Hitchcock Retrospective – The 39 Steps Review

Hey guys, this is Rob Paulsen and you're listening

to the GeekCast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to episode 203 of The Cinema Geeks. I am one

of your Cinema Geeks Optimus Solo and joining

me today is none other than Movie Revolt Dan.

Hello. Hello, how are you good good? I had to

call you a movie revolt Dan since we're we're

talking movies today, but um obviously you have

been doing a ton of work since our Last record

or since our last like series of recordings on

in the comic book world Do you want to just spend

a couple minutes catching everybody up on what

you've been up to before we get into? Why we're

here today Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, yeah, you

can find me on most stuff as Comic -Con Jairs

on TikTok and Facebook and things of that nature.

If TikTok still exists, that's where you're talking

about this and it's not banned. But yeah, I mostly

just talk about comics where you use all that

good stuff and you can find it there. It's been

impressive to see the content you've pumped out,

the interaction that you've garnered through,

especially what is, is it Instagram or TikTok

that you get the most? Instagram you get the

most? Facebook actually, I guess I guess cuz

I'm old that's where I get the most Facebook

and Instagram like typically but I tend to like

pick talk the most cuz like Facebook is there's

a lot of a lot of angry people That's the internet

right there for you. So I haven't been doing

a whole lot on the recording side of things Since

our last set of episodes which was covering the

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series was kind

of the main thing that we did last. I was doing

some episodes of the Geek Showcase and it's been

on a tiny bit of a hiatus as I've been watching

a lot of cartoons recently and doing the written

side of things and then I'm going to transition

that into some videos on the YouTube channel

as well. I decided to do something probably ridiculous.

And attempt to watch as many cartoons from the

1980s as I possibly could. Wow. And not just

watch like a couple episodes, but watch like

every episode of these shows. Um, and I decided

to start with the ones that are the shortest.

So like there's a few out there that only aired

like one or three episodes. And currently I'm

in the group that aired 13, which means that

aired for one season on Saturday mornings. so

that's been an interesting trek and I think it'll

be fun to do when I do the videos because learned

a lot more about some of these cartoons than

I ever knew and Just sound crazy enough that

it was right up my alley So that should be coming

the written versions of those are on the GeekCast

radio Network and you can view those there, but

I'll be doing that I'll be getting back into

some more top list on the channel as well I still

have some Star Trek crews that I need to rank

and a couple other things. You can kind of check

out the Geek Showcase for more content from me.

But we decided to get back into the cinema geek

vibe here and the rhythm. And we decided to do

so by tackling a certain topic. We kind of went

back and forth over the last every once in a

while, we kind of do some brainstorming and think

about different topics that we may want to cover,

whether it be genres, whether it be directors,

things of that nature. And Dan, this time we

ended up in the world of Alfred Hitchcock. How

did that happen? And what do you think of the

journey that we're about to begin? I don't even

know how that happened. I think we just had a

lot of different ideas. And I think it was one

because it was kind of the most opposite of what

we last said with like the Teenage Mutant Ninja

Turtles. There's a lot of his films that I have

yet to see or have only seen once. And of course,

like, you know, I loved a lot of films that are

inspired by him. So it seems it makes sense to

kind of go back to the original, even the movie

that we're talking about today. Honestly, I never

even heard about it before we discussed reviewing

it. So it's exciting because I don't watch a

lot of older movies, especially now. So it gives

me an excuse to kind of go back and rectify that.

Yeah, there's so much time that I spend every

year trying to watch like the current films and

like the films that came out for that year. Outside

of like the holiday classics or some things that

you just kind of have somewhat on repeat every

year every so often like I don't Go back a lot

to watch older movies and it also has the effect

of I don't tend to Dedicate a lot of time to

go back to watch older movies that I have never

seen And that's one thing that really attracted

me to the Hitchcock series is I believe if I'm

correct I've only seen two of his films So I

have a lot of blind spots like I've seen vertigo

and I've seen rear window which I know that's

what some of the ones that everybody's seen so

I was really interested to kind of get into this

and watch a few of the other films as well and

also kind of go on this journey like from somewhat

of a chronological standpoint to see like how

his career progressed and evolved over time because

obviously this man directed like 396 movies or

something like that like it's just absolutely

insane like we're starting at what's considered

one of his earliest which is actually his like

22nd or 24th film or something like that. Yeah,

it's crazy. I Was going into I was kind of say

like when we started like I'm like, oh my god

Is this like one of his first movies and like

just considering how? Early it is and knowing

like how long he was making movies and like now

it's like his 11th film or something like that

So it's yeah, this is 11. It's his 11th or 12th

sound film sound for the answer. Yeah I think

he had 10 or 11 or something like that of silent

films before that and and So I guess you get

to about 20 25 films and people consider that

like the beginning of your career Which today

would be a much different thing. I feel like

so we're going to be all over the different decades

We'll go ahead and kind of highlight which films

we're going to cover on this retrospective. So

it's going to be 10 episodes We're going to cover

a 10 of I guess what you can consider consider

probably his most well known or well respected

films if you go through like a lot of the you

know, essential Hitchcock collection of what

films are regarded highest. I think we hit a

majority of those. Obviously there's more. You

can keep going because of how many films he did,

but we tried to cap it off. I just kind of tend

just to make it something that's doable for us.

