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The Thirty Nine Steps
The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one of his neighbours, Colonel Scudder, bursts into his rooms one night and tells him a story that Prussian 'sleeper' agents are planning to pre-start World War I by murdering a visiting foreign minister. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is framed for the death by the 'sleepers'. Fleeing to Scotland Hannay attempts to clear his name and to stop the agents with the aid of Alex Mackenzie but not only is he is chased by Chief Supt Lomas for Scudder's death but by the agents who are headed by Appleton who has managed to hide himself in a high-placed position in the British Government...
Release : | 1978 |
Rating : | 6.6 |
Studio : | Norfolk International Pictures, |
Crew : | Property Buyer, Director of Photography, |
Cast : | Robert Powell David Warner Eric Porter Karen Dotrice John Mills |
Genre : | Thriller Mystery |
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I'll tell you why so serious
Absolutely the worst movie.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
In the seventies I was offered a job in the Rank Films legal department,but luckily I turned it down,as their proposed programme of film production was short lived.After all you can only sustain production programme so long by making remakes.Whilst a competent film in itself it is not a patch on the Hitchcock classic.The Big Ben finale looks so phoney with the process workGive me Mr Memory anytime
"The Thirty Nine Steps", the spy novel by John Buchan, has been adapted for the screen three times. The most famous one being the 1935 version by Alfred Hitchcock which still remains an old favorite by most viewers. The 1959 remake directed by Ralph Thomas was a vehicle for its star, Kenneth Moore. We were intrigued when the Don Sharp 1978 film version when it showed up on a classic channel not long ago.Not having read the novel, we cannot, in all honesty, make an objective assessment of how close to the written page the latest remake is, but we were pleasantly surprised by what Mr. Sharp was able to accomplish. The adaptation was written by Michael Robson. The action used a lot of well known backgrounds. The best of these is the one that takes place in the last sequence of the film in which we are taken inside Big Ben where Hannay, having solved the mystery, goes after the Prussian spies.Robert Powell was effective in his characterization of Hannay, the South African engineer that is drawn, against his will, to be at the center of a manhunt for something he never did. The cast was excellent. John Mills, Eric Porter, David Warner, Donald Pickering, Ronald Pickup, and Karen Dotrice, among them. John Coquillon was the cinematographer and the musical score was created by Ed Welch. Don Sharp's entertaining take on this classic is worth a look.
Finally got to watch "39 Steps" with John Mills, David Warner etc! What a "Hoot". The entire production staff must have spent time in Northern Manitoba on a Reserve that was oversupplied with "Aeroplane Glue" and "Plastic Bags". I sure would like to talk with any one that was involved with this production. Those still alive must either cringe or break out in voluminous laughter every time the "39 Steps" is mentioned. The acting? Well let's be kind. We haven't seen this much "Ham" since Michael Flatley slapped all that bacon fat on his torso, greased his way into a pair of "Rubber Tights",donned a strange Bolero jacket with matching Head band,had his eyeliner permanetly tattoed and did a 100 yard step dance across a Las Vegas Show Stage. This is a classic tongue in cheeker! Sit back with your "Twinkies",pass the "Bong" and be prepared to "Piss Your Pants" A Definite "10"!! The period costumes especially the use of such a wide variety of "HATS" are well worth the price of admission! The steam locomotive trains,the Moors,the woods and "Harold Lloyd hanging from "Big Ben:" Go out, sell the farm and buy this "Great Video".
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.