I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

THE THIRTY NINE STEPS is the third adaptation of John Buchan's famous spy novel, following the Hitchcock film and the 1950s-era remake with Kenneth More. The 1950s version remade the Hitchcock film and copied a lot of the elements like the villain with a missing digit and the hero being handcuffed for an extended time. This fresh-faced '70s outing ignores the Hitchcock film totally and goes back to basis to provide a more authentic version of the original novel.And it's a great little movie! Okay, Don Sharp was no Hitchcock, but he always knew how to shoot fine-looking films and THE THIRTY NINE STEPS is no exception. It has bags of atmosphere to boot, and out of the three adaptations it's the one that has the best spy genre feel to it. It moves along at a cracking pace, slipping in humour and suspense and providing a great time for the viewer along the way.Robert Powell had a decent decade of playing leading man roles before he disappeared off cinema screens in the mid '80s and this is one of his best productions. His Richard Hannay is more realistic and less cinematic than most, more ordinary and a bit stand-offish to begin with. His character grows on you as the story progresses thanks to his sheer determination so that by the halfway mark the viewer is fully behind him.The supporting cast is a cracker too: John Mills as the ally, David Warner as the villain, plus a meaty turn from Ronald Pickup as a heavy. The only weak spot is Karen Dotrice, whose bland love interest threatens to drag things down; thankfully she doesn't, and the thrills and spills carry on right until the climax as set-piece builds on set-piece. It sounds strange to say it, but I find THE THIRTY NINE STEPS to be the definitive version of the story and a film that narrowly outdoes Hitchcock at his own game.

The Thirty Nine Steps is set during 1914 & starts in London late one night as three men discuss a potential threat to world peace & England, retired secret agent Scudder (John Mills) tells Sir Hugh & Lord Harkness (William Squire) about a plan by three Prussian enemy agents to assassinate the Greek prime minister who is on an official visit to London & plunge all of Europe into a war. Soon after the meeting both Hugh & Harkness are murdered & Scudder know's he is next so he ask's his neighbour Richard Hannay (Robert Powell) for help & to shelter him until he can work out the details of the Prussain's plans, collect proof &prevent the start of a World War. However the Prussain agents find Scudder & murder him, Hannay is blamed for the murder & goes on the run to clear his name, follow up Scudder's leads & try to stop the war himself, but no-one seems to want to believe Hannay & Scudder's notebook is missing...This British production was directed by Don Sharp & was the third time that the novel The 39 Steps by John Buchan had been adapted for the silver screen following Alfred Hitchcock's original The 39 Steps (1935) & the remake The 39 Steps (1959), while I have not read the book nor seen Hictchcock's take on it I have seen the 1959 version before & I have to say I much prefer this one & I think it's superior in just about every way although still not perfect by any means. While watching this it's clear that while the general feel of the film is similar & many of the same character's appear the basic story is different & the ending also is very different & thankfully ditches the awful idea of Mr. Memory being an agent for evil & instead has a nice, if somewhat short, little set-piece in & outside of London landmark Big Ben. The two killers chasing Hannay, the meeting & murder of a British agent in his flat, the train journey to Scotland, the bridge dangling scene, the hike across the moors, the attractive female Hannay meets, the police Inspector on Hannay's trail & even a scene in which Hannay has to give a speech in a case of mistaken identity. At an hour & forty odd minutes the pace drops occasionally & maybe this isn't as action packed as some may want but it's a pretty solid story of mystery & enemy agents & assassination plots with good character's (although Alex doesn't seem bothered by the murder of her fiancé at all) although the bad guy Appleton doesn't get a big speech to try & justify what he is doing & the ending is rather abrupt. The script is gripping, the mystery aspects work well enough & there's enough incident to keep one interested throughout. I liked it quite a bit actually.While the 1959 version of The 39 Steps was bright & colourful this one is far more gritty & grey which suits the Victorian period setting very well, the moors actually look like rough terrain rather than pretty fields & the special effects are obviously better this time around as well. The production design is great, the costumes, sets & props all look authentic & add character to the visual style of it, the Big Ben ending feels a little silly as Hannay just decides to dangle hundreds of feet in the air without even thinking about it & the sequence doesn't really lead to anything spectacular. Relying on story & boyish adventure there's no real violence or gore & no profanity so this is one all the family could watch.Filmed on location in London & Scotland. The production values are great & this is a fine looking film. The acting is good from a solid Brisith cast including Powell, David Warner, Sir John Mills & George Baker.The Thirty Nine Steps is a cracking little Saturday afternoon spy adventure film with an attractive period setting & a pretty solid & suspenseful script that goes up & down the country & ends on a lofty set-piece in & outside Big Ben. A good way to pass a couple of hours, you could do a lot worse.

A great film and underrated because of its predecessors over inflated significance. Robert Powell's finest hour and a great cast of actors and actresses. The period setting of very late Edwardian and early 1900's feel is very accurate and pleasing to the eye. The steam train and Big Ben scenes are magnificent. The characterization is superb and the acting first class. Making any other version very unlikely to reach the zenith of the performances in this dramatization.The Late Sir John Mills adds urgency and class to the film, and the scene where Scudder's identity is revealed to the Prussian agents outside in the street, outside his apartment, is brilliantly played, and draws us into the film and the musical score adds excitement, urgency, verve and great atmosphere and grace.The film's warning of impending war with Germany only adds to the fascination with the film, and through retrospect we know that the First World happens, but the film's message of British agents and anyone caught up in espionage, during these tense years. Only goes to show how Britain was buying time, and trying to hold off the advances of its rapidly catching up super-power neighbour, that was becoming Germany.The Grand finale at Big Ben at Westminster was a treat to watch.The film cannot be faulted, because everything is flowing in pure visual delight.

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.