So in recovering four different decades, I believe,

of his filmography. So this will be the only

one that actually came out in the 1930s. So 39

Steps is the film that we're going to be covering

today that came out in 1935. Then we have two

from the 40s, which would be Notorious and Rope.

And then we have a handful of the 50s, which

would be Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder,

Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest.

And then we'll finish with the two from the 60s

that we wanted to cover, which would be Psycho

and The Birds. What do you think of that collection

of 10 films and kind of Are you more excited

for one versus the other or just kind of interested

to see how they all stack up when you watch them

kind of somewhat one after the other? Yeah, I

Because some of those I have seen before I've

actually never saw the bird So i'm kind of interested

in seeing that because that's what I hear I think

the most Um polarizing reactions. I know a lot

of people love it and a lot of people think it's

really silly So interested to seeing where I

fall there Uh, so the only like the ones I have

seen before are like where window and like you

vertigo and uh, I Can't even think psycho of

course and then oddly solve psycho the remake

before the original which is probably not the

best way of doing it But yeah, I have heard i'm

sorry to cut you off i'll let you continue in

a second, but I have heard that. Um, I listened

to a few Don't know I had some time I do a lot

of driving nowadays for for my job going in between

different Places and so I listened to a lot of

podcasts and I listened to some a podcast that

did a review on the 39 steps and they made a

lot of comparisons or connections I guess to

North by Northwest and having seen that I'm interested

to as we kind of go through that once we get

to that one which is towards the end to see like

If these connections ring true that they kind

of brought up and some of that and then it's

another thing that we'll probably highlight as

we kind of go through there's a lot of I Guess

you can call it like Hitchcock trademarks that

people claim, you know Hitchcock Ian things that

occur so I guess we're kind of starting somewhat

early on to see like maybe some of the Origins

of that and see how well they kind of play through

this set of ten films Which would be something

interesting to look for as well Yeah, I have

seen North Breath Northwest and it I did get

similar feelings. We can talk about it, like

regarding how those connect, but it's also been

years, I think probably like 10 years since I

saw last saw that movie, like one of the first

blue rays I had. So it's been, it's been, you

know, a good amount of time. And then we will

probably end up this retrospective towards the,

after we get done with a psycho and the birds

will probably do a. I guess we can call it something

we'll come up with some clever name But there'll

be some type of an award episode where we kind

of highlight what our favorite parts of the retrospective

were maybe some of the best performances scenes

moments, you know different things we'll come

up with a Series of those types of things to

kind of wrap everything up at the end as well

So you'll get 11 episodes in total if you're

counting So anything else that you want to discuss

or get out of the way before we get into the

39 step stand? Oh, I think we can go right into

it. All right. Well the 39 steps is directed

by Alfred Hitchcock. I guess we don't have to

say that every episode. And it's a 1935 British

spy thriller film. So this is going to be one

of his British films. I guess they're somewhat

when you look at his filmography and someone

that does as many did as many films as he directed,

it seems to have a natural way that they break

it into segments. Like there's the silent films

and then the I believe they usually do like the

British films. And then there's more of the,

I guess, mainstream, like Hollywood, American

films that will come later. So I guess this falls

into the British section of that in the 1935

era here. And it's starring Robert Donat, which

is, I believe, the correct way to say his name.

They were, they were having some fun with that

on the podcast and calling them Donut. And I

think they found like five or six different pronunciations,

but I think it's Donat and Madeleine Carroll.

And it's based on a 1915 novel, 39 steps by John

I want to say Buchan, that could be wrong as

well. So what was your initial take on the 39

Steps and kind of just like your initial reactions

as you watched it? As I mentioned, this is the

first time I went into this. I wasn't sure what

to expect whatsoever because, you know, when

I hear people talk about Hitchcock, you know,

you hear a lot about North Pride Northwest, Vertigo.

I don't hear a lot of people talk about 39 Steps,

but interesting going back and seeing that that

Hitchcock called this his favorite film. And

I didn't know that going into it, but looking

back, I can kind of see why, but I really enjoyed

this. It was interesting. Like the thing that

I thought about as I was watching it was that

there was not a wasted moment, which sounds weird,

but like even for if like how I think about movies

today, we think they're more, you know, they're

fast paced, they're quicker than a movie then,

but in a way it like this, like every scene,

Went directly to the next like there was not

a like a wasted scene everything had purpose

to it it overall like pretty simplistic plot,

although like most Noirs it gets a bit convoluted

and how we get to point a to point B and it There's

a lot of conveniences here, of course, but our

main character has what I like to call the James

Bond effect, where it seems like any time he's

around women, they just instantly fall in love

with him and will do whatever they need to in

order to help him. He's got that skill. But I

found it really enjoyable. You see some early

aspects of what would make Hitchcock Hitchcock.

