruickshank
Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank was a Scottish supporting actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series, Dr Finlay's Casebook, which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until 1971.-Life and career:Andrew Cruickshank was born to Andrew and Mary...
, both soon to appear together in Doctor Finlay's Casebook
Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)
Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s...
had small roles, in Simpson's case his only film appearance. Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
had his first screen appearance in the film, playing a policeman on the train.
Filming
Interior filming took place primarily at Pinewood StudiosPinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, with extensive location filming in the Highlands of Scotland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
, including North
North Queensferry
North Queensferry is a village in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth, between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, and from Edinburgh. According to the 2008 population estimate, the village has a population of 1,150. It is the southernmost settlement in Fife.The Scottish Gaelic name...
and South Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...
, Dunblane
Dunblane
Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...
, Balquhidder
Balquhidder
Balquhidder is a small village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the Braes of Balquhidder, at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder Glen is also popular for fishing, nature watching and walking...
, Altskeith
Altskeith
Altskeith is a hotel in Stirling, Scotland on the north shore of Loch Ard....
and at the Falls of Dochart in Killin
Killin
Killin is a village situated at the western head of Loch Tay in Stirling , Scotland....
, as well as other parts of Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
and Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
. The film also includes a large section at Waverley Station, Edinburgh, on the Forth Rail Bridge and on board a train hauled by an LNER Class A4
LNER Class A4
The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognizable, and one of the class, 4468 Mallard, still claims the...
. The cinematography was by Ernest Steward
Ernest Steward
Ernest Steward BSC was a British cinematographer.Born in London, England he began his career - as with most cinematographers of his era - as a camera operator; his early credits in this field included Great Expectations and London Belongs to Me .As Director of Photography, he filmed mostly...
, and it was filmed in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio on Eastmancolor film.
Music
The music was by British film composer Clifton ParkerClifton Parker
Clifton Parker was an English composer, particularly noted for his film scores. During his career, he composed scores for over 50 feature films, as well as numerous documentary shorts, radio and television scores, over 100 songs and music for ballet and theatre.- Life :Edward John Clifton Parker...
, who composed prolifically for cinema and theatre in this period. The score was conducted by Muir Mathieson
Muir Mathieson
James Muir Mathieson was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on a large number of British films.-Career:...
. Many of the melodic themes throughout the film derive from pieces performed by the house orchestra during the early music hall scene, particularly the "Mr. Memory" motif. A review by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures also makes a comparison between the theatre and the film, noting "The score Clifton Parker has composed for the new version of The 39 Steps has a gay overture which also sets the right mood. It's short, not noisy, has musical wit, and promises comedy, not thrills."
Reception
Critically, the film has often been regarded as inferior to Hitchcock's 1935 adaptation, and director Ralph Thomas stated it was not his favourite film. On being asked why he agreed to direct it he stated:Well, Rank owned it, and I was under contract, and they asked me to do it. So I asked Alfred [Hitchcock] about it, and he said "If you have the chutzpahChutzpahChutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...
to do it, you go ahead, my son and do it. You won't do it as well as I did it." And of course he was right. His film was a wonderful picture. I think mine was a piece of effrontery that didn't come off, and on the whole I regretted it.
A number of critics have pointed to the slow pacing of the film, noting a lack of suspense usually attributed to More's charming, but leisurely performance. Comparing it to Hitchcock's version A.H. Waiton writing in 1960 suggested: "the pace, as well as the execution is milder, more civilized and somehow less suspenseful than it seemed previously. Mr. Thomas's direction may be at the core of it all, but Kenneth More's polished performance seems lacking in urgency. He is a frowning, somewhat put-upon gent, but certainly not a citizen involved in a life-and-death matter." Reviewing it more recently for LoveFilm
LoveFilm
LoveFilm is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia...
, Mark Walker opined: "As a thriller it's hardly in the same league as North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
, but as a window on life in England and Scotland in the 1950s, this 39 Steps has much to recommend it."
Release
The film was released in the UK on 13 March 1959 and in the US on 10 October 1960. In home release formats, it is available on Carlton International Region 2 DVD, albeit in a pan-and-scan print of the original 1.66:1 ratio and with no extra features.External links
- Filming locations in Scotland
- 1959 trailer at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....