Cheap 39 Steps (Video) (Robert Donat) Price

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Customer Reviews of 39 Steps

You can, at times, see shades of the greatness to come in Hitchcock's direction, but he hadn't reached anywhere near his peak, at this point. I found the acting to be stilted, wooden, and caricaturish; the pacing alternately inappropriately frantic and unforgivably plodding.

Judging from the reviews that specify the version, the Criterion Collection edition is quite a good transfer. Unfortunately, the Laserlight Video version is a waste of plastic; dreadful audio, grainy, alternately washed out and too dark, splices, skips, etc. It's the version currently selling for [$$], and isn't worth even that paltry sum.

Students of Hitchcock, buy the Criterion Collection edition, if you must own this film. Fans of Hitchcock, rent the Criterion edition, if you wish to satisfy your curiousity. Everyone, avoid the Laserlight Video edition, at all costs!

The "Master"'s First Steps
Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film, THE 39 STEPS, is among the best known of the director's British movies. The film's style and theme of the wrong man accused, would allow the filmmaker to improve on his own work, with 1959's NORTH BY NORTHWEST. In "Steps", Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) finds himself wrongly accused of crimes and involved in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, across Scotland. Of course, no Hitchcock thriller is complete, without a lovely leading lady. The film also traces Hannay's relationship with Pam (Madeline Carroll). Bent on global domination is Professor Jordan (Godfrey Tearle), who is one of the more colorful villians of the director's British period. The film may lack a certain amount of the subtle touches that mark the later American films of Mr. Hitchcock. But I still say that he was well on his way to honing his craft here and gearing up for a "trip across the pond"

The Criterion DVD is a winner over the movie only disc. It follows the pattern of other Hitchcock films put out under the Criterion label. Once again, Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane, provides a good commentary. The complete LUX radioplay version from 1937 allows you to compare and contrast to the film, which is cool. The "vintage" documentary examines the rarely seen films that the director made in Britain. The disc also includes an interactive look at the original press book. and production design sketches. Finally the transfer of the film is fantastic, considering the elements they had to work with to put it all together This is a must for anyone who likes Hitchcock.

Great movie and the DVD is a bargain
The quality of the Laserlight/Hollywood Classics DVD releases appears inconsistent at best. Their version of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is quite good, while their edition of Orson Welles' MR. ARKADIN was shockingly poor. Fortunately, Laserlight's issue of THE 39 STEPS falls into the former category. While I'm sure the Criterion Collection version is probably superior in terms of picture and sound quality, it's also much more expensive (at least four times the price). If you are just looking for a useable copy to watch without worrying about extras, this version should be just what you're looking for.

THE 39 STEPS is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films and upon viewing it's easy to see why. The plot revolves around an old Hitchcock standby - an innocent man who becomes caught up in an international secret society of spies. The story may be very straightforward, but Hitchcock was excellent at making even the most ordinary events seem thrilling. For example, while hiding out in the highlands of Scotland, the protagonist pretends to be a visitor interested in securing a place to stay overnight. His concealment in the Scottish house is a fairly short scene yet it highlights everything that Hitchcock did best. Not only is the character on the run from the police and the foreign spies, but he's faced with convincing his benefactor that he isn't having an affair with the man's wife. These little touches really help demonstrate how a man who had been a normal member of society was now a complete outcast from the world even from those people who know nothing about the spy plot.

The acting is uniformly bright and the two leads (who become handcuffed together) have real chemistry. Their motivations were obviously painstakingly worked out, with neither one of them behaving irrationally. Madeleine Carroll's character is not won over simply by being charmed by the handsome, Canadian hero, but through careful uncovering of the real facts behind their chase. Every step along the way seems believable and the annoying movie cliché of people suddenly believing or disbelieving the hero beyond all rational thought is thankfully avoided here.

The Tony Curtis introduction is rather bland, and the included trailer for NORTH BY NORTHWEST isn't in terribly great condition. However, you won't be buying this DVD for the extras - the movie is entertainment enough.