Cool tricks, like there's a few camera tricks

where, you know, like these weird zoom in and

zoom out that are like focused on the character's

faces. They get in the early beginnings where

we get them like silhouette and then like with

the background as they're moving through, they

kind of give like a, I don't know, it's kind

of a weird feeling. He doesn't do it a lot, but

he just does it early on to think to really just

set the stage. But I really ended up enjoying

it. I thought it was an effective Kind of mystery

not knowing what's real what's not Kind of has

like you could see how this would influence everything

from something like North by Northwest even something

like born the born trilogy where you have this

person Trying to work their way throughout a

countryside and you know It doesn't feel like

it was made on a set you feel like they actually

did go to some locations So yeah, I didn't know

I thought it was going to be more archaic and

I think a bit more Simplistic in its approach

considering, you know when it was me how early

it was in his career but I guess you know making

25 films before this he learned a thing or two

and I was I was a fan. How about yourself? Well,

it was interesting because I went into this one

I went in I'm going went into this whole thing

like Outside of obviously the two films that

I've seen I'm going into all eight films with

like a completely open mind. I'm ready to see

like what the attraction is to it, what the big

deal about him as a director is, because he's

been probably one of the most successful directors

ever. So I'm definitely going in very interested

and intrigued by this. I was a little bit apprehensive

going into this one just because number one,

it's going the farthest back that we could go

or that we are going. So like we're all the way

back in 1935. We're literally next year would

be the 90th anniversary of this movie, which

is like insane. So I was wondering like going

back 90 years, 89 years, I guess at this point,

how much that may be like a little bit jarring,

just because I haven't been watching a lot of

old movies recently. So when you're watching

all of the current stuff like nonstop, I was

wondering if that would be like a little bit

of a disconnect and then also going into, you

know, a British film and seeing. what that exactly

meant in that time period. How much different

is a British film in 1935 compared to an American

film? I don't know. I'm not educated enough in

older filmmaking to know if there's stark differences

between that or different things, so I just wasn't

really sure what I was gonna get into. And I've

actually, I think we both watched this twice,

just as... luck would have it from a scheduling

standpoint and I actually just got done watching

it the second time and I I enjoyed it the first

time I think I enjoyed it even more the second

time and I don't know why that is because typically

with a film like this it's most of the enjoyment

is figuring out the different tricks and the

different you know mystery quote -unquote elements

of it but even knowing how it was gonna go and

whatnot I just was able to enjoy The film even

more I think the second time and one thing that

you kind of alleged to or kind of hinted at I

a hundred percent agree like I'll equate it to

baseball just because that's something else.

I know a lot of times in a baseball game, right?

You're watching and there's the occasional action

like there's the big hit or there's a play and

then there's downtime There's like the time that

you can go to the concession stand or there's

the time that you can have a conversation with

somebody next to you or just kind of enjoy the

scenery and then you can pay attention again

like a minute later or two minutes later, whatever

the case may be. That is not what you're going

to do in this film. Like I didn't find any downtime.

Like it is quick. And I guess it's weird to say

because a lot of people would watch this and

their reaction may be like it's slow because

of, you know, the time period and how they film

things and whatnot. But this film clocks in at

an hour twenty six. And to me, it flies by. And

maybe with good. Sorry. I mean, I was saying

maybe because now like every movie is two and

a half hours. It's like a movie that's this short

just feels like it's like, oh, wow, this is like

a TV show episode. But yeah, in a good way. It

was funny, though, because the podcast I was

listening to, that was one thing that they actually

disagreed on. The one person said that they thought

it flew by and the other one thought it was kind

of a slog and that it seemed like it took forever.

And I just did not pick up on that. Like the

first time I watched it. was, you know, I was

taking everything in. The second time I watched

it, it was as if I was remembering scenes from

the first time, but I expected them to take longer.

Like I was like, Oh yeah, that's this part. And

then two minutes later, that part was over and

I was like, Oh, I don't remember being that quick.

Like I thought we spent more time in this area

or I thought we spent more time on this little

sequence. And it's just like boom, boom, boom,

boom, boom. Like they're literally not wasting

any time going from A to B to C. Like there is

a lot of steps, like you said before, like there

is a lot of They would probably call it twist

and turns. I don't know how twisty or turny it

is, but there is a lot of different segments

as far as getting from, like you said, point

A to point B to kind of beat a dead horse there.

But there's a lot of it. I almost forgot how

many different sequences there were. But the

thing is, I didn't find any of them to be the

downtime. It wasn't like, oh, this is the sequence

that there's gonna be a bunch of dialogue and

they're gonna explain a bunch of stuff and I

can kind of like... somewhat pay attention it

was like it was important stuff and it was action

and it was happening at a rapid pace I thought

so I kind of I really enjoyed that actually and

I wasn't expecting to see that as much I really

liked Robert Donat I thought that he was a likable

actor likable character performance whatever

so that kind of drew me since he's I think he's

in every scene I don't think there's a scene

without him hardly is there Now I mean like the

opening scene he's in it but he like you don't

even know he's The main character because I first

wouldn't because I didn't do I just went in cold.

