Monday Matinees

The 39 Steps (1935)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1935, 87 minutes, Digital, NR

Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Distributor: Gaumont British Distributors

A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent. But when the agent is killed and he stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring trying to steal top secret information.

“Although Hitchcock had already made a string of successful movies, The 39 Steps brought him international recognition and helped launch his Hollywood career. The thriller, based on a 1915 novel by John Buchan, also became a defining film in Hitchcock’s career. Notably, The 39 Steps centers on what became one of his most commonly used themes: an innocent man is mistakenly accused of a crime and must clear his name.” – The Encyclopedia Britannica