While it may be hyperbolic (and inaccurate) to say that cinema truly only started once Alfred Hitchcock stepped behind the camera, there is a vocal group that praises him for being one of the first directors to truly establish a solid foundation in terms of what makes cinema so entertaining. Even the likes of Robert Towne praised him for mastering the art of escapist cinema – and the film he was referring to in that instance was The 39 Steps, in which Hitchcock was adapting the novel of the same title by John Buchan, which focuses on a mild-mannered Canadian immigrant in London who finds himself plunged into a terrifying plot that involves an organization known as “The 39 Steps”, which he discovers is just as sinister as they sound once he is falsely accused of murdering an agent who was working to expose their plot, forcing him to go on the run. A compelling story that combines socio-political drama with adrenaline-fueled intrigue, both of which would become major tenets of the director’s work, The 39 Steps is perhaps his first consolidated masterpiece, an opportunity for him to expand his horizons from simply being a journeyman director-for-hire, and instead embrace a new style of filmmaking that contained early elements of his distinctive authorial vision that would come to be part of his artistic identity in the coming years. His identity as a filmmaker continues to grow and develop the more we explore the depths of his career, and throughout this film, we find ourselves growing increasingly more enamoured with the rugged, unique style that this journeyman filmmaker was developing, which was quite unlike anything being produced at the time, both tonally and narratively. A creative and engaging story, The 39 Steps is one of the first instances where we truly understand the aspects that made Hitchcock such a tremendous director, and assured his legacy moving forward.

A wildly entertaining psychological thriller that keeps us engaged and interested throughout, this is a film that implicitly understands its audience and undergoes an impressive journey along with them, exploring a variety of themes with wit, candour and a lot of exciting commentary that serves many purposes, most of all to point to inherent problems underpinning our society. Buchan was not only a novelist but worked in the political arena, so he had a good grasp of the culture in a way that many other writers may not have had, which makes his original novel an invaluable piece of political commentary, long before such texts were popular. It is important to be able to situate this film to a particular time in the past since its era was just as important as the story being told. The novel was published in 1918, but bringing it to life in 1935 was a fascinating choice since it allowed for some distance between the recent war, which serves as the conceptual framework for this film, even if it isn’t a direct commentary on the subject. At the time in which this film was made, the world was in between the great wars that would change the course of history, and in hindsight, we can see how these politically charged works produced during the interwar period had some degree of ulterior motives, even if they were not directly represented in the work itself. Europe had just recovered from a major conflict less than two decades before and stood on the brink of an even more destructive war, and while Hitchcock (or anyone involved) was not aware of future events, there is a prescience in The 39 Steps that points to the deeply unsettling direction in which the world was heading, which is so meticulously explored throughout this film, which stands as one of the first moments of truly extraordinary authorship on the director’s part.

It is always an interesting experience to explore a great filmmaker at the earliest stages of their career, and as we have spoken about in the past, Hitchcock in particular presents a range of fascinating opportunities for discussion, especially during this period of his career. Many complex elements went into the construction of this film, and we often find that the most meaning is gleaned through seeing exactly how Hitchcock handles certain aspects in comparison to others. Stylistically, The 39 Steps is a well-crafted film, with the director taking the opportunity to experiment with visual composition, both in the cinematography (with the fluid camera work by Bernard Knowles being a major part of the suspenseful nature of this film) and the editing, which is delivered with a rapid-fire intensity that evokes the fear and panic being experienced by the protagonist as he voyages through an increasingly hostile world. Many of the traits that would become defining of Hitchcock’s career are embedded at the heart of this film, which is a wildly entertaining, frequently compelling examination of a range of complex ideas, all of which are filtered through his distinctive directorial gaze. It is inarguably slightly rough around the edges (and at 86 minutes, it feels oddly short for a film with this amount of complexity), so it is certainly far from a perfect work – but what The 39 Steps lacks in refinement it more than makes up for in ambition, which is why many have cited this as one of the director’s first official masterpieces, with its stylish, rapid direction intermingling with a strong story that situates us right on the edge of a global catastrophe, the fear and panic felt during that era being perfectly captured on this delightfully paranoid and unsettling work.

There are many complex themes embedded right at the heart of The 39 Steps, which is as much about this specific topic as it is about a continent that is facing another major war, which seemed inevitable by the time this film went into production. One of Hitchcock’s great gifts as a storyteller, which he demonstrated even at the earliest stages of his career, is his ability to take major subjects and condense them into deeply human stories, while this film wasn’t an original work, the aspects of the source material that he chooses to focus on are those that are far more human in their perspective, which makes sense in terms of how he has so often demonstrated an incredible prowess for a particular style of storytelling. Throughout this film, we see the machinations of a world being driven to the point of insanity by political malice, as seen through the perspective of an individual who does not wish to become involved, but inadvertently gets embroiled in a sinister plot that could have deadly consequences if he doesn’t make his escape. The concept of viewing the darker side of society and the brutal nature of war through the eyes of civilians is interesting and made even more effective by a director with a precise vision and profound ability to find humanity in these stories. He is helped immensely by Robert Donat, who leads the film as the resourceful but paranoid protagonist who finds himself battling both the elements and the might of the authorities as he flees from public view since his assertion of his innocence is called into question. This film discusses the theme of being innocent until proven guilty in creative and intriguing ways, and we constantly find ourselves becoming extremely fascinated by the way this story develops, which is extremely unique and very powerful.

There are many aspects of The 39 Steps that warrant our attention and respect – this is an intriguing film that captures the zeitgeist of the moment in which it was created, while still feeling oddly timeless in a way that is extremely remarkable and perhaps even quite controversial in how it pushes boundaries, since it was aligning itself with a kind of provocative filmmaking that veered away from overt patriotism, questioning the authorities and their ability to protect innocent civilians in much the same way it is showing the villains as nothing but cowardly, malicious entities that lack any principle. Hitchcock was still quite a young filmmaker at this point, despite having been directing for over a decade, which is clear throughout this film, which is a wickedly entertaining affair that simmers with complexity, is a thrilling and captivating spy thriller that is extremely well-told (each detail either having a deeper meaning, or being intentionally misleading in a way that is quite genius), and made with precision and dedication, the kind that was definitive of Hitchcock’s entire directorial career. The 39 Steps is one of his first truly great films (it isn’t the best of this period, but instead functions as the one that best represents his style and artistic ambitions at a time when he hadn’t yet attained an official voice of his own as a director), and a work that has aged remarkably well, both in the filmmaking – the unforgettable images contrasted with the rapid-fire tone and atmosphere of mystery, coupled with a story rooted within reality all come together to form a truly incredible, subversive twist on the traditional espionage thriller, which showcases all the best qualities that Hitchcock had to his name at the time, all of which are carefully interwoven into the fabric of this fascinating film.