I didn't know anything I didn't know who was

who so it was like You know, he's kind of just

in the crowd But yeah, he's I think I think he's

in pretty much every scene We see everything

through his point of view, which is part of the

enjoyment because you don't know Who's really

on his side? Who's really not it's some of the

twists and stuff you can see coming because of

course that by this time it's old hat right,

but But it does keep you isolated in that way,

which I thought was rather effective But I think

when you have like, you know, I'm just making

this up This is not like actual facts here But

when you have an 86 minute movie and my guess

is he's in at least 80 minutes of it if not like

85 of it like It's important that that person

that you're having on screen that much is somebody

that can carry it and someone that is easy to

watch and fun to watch. And so I think they did

a great job with that. I don't know much about

his career or what he did before or after. I

know they specifically brought in both himself

and Madeline Carroll, who plays one of the main

females in this film, in an attempt to make this

resonate more, I think, for American crowds is

something I read because they wanted it to be

successful. and not just in Britain. I didn't

read too much up on that, but I thought I read

a snippet about that. So I don't know what their,

you know, their background is, but they did specifically

bring them in for a specific reason. And I just

thought that they both did a really good job.

I would actually be interested in watching him

in something else. I would just have to do the

research to find out what that is. Any other

actors, actresses, performances that kind of

stood out to you or where do you want to go next?

Yeah, so it is I think he was really good and

I was watching it like I can't I was like he

reminded me of someone I couldn't really figure

it out when it was Cary Grant like he has a very

similar Cary Grant personality which makes sense

because as You know Cary Grant into working working

with it got later in his career. So that may

just be the performance Hitchcock is looking

for for his characters. But yeah, like you said,

he was a standout. You do have some of that classic,

like, you know, you can tell a lot of these people

came from the theater. So there's a lot of overacting,

you know, a lot of like, really big acting, which

was, you know, more of the time. Madeline Carroll,

I think, especially like she really dove into

her role and was certainly like, you know, like

You know playing for the back seats as I say,

but not like not in a bad way I think it's fitting

for the movie. But yeah, and even Even like some

of like the farmer family like they felt very

authentic to the time and place that you know

How the it's even even if his wife magically

falls in love with him, you know He's got a like

I said, he's got the James Bond disease. He didn't

he didn't have uh The bar was low. Let's just

say yeah true true. That's very true. He didn't

have much company. Yeah, so But yeah, I thought

overall all the performances were good. Like

it wasn't like you said, I think Robert De Nye,

his performance by far is what carries the movie

literally. And then everyone else, you know,

does their part. I don't think the way the movie

is designed, you don't get a lot of other characters.

You kind of most of them come in and come out.

Like there's no overarching villain or anything

like that. It's kind of just the situation that

is what's propelling everything. So it's really

hard in that time just for the Or any really

major actor to get their shine. I mean you all

of course have um, but I do think like even his

his relationship his chemistry with madame carol

will strong and uh those scenes with them like

running being handcuffed and you know like like

That could have not have been fun just to do

like they just look You know like it it looked

like they probably had to do that like a thousand

times and clearly we're not faking those handcuffs

So no, and I actually read something on I don't

know if it was IMDB or they've mentioned it in

this podcast or whatever But apparently I don't

know I don't know if it's true or not But there's

a lot of reports out there that Hitchcock actually

handcuffed both of them together before they're

sequenced with this and like Pretended to not

know where the key was for like hours So before

they filmed this so I think they were like well

into the like I'm tired of being handcuffed to

this person when they actually had bruises on

her hands when these they were all done from

like the handcuffs I mean that that does sound

like movie making back then they were quick to

abuse the actors and if anything that was kind

of in compared to some other stuff, but but yeah,

they had that good like bitterness towards one

another where like, you know, like, you know,

they They like each other, but they also hate

each other, which I feel like was the norm for

a type of, you know, relationship during this,

of course. Like the classic, like, hate each

other at first and come together. But even like

that, it wasn't like overt. It wasn't, didn't

get even cheesy for that day. It felt like they

had a bit of a light touch to it. So. Right.

And I think part of what helped that is like

they didn't really go anywhere with it. Yeah.

