The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935)

The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935)

Starting from this movie, our professor started to give us film analysis sheets to fill out for each film. I'm going to post mine although I mix up some of my answers on #2 Direction/Style (use of editing/montage, composition of shots, camera angles) 4. Cinematography and #5 Film Visual Effects. So, these are my amateur attempts at analysis. Sometimes the teacher would underline something she thought was interesting, but they were not corrected for accuracy.

1). Screenplay/Storyline: A spy, Annabelle Smith, comes into contact with Richard Hannay after a Mr. Memory theatre performance and invites herself to his home. She leaves minimal clues about her spy mission before she is killed by the spies that followed her. A map in her dead hand takes Hannay to Scotland to try to find help from a professor. He is actually the bad guy who now tries to kill Hannay. He escapes and enroute is handcuffed to Pamela. She betrayed him in earlier in the film and detests him. Eventually she falls for him. They get back to London in time to decode that Mr. Memory the performer has memorized secret information about the 39 steps. Mr. Memory is shot to stop him from talking but he mumbles out parts of the plot to key authorities who hear it and Hannay is finally free and the spy plan was foiled.

2). Hitchcock‘s Direction/Style (use of editing/montage, composition of shots, camera angles): The pattern to a lot of shots seen in the two theatre scenes with Mr. Memory and the accidental campaign speech are long wide shots to establish the place. Then volleying cuts from the audience to close ups of just the stage. There are back of the head over the shoulder shots into the crowd and then shots from the audience point of view. It is kind of like a tennis match.

A top editing scene is on the train and around the train. It is complex as the front of the train is shown, then the inside of the cabin and running down the aisles in a chase and outside the train hanging from the outside of it and a long shot of the train on the bridge. There are lots of angles and editing.

In Scotland there are long shots again to establish place and show that it is rural in the country. There were unique shots where there are ridges and the dark figures are running on top of the ridges with just the sky in the background so that one sees the police and Hannay in chase just as shadows along on mountain ridges. Then there is a pause where Hannay stops in front of the Slt Na Shellac sign that was on the map. There are no words but it marks that he is close to his destination. It is shot in a close up with the sign askew. This sequence could have been a boring chase but the way it was shot with the composition of the shots made it beautiful and interesting. As he has said about editing, he took out the boring bits.

3). Performances and Characterization (Minimum of 2): Annabelle is a sophisticated and dark clothed German. Just by darting quickly around and shifting her gaze, she conveys her role of a sophisticated dangerous woman. In contrast are the sweet characters of the farmer’s wife and the maid who answers the professor’s door. They have kind eyes and an innocent look. Not like Professor Jordan’s wife looks world wise in her unemotional face, stern eyes and matter of fact actions even when she sees a gun. Annabelle Smith is cast well as his cool blonde. She is confident and bold and not afraid of men, even one wanted for murder. She is unsympathetic to his wrongfully accused story and assertively turns him into the police twice. Her casting was good in that she appears confident and mature unlike the sweet docile female characters. She looks like an independent woman with a solid character. She is not intimidated by men and has a beautiful face that one wants to watch.

Richard Hannay is a well-built confident looking man with a good sense of timing for comic quips. Professor Jordan has a distinguished look and nice sounding accent and tone in his speech. One of the stand out faces is that of the farmer. He looks stingy and kind of mean. His face is sinister, miserly and suspicious. He doesn’t have to say anything, he emotes his unpleasantness with his facial expressions and eyes. The Scottish sheriff that is friends with the professor is a bit round. He has a strong brogue which makes him sound colloquial and not smart compared to the professor with his upper class accent. Mr. Memory looks like theatre performer with the cheesy pencil moustache they gave him. He also has good timing with his jokes back to the audience.

4). Cinematography & Color Symbolism: Anabelle Smith is noticeable in her black coat and hat that even has a veil to semi-disguise her. Hannay has been wearing a light colored coat, but when he leaves to complete Anabelle’s mission he leaves wearing a black coat as she had been. He’s entering the sinister world. Scenes with Pamela in contrast, show her in light colored outfits with a lot of bright light around her face and scenes.

