There's two ratings I would give this movie. One is a 3/10 and the other is a 9/10 so I settled on 6/10 and here's why:3/10-REVIEW: Oh dear lord, there are so many problems with this movie. SO MANY. I don't even know where to begin...When the female spy is killed, someone must have made it into the flat...how? OK, so let's assume they did get in, why didn't they make sure she was dead. Stabbed in the back... wasn't she sleeping? On her back? Holding a map? Why does this guy just allow her into his life with her reckless and dangerous problems? Why wouldn't they make sure she was dead so she didn't have time to give him the map. Why did the killer let her give him that clue? Why did the killer leave the flat without killing him? Only to then later try to kill him by waiting outside...BUT THEY CAN GET IN THE FLAT??? Why did she send him to Scotland? There was nothing but trouble up there? There was no-one to help him...only the guy who tried to kill him? Why did his female companion abandon her plans in Scotland? She travels to London with no care for her affairs? Why was she in Scotland anyway? Why did she choose to scream at certain moments when she was not able to get help but suddenly becomes mute when it would have been heard? WHAT? What are the 39 steps anyway? And what's the deal with this secret? I could go on and on....there are so many flaws in the plot, You have to take the BIGGEST PINCH OF SALT in the world to enjoy it. BUT...9/10-REVIEW: If you can then it's a romp, there is witter and delightful banter. It has fast and exciting pacing and the parts are well-acted. It's full of twists and turns that keep you captivated and it has a nicely tied up end. I think the "farfetchedness" of the plot is a pure addition to the enjoyment. My advice is to enjoy this movie at it's 9/10-review, take a HUGE pinch of salt, let the plot holes wash over you and go along for this ridiculous farcical ride. You'll get much more out of it that way. Bog yourself down with it's flaws and you'll become enraged.

After witnessing a strange incident in a music hall which leads to the murder of a mysterious woman, a man is wrongly accused of the crime and goes on the run to Scotland in an attempt to uncover the mystery of The 39 Steps.This was the British film that truly established Alfred Hitchcock's reputation internationally. The one new thing that it brought to the table was the idea of combining a thriller with comedy elements. In the mid 30's this was a new concept and so what we have here is an espionage based chase film which also successfully combines battle of the sexes comedy and witty dialogue. It's a film too which could be described as a Hitchcock template, with a plot-line that he would return to many times in the years after its release. The innocent man, wrongly accused of a crime and accordingly put into a dangerous situation, while trying to prove his innocence – this is a story-line that became a cliché after a while but it was here that Hitchcock first utilised it. This is overall still a very entertaining film with some great set-pieces such as the suspenseful scenes on the Forth Bridge, the comic interplay between the leads in the hotel and the witty dialogue in the political meeting. All-in-all, a fine early offering from Hitchcock.

A. Hitchcock's mindless and unjustly acclaimed adaptation of J. Buchan's dark and gripping novel makes me think that people in the 1930s, who had no ready access to video, craved for superficial visual crap. The film discards the literary Hannay's agonizing ordeal for survival in a bleak environment and his cryptic challenges, while it opts for trite sexual stereotypes, casting 2 irritating females one of which the murdered agent (no Scudder or black book here, not even the real 39 steps), shamefully sugarcoated by comic overtones & laid-back atmosphere.All in all, a silly movie, not a thriller that pays the slightest tribute to Buchan's story.

The 39 Steps of 1935 is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars such people as Robert Donat. This is one of those films considered to be not only the first signs of what Hitchcock would do in his later life, but also a film that is considered one of the very best British cinema has to offer. I though have to disagree, now don't get me by any stretch wrong here, I like this movie and I thought it was a good watch, but I just couldn't look at this and say it was great let alone really liking it.The story is exciting to be fair, man on the run, secret agents, a man who can memorise anything he see's or hears, it is absolutely crazy, but good. The plot plays our rather nicely, the timing is crazily off mostly because of its short running time and bits can seem rushed but all in all it is fairly exciting. I think it feels different than from other films of the day, it just seems much more like what you might see in films today, whether or not this has stood the test of time well that is for you to see, but it still feels refreshing-ish amongst the classic films.Robert Donat is our main man, trying to find out what these 39 steps are all about and also getting into a few pickles along the way. Donat is fine in the role and is really good here, not only is he calm and sophisticated but he also deals with the more serious moments well, and still in them can seem oddly charming. Madeleine Carroll is alright as Pamela but I did feel no one in the cast can quite match Donat and his performance. The characters are very complex I will say, Hitchcock makes sure he is not letting us the viewer know what the hell is going on until the every end, a good bit of suspense.And to the legend himself, Alfred Hitchcock whose skill is plain to see but also in my opinion overrated here. Now alright alright I'm not saying he's bad here, far from it but what I think is that people who watch this and see Hitch directed it instantly just say he directed it amazingly and he makes it good. Now although I don't fully disagree, I think it is actually those like Robert Donat who make this enjoyable and the whole thrilling plot is based on a book, Hitch does do a fine job, just not as good as he would do one day.If your looking at this film as either a Hitchcock fan or want to see his movies, I wouldn't say don't watch but don't also think this will be a masterpiece, it isn't all perfect. It is the length that didn't work for me and I even love short movies but it just feels too rushed like I previously said and you can't fully engage into the characters and their lives, we just don't get to know them well enough. I hear a lot of people compare this to the future Hitchcock film "North by Northwest" and that is true it is the man on the run kind of film, but what I will say is Hitchcock didn't copy this when he made that, this is very much his own style and one that is in line with British Cinema, not over in Hollywood.Overall I did (even if my review seems kind of oddly negative) enjoy this piece of cinema. I would recommend it to people mainly because I think some will really enjoy it, the excitement is there and the leading character is well acted out. I do however feel this is yet another old film overrated by us in the future, I mean not by a lot but just watch it properly and don't keep thinking about Hitchcock directing it.