Not to, I don't know. I don't know if you can

spoil a 1935 film. But the last scene, the last

shot is as close as they get to exploring that,

and I think that was a nice touch. They don't

go too far with it, which I think helped a little

bit. And before all of the much more educated

and informed film people write us too many bad

reviews, I should at least say that do not, if

I was looking for something else he did, he won

an Academy Award. So yeah, he won an Academy

Award for goodbye. Mr. Chips in 1939 So that's

like not much about the 30s films his rivals

actor award that year were Clark Gable for Gone

with the Wind Lawrence Olivier for Wuthering

Heights James Stewart for mr. Smith goes to Washington

and Mickey Rooney for babes and arms I mean the

fact he I mean, that's a pretty crowded bunch

right there. So Hey, I've never read I've heard

of good. Goodbye. Mr. Chips, but I've never Yeah,

i've never said apparently he won and he was

also nominated for a best actor oscar in 1938

for a movie called the citadel Yeah, every time

I hear that title for some reason I think it's

a movie about a monkey, but it's not has nothing

to do with a monkey Mr. Chips just sounds like

a name for a monkey Yeah, but I I think you did

point on something uh that I appreciated which

regardless of how crazy they might have been

or how overacting or different things like that,

I think, when you break it down into the different

sequences. So like you basically have one sequence

where he is interacting with the professor, I

believe is what they call him, Professor Jordan,

in Professor Jordan's house who's entertaining

a bunch of people. So you have that sequence

where he's with that. You have the sequence that

you alluded to with the farmer and his wife.

And then you have the sequence in the hotel with

the assume man and wife that are running the

hotel. Yeah. And then obviously kind of going

into that you also have his sequences with Carol

when they're kind of like on the run. But each

of those other parts like when you take the hotel

folks and the farmer and couple and the professor

and his family like each one had kind of a little

bit of a don't know like just something to it

that was fun to watch like they had the uniqueness

and they had something that was like oh I can

spend some time with in this setting with these

with this group of people because I'm finding

them entertaining you know there is some humor

thrown in a little bit with each group but I

found each of those like in a different way kind

of like a fun it wasn't like one of them was

worse or better than the other it just like oh

here's another fun like couple or group of people

that we're gonna interact with so I thought that

was kind of Interesting. And of course you have

two different sequences in a auditorium type

setting or stage type setting where you have

the audience, which obviously you're not going

to get like the one -on -one or like the real

in depth into any of those characters. But it's

another sequence where you have a variety of

people that are somewhat fun to watch and kind

of see what they're going to say. So I thought

each one of those different things kind of brought

an element that was again helped it keep the

pace and keep it entertaining and moving swiftly

because none of them were a let down to me. Yeah,

and speaking of which, I think, like you mentioned,

fun, I do think there's like some actual good

comedy here, you know, that scene in the hotel,

probably the best example of, you know, like

it's almost felt like at times like a bit of

like you could, if you were just walking on that

scene, you think this was like a romantic comedy,

you wouldn't necessarily think it was a, you

know, a whodunit chase film, but I think it was

able to hit a lot of different grounds and do

each of them rather effectively. That's certainly

I agree with that and also makes me think too

because you know a lot of this movie Is about

like well, like what's the the enemy behind us?

What's causing it isn't super clear? It's very

like, you know, just just nebulous Some you know

people there's some secrets aside something of

that nature It also makes me think if that was

at all tied to like the time because in this

1935, of course, you know you have Germany doing

what it's doing and it's kind of Spanning across

the world can't you know think you know as we're

in the brink what how many years and six years

until World War two, but There is always that

fear of you know internal strike a lot of those

countries that fell fell because of Those within

kind of hiding with Germany and I wonder if like

that was it was never direct but I do wonder

if that was ever there just like you know that

Idea that some of these like where this was coming

from because obviously you have this Is this

government is another government? It always made

me wonder like is is there anything? Met as allegorical

representation of what's happening and you know

the fear that may have existed at the time Considering

what was happening around the world. I don't

know if that's just me Looking into it and trying

to see but I just wondered considering it's time

and place Yeah, that's definitely interesting

interesting take and I and I do believe I read

somewhere that That also kind of alludes to one

thing that apparently Hitchcock does throughout

time I don't know if it's necessarily one of

his trademarks, but something that he does from

time to time in some of his films they mentioned

that there's a plot that involves a pretty major

point of the plot that he keeps use the word

nebulous, but like very vague or very like not

not fleshed out, not really like dissected. And

I wonder if we'll see that in any of the other

films we're covering. But I have read that that's

something that he did a few different times where

there's like whatever you want to call it, the

MacGuffin or like the thing that is driving the

plot. But then it's also really never it's the

movie is not about it at all. Yeah, like it's

a thing that's driving the plot, but the movie

doesn't really care as much like. So this one's

basically like plans for an airplane engine.