There are uses of cinematography that convey meaning without words. There are shadows in the apartment and she keeps covering light and making the apartment dark as her presence in the house does. She is trying to cover the bright street light below with the spies hiding in the shadows. The spies threat is unvocalized but is clear by seeing them suspiciously standing outside and making phone calls. It’s all work of the camera instead of dialogue.

Another unspoken moment with the spies is when they are chasing the train and there is a close up of their feet running fast and then slowing down. They don’t say they missed the train but the close up on their feet shows us.

5). Film Score/Sound and/or Visual Effects: There is minimal score in the movie but a lot of sound effects. One sound effect is the persistent loud ringing of the telephone when Anabelle Smith is in Hannay’s apartment. After she yells to not answer it, it becomes more apparent and anxiety provoking as we are accustomed to picking up the phone when we hear this sound. So hearing the sound and ignoring it causes anxiety.

A clever use of sound is in a scene where Hannay’s landlady finds dead Anabelle and screams. The scream is overlapped with the screech of the train whistle and the scene continues in the train.

From the beginning of the movie there is a tune that played at the Mr. Memory show. A continued sound effect is his persistent whistling of the tune through the film until it helps him discover the truth at the last Mr. Memory show. The tune nicely begins, follows throughout the plot and then ends with the story.

There are two cleverly inserted musical scores. One score happens when Hannay is running through the hills of Scotland from the police and there is building violin music that sounds rushing and evokes suspense. Another score occurs when Pamela realizes that Hannay told the truth and she now feels safe with him. A sweet melody starts as she looks at him sleeping and smiles and covers him.

There is a clever visual effect of Anabelle’s face superimposed like a ghost while Hannay is remembering her messages after her death.

Another visual effect is that the final theatre scene is not filled with people. They are photograph or painted background with a few main people in the front right and in the balcony box. This was done by the Schüfftan Process.

6). Hitchcockian Themes and Motifs: (Minimum of 4) 1) Hannay is a wrongfully accused hero. He is accused for killing Ms. Smith in his home when it was the spies. He has to chase down the real killers to clear his name.

2) The Thirty-Nine Steps has a MacGuffin. It is secret of national significance that is going to being taken out of the country. It drives the plot but is just a side note at the end.

3) Pamela is a Hitchcock blonde. She is beautiful but a double crosser not to be trusted.

4) There is a pattern of using large knifes in the stabbing death of an individual.

5) Pamela and Hannay are handcuffed during an escape and she gets hung up on a fence. This is similar to the escape of the lodger when he gets stuck on the fence.

6) There are action scenes in a theatre and in a train.

7). Influences evoked from or inspired (film/literature/art/political/social): The Thirty-Nine Steps is influenced by German Expressionism. This recalls Hitchcock’s year of working in Germany and influence from German directors. German Expressionism brought out uncomfortable feelings. Hitchcock does this with the feelings he evokes from disturbing phone ringing for example or the suspense one feels during the chase.

Anabelle is German as per her accent but said she is not loyal to any country. She is an unloyal German spy available for sale. This is an unflattering portrayal of a German. It is during this time that Germany is suspect as well. The Thirty-Nine Steps is set between World War I and II. It was filmed in 1935 and World War II started in 1939. In 1933 radical Hitler became the chancellor of the Nazi party causing fear in other countries.

8). Overall impressions of film (positive/negative) and additional comments: I don’t like the use of a MacGuffin in general and in this film. My mind struggles when there is vague information and my mind cannot grasp the complete concept of the movie. Knowing now what Truffaut says about his “sacrificing plausibility in favor of pure emotion” I understand that it is supposed to be more of a visceral experience. I’ll never know the mission of the spy or the message relieves frustration but I still don’t like it.

I like the visual storytelling with the camera and actor direction of the action happening with movements of the eyes. In the farmhouse scene for example, the farmer’s wife sees the paper with the news that he is an escaped criminal. She looks at the article, then at him with widened eyes. He looks at the article and her and acknowledges but does a sign for her to quiet. Outside the window the farmer sees a heated exchange. There is nothing vocalized but with gestures which we understand but he doesn’t.

The lead actor, Donat, has good facial expressions but I don’t think he is very good looking. The farmer’s face is my favorite. I can’t picture him as anything else but the character he played.