The Times (04/Jun/1938) - New Films in London: "The Thirty-Nine Steps"
(c) The Times (04/Jun/1938)
Entertainments
NEW FILMS IN LONDON
The Thirty-Nine Steps — There is no mistaking the work of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock, and examples of it are well worth reviving. He has an uncanny knack of being able to build up and maintain an atmosphere of suspense which is often relieved by humour that is never out of place. Readers may not find it easy to relate the Richard Hannay they knew in the novel to the humorous happy-go-lucky adventurer who goes by the same name in the film, but they are bound to condone the freedom of an adaptation which has produced such excellent results. For the greater part of the film the ingenuity of the director never fails to justify itself pictorially, and Mr. Robert Donat, as the amateur hunter of spies, and Miss Madeleine Carroll, as his unwilling companion in misfortune, know how to get the last ounce of excitement from an adventure approached humorously. Hannay, suspected of the murder of a woman spy, is pursued by the police and by the spy's confederates, and the varying pursuits allow the camera to make ah effective use of Scottish scenes and mist. The final scene, in a London music-hall with a memory, expert answering the audience's questions and unconsciously revealing his own connexion with the master spy, is highly dramatic and typical of Mr. Hitchcock's skilful and ingenious directions.