Like you get down to it and like, but That has

nothing to do with the movie. No. Yeah, like

who's after it like who's really, you know the

What those plans are what it can lead to I mean

they're bad like you can't get them No one can

learn learn about them. But like who the other

side of that is and you know, it's always It

isn't it's not about the details. It's just about

this is just this is You know, this is what's

driving it and we're and let's go from there,

which I again I think that leads into Maybe an

issue with movies today not like not to be one

of like movies today or any good but like I feel

like people Don't like that. There's often that

like need for explanation And like they don't

have that, you know, you'll get like a thousand

YouTube videos about plot holes when it's like

no It's not a plot hole. It's just not explained

and that's okay Did you see anything else that

was anything that you identified that was maybe

like had a hitchcock Fingerprint to it that existed

in this film that you know He's known for or

that you know, you've seen in a couple of the

other films you've seen from him like I mentioned

like the relationship to right northwest which

has a lot of like foot chases like a lot of these

consistent long chases where We get that shot

in the field and because of course you have that

classic um scene in north northwest with the

airplane we don't get that here, but you at least

get that like really pulled back shot where you

see just You know him running off and it really

couldn't staying consistently there. So I don't

know like shot wise if it's similar to north

by northwest, but just the the concept of That

moving or just like the constant like you're

never safe like right. He'll No matter where

he goes There's someone there and like even when

he thinks like this is like, oh i'm finally with

an ally That is not the case. So that reminded

me of that as well, where there's always that

next step. Everywhere he goes, there's a new

challenge that he has to try to overcome and

get by and get away. He's on a bridge. You have

that opening, not the opening, but the train

station scene. He's on the train, and then we

move from the train to the bridge. It's just

that constant moving from one place to the next.

And no matter, these have to be the best cops

ever, because the way they're able to follow

him from across the country is rather impressive.

But again, that's what reminded me of North by

Northwest is just that constant movement from

one place to the next, which I think was a big

part of why I think it worked for me. I think

another thing I read that is something that comes

up from time to time in a Hitchcock film is having

a main character that's I believe mostly, most

of the time male, that is kind of finding themselves

in a situation where they're innocent but on

the run. or something of that nature, like in

that realm where you're trying to like either

clear your name or you're trying to get away

from something that you didn't necessarily do

or something like that. I've heard that that's

something that comes up multiple times in his

filmography. And then the other one was there's

always this like the Hitchcock blonde is like

a thing, like a trope or whatever. And one of

the articles I read on this film says that this

is kind of the, I don't know if it's 100 % the

first, but they, Claimed that this is the first

one of those are kind of like the foundation

of what? Becomes that is Madeline Carroll in

this film So I don't know how many of the films

will find they have the Hitchcock blonde in it,

but I guess this is one of them original Well,

you think of you know, of course just psycho

top of my head and stuff like that. So I that

I could see that for sure What about obviously

we're dealing with? the technology of 1935 right

and the filmmaking mechanics that goes with that

and all, you know, especially for people that

are used to watching newer films. Did anything

stand out to you that was interesting or that

kind of you weren't expecting or just kind of

you saw and took note like a mental note of something

that was like just something you didn't expect

that you're seeing that's like a sign of the

fact that this is done in 1935? One thing that

caught me off and I mentioned in the beginning

was like I don't even know how to properly describe

it, but it's like we get The The focus is on

the one character that she's kind of explaining

what's happening. It's just her face and silhouette

and then it's over top of like a completely other

scene and you know that's you know happening

it's basically the back you know just a background

or someplace else and it made me wonder like

how exactly at that you know that time there's

no computers like what was the methodology there

it wasn't anything super complex but it did make

me wonder like filming basically having two scenes

at the same time in a time and place where that

wasn't physically possible like interesting like

how they must have had to splice the film in

some way or something like that it wasn't like

a visual trick it wasn't like she was standing

someplace and they were trying to You know, just

it was something where the film was laid on top

of each other or something of that nature I'm

not sure how they did it, but that's what that

that caught me off guard a little bit was just

like how they were able to Accomplish that at

that time. There was one other sequence that

I noticed I don't know how many of the early

sound films did this but it definitely Harkened

back to like the silent films because you see

it a lot in silent films was the Speed the they

sped up a sequence of oh, yeah so there's a time

when he's running through the countryside or

whatever and the police are chasing him and they

definitely have it going at like I don't know

two and a half speed or something like that compared

to the one and it was like very reminiscent of

what you would see in the silent films yeah it

wasn't like you know to the Benny Hill level

but it was certainly like it was it was you know

I didn't hear that music playing but yeah that's

a good point about certainly you see a lot of

those tricks that were utilized during that era

Kind of still being used used here. Yeah, and

then this has nothing to do with the filming

but I did appreciate the 1935 helicopter. Oh,

yeah, I didn't Yeah, I mean that must have cost

them so much money because like those things

weren't those things were not cheap, right? Yeah

You go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, cuz I say like

I remember when helicopters first they couldn't

been that old at that time. So They got one in

there. So another thing that I did read up on

is that Donat apparently had chronic asthma.

So he struggled with any type of long take. So

I don't know if that precluded them from doing

any significant long takes in this film. I guess

the one that stood out that they mentioned is

the one where he's in a scene where he is on

the run like he is most of the film, but then

it ends with him being on stage. having to give

a speech I guess in posing as somebody he is

not and I guess that was the one where if you

kind of watch it he may start looking like he's

somewhat actually like he did just do a long

run and is out of breath so they said that he

was able to kind of do that which was probably

about at the the edge of what he could do from

a long take standpoint as an actor but I didn't

notice that obviously or didn't think of it it

just made it more realistic to me because he

was on the run always so that was interesting.

Anything else that you noticed about the film?

I do have a little bit a couple more trivia things

and some more statistical things about the film

but anything else that you kind of came away

with after watching this one? No, but you do

mention that scene where near the end, like you

said, he basically gets misidentified as a speaker

and he kind of has to go off the fly. But again,

that's also where it had me thinking that message

that he's speaking, is that directed towards

the audience in a different way? Is that like

Hitchcock speaking about something else? Maybe

not. Like it more indirectly like the thing that

came to mind was something like great dictator

like it wasn't exactly like um, but had similar

context which I don't know again that might be

me just Superimposing that on it just thinking

of what was happening. But I did it was Like

I really kind of it kind of came out of nowhere

but like in a good way because suddenly we were

getting this long monologue Um, which is I think

speaking to a grander point After like most of

the film was more of this like thrilling exciting

uh chase so that that it was Wasn't a secret

agent, but he certainly had a lot of various

loss of more skills like I don't know what his

job was but he certainly like You know, he could

think on the floor says I don't think we ever

get to that point where they even go into that

it could be wrong I'm without giving away anything.

I know it's a 90 year old movie, but without

giving away What did you think of the actual

I guess the the major? Hook or twist that is

revealed in the end Cause on the first time I'm

viewing this, I appreciated the journey and I

appreciated all the twists and turns and the

redirections and the, you think this happens,

but it didn't happen. And then it got to the

end with like the, I guess what you would consider

the main one or the, the crux of the whole movie.

And I was at first, I almost had an anticlimactic

like. Really? Like that's, that's where we were

going with this type thing. The first, I didn't

have that reaction. The second one, the second

one I, I was fine with it, but what did you think

of kind of. the variety of twists and turns along

the way, and then I guess the main one at the

end. I guess it didn't really hit me that, or

like it wasn't one that was like, oh, you know,

either way, it was kind of just, I guess I was

just ready for it to end. It just felt like the

natural conclusion. Like it wasn't one, two,

two, or anything like that. It was fine. It wasn't,

at that point, like we, like, it seemed like

something else was going to happen because that

was the pattern. It was more so just, okay well

here's this final nail and then you know that

happens and there is like in a lot of these films

i think you can probably even do this like when

you're watching you mentioned the born films

or probably when you're watching bond films but

there is some moments throughout the film that

you do have to kind of just accept and and move

on um from like i'm thinking early on like if

you really want to be like getting way too involved

with it instead of just enjoying the ride like

There's a early sequence where he is in a room

with a, uh, with, I didn't believe her name was

Annabelle. Um, yeah, Annabelle Smith, he is the

character's name and he's in the room and, you

know, she has kind of alluded to him on what

her role is in the story and kind of what information

she has. And obviously people are out to get

her. And I don't think it spoils anything that

like, she does not long for the movie, but it's

interesting to me, like, Anything you would watch

like if you watch like mob movies or mafia based

movies or anything like that, like there's no

chance he lives through that night. Yeah. So

it's like there's some little things like that

that you just have to just like bypass and just

be like, just enjoy the ride and keep going.

There's a couple other sequences that are similar

that are like, well, why did that happen? Or

would that really happen? But like as long as

you don't get caught up with that type of stuff

and you're just like enjoying the journey, I

think you're fine. Mm -hmm. Yeah, I Yeah, and

I will say I do like how it does like Kind of

come back together like that opening sequence

that goes on for a while Like you talked to me

that of with the mr. Computer mr. Memory How

it does come back to that? And it does also leave

you with a question of who exactly is behind

this And again, which makes me think like maybe

they didn't want to say directly but they wanted

to like lead people a certain way that's still

not it's not fully answered but like Right, it

certainly connected dots if you wanted to. Oh,

I remember the other one The other one was when

he is with the farmer and his wife and they're

sitting down at the table And he has just read

a paper like there's there's a common theme of

papers being yeah, you know at different sequences

that he's you know Obviously on the front page

or somewhere on there is like the story of what

he's running from and then things of that nature.

But I find it real interesting that he's reading

that paper and then it's time for dinner and

he sets it on the table so that it's face up.

Like you wouldn't have turned that so that's

face down so nobody could read that headline.

So like different things like that I found were

a little interesting. So going into a little

bit of the statistics behind this one. It was.

I don't know if it was a box office success because

it said it was like the 17th best film at the

British box office that year, which doesn't seem

like a resounding success, but maybe that was

good for that time period. I'm not sure. Like

if something was like the 17th best nowadays,

I don't know if that's considered like a success

when it comes to box office. But from a reception

standpoint, from a critical response, obviously

it's very well respected. I think it has like

a 96 % on Rotten Tomatoes. And it's on so many

different lists, especially when it comes to

British filmmaking and things of that nature,

or when it comes into like the actual genre,

when it comes into like thrillers or suspense,

noirs and things like that. So you, you could

just do a Google search and you'll find that

it's probably on like a hundred different lists

that different institutes or publications have

done. So definitely well received from that standpoint.

I also wanted to quick, go through a couple of

things of trivia. And it's kind of interesting

that you mentioned it too because you mentioned

a whole different couple different things about

bond or the born identity or things of that nature

and according to one website I read Ian Fleming

actually was a huge fan of either the book or

the movie or things like that and he's quoted

as saying that without Donat Donat's character's

name Richard Henne and Fleming said with no Henne

there would be no bond. So Apparently this specific

character was a huge influence for Fleming to

create the character of James Bond, is what I'm

reading that as. I don't know how true that is,

but that's at least one snippet that I got from

there. You already mentioned that it's supposed

to be one of, if not, Hitchcock's favorite film,

so I thought that was interesting as well. And

Sigourney Weaver's mom is in this. Uncredited

role, but it's one of the professor's daughters.

So I thought that was interesting. I didn't know

Sigourney Weaver had a mom that was in show business.

So I guess like Hollywood that happens quite

a bit though. So Anything else that you wanted

to bring up about the 39 steps before we kind

of close this one out? No, I would say one thing

that's kind of crazy is how this is actually

in public domain Because they forgot to renew

the copyright. So that's why it's on like so

many free sites. It's like I think I watched

it on To be or one of those like, you know free

movie sites and like why is this free? And that's

because they've just forgot to renew the copyright

maybe which makes me think maybe it wasn't the

biggest hit but I do think it's one that is Well

regarded by a lot of movie fans So if you wanted

to see it, you can see it for free and although

there are some Apparently there's because of

that there are a lot of DVDs released of it that

weren't in great quality But the criterion channel

and criterion did put out like an actual good

copy of it. So if you're going to watch it, make

sure you're watching a good version of it that's

not like poorly made. Right. Yeah, definitely.

You can get the Criterion Collection version.

I was able to watch it on Max, which for some

reason isn't called HBO anymore. But that's a

different story. It's also mentioned in The Catcher

in the Rye. I forgot to bring that up. It's in

the book The Catcher in the Rye. They talk about

the film. So that's interesting as well. So I

think we started off on a good Like first step

here Dan like I'm I'm I was worried about this

first one especially I'm feeling positive about

it and I think it's a set in the tone for the

rest of these Ten films. What do you think? Yeah,

I like I like this one is a good starting point

because it's like got a one foot in like the

old in the beginning of Hollywood one foot in

what's coming up and Makes it kind of a little

bit in the middle So yeah, like I said, that's

one I didn't know anything about going into it.

So I'm you know, some of the other ones obviously

we'll get we get to we'll get to are pretty famous.

So it was good to get one that was maybe on the

lesser known side before we get to those. So

in the in the wrap up show, I'm sure we'll be

talking about like best actor, best actress or

supporting actress, supporting actress, things

like that. Is anybody from this film have a chance

to still be in the running for that by the time

we've watched 10 films? Or do you think like

the amount of like Critical acclaim that some

of the films have that we're gonna watch are

gonna like squeeze it out. I I mean, I do you

think I can't want to call him Donate but he

said it's done. How's it? It was done that on

the thing unless I'm just being like super American

and pronouncing it wrong But I read a pronunciation

and it was donut or do not. Okay? Okay, whatever

her name like I feel like he certainly has like

I said, I like he had a similar quality of Classic

actors that I feel like he's gonna be that template

that we're gonna go back to again and again so

yeah, I definitely think he has a has a Chant

and like you said maybe even Madeline Carroll

because if she is that you know Being the stage

for the classic blonde for his films. Maybe like

both. This will be like you know the Origin of

a lot of what we'll see moving forward, right?

There's a couple good lines in here, too. I like

the quote about it seems like it's been used

a lot of different times where where he says

something along the this is a complete like butchering

of it but something about like there's 20 ,000

women on this island and I got to be chained

to you like I feel like that's like the versions

of that line have appeared in a multiple movies

yeah so I appreciated that as well so uh an overall

positive review here of the 39 steps I think

it's worth watching especially if you're trying

to go on this journey with us through Alfred

Hitchcock's filmography Um, like I said next

time we will be covering Notorious, I believe

is the next one. Um, and we'll see if that's

another one that i'm gonna go in completely blind

dan, is that the same for you? Yeah, i'm pretty

sure I feel like a lot of those like Um noir

films of that age like I always like the big

sleep and like all those i'm like, I think i've

seen it i'm not sure But I don't think I I can't

I don't think I have I think this is pre -brand

first time i've watched it if if I watched it

before it'd be when I was like 10 so Gotcha All

right, so if you want to keep up to date with

anything that we're doing, like Dan said before,

search out the Comic Concierge on all the different

social media sites. He's basically on all of

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Showcase, or you can keep up with all things

Geek Cast Radio related by going to geekcastradio

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the network puts out on a variety of geeky and

pop culture subjects. Dan, specifically, if someone

who is wanting to Get in touch with you on one

of the social media sites. What's the best way

to do that? Yeah, I say just hit me up. I would

thank you on you know any of the blue sky You

know threat all of them just a common concierge

you search that you should be able to find me

Absolutely, and you can find me by searching

out optimist solo that does it for this episode

of the cinema geeks tune in next time Well, we

go one step further into the Alfred Hitchcock

filmography