Hitchcock's career got a much need shot in the arm with the release of The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1934. Now looking back at his previous successes The Lodger and Blackmail, his followups to those films didn't follow the same genre (The Ring, Downhill, Juno and the Paycock). Hitchcock avoided that by finding his next source of inspiration from John Buchan's 1915 novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps.
Here Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) a Canadian staying in England attends a music hall performance where chaos ensues after a shot rings out. The woman who fired the shot Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) asks Hannay for protection back at his flat. There, she tells him that her life is in danger and because he helped her, he is at risk as well. She tells of the 39 Steps, a spy organization who is trying to procure government secrets out of England. She is on her way to a town in Scotland, to see a man who may be able to assist her. That night, she enters his room with a knife in her back saying they'll get him next. He manages to sneak out of his place in the morning past her assassins and finds out en route to Scotland to carry out her mission, that he is wanted for her murder. Hannay then later escapes the train, encounters a farmer, who may be tempted to turn her in, meets up with the head of the 39 Steps, speak on the fly at a political rally and be handcuffed to a woman (Madeleine Carroll) who is certain that he is a murderer. And still, how are the 39 Steps going to smuggle their loot out of the country?
The film is pure fun from beginning to end with Hitchcock giving the tale the required suspense, adventure and humor to keep the audience curious as to what happens next. Hitchcock told Francois Truffaut that he would have rather done Buchan's next book, Greenmantle, but he had a thing about adapting works of fiction that were considered the best of an author (Hitchcock apparently 10 years later planned to adapt Greenmantle, but Buchan's estate wanted to much for the rights). The movie follows the spirit of the book, even though a bunch of things were changed. The book had Hannay try to prevent the assassination of a visiting diplomat, but since that was pretty much the main focus of The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock and screenwriter Charles Bennett came up with this new take on the book.
Hitchcock's camerawork uses the same fluidity that we saw in his previous film, while using smart edits to his advantage. Two that stand out is when the apartment maid opens Hannay's apartment, sees Annabella and screams, its sound blends into the train whistle at the station. Second would be after the Professor shoots Hannay and falls over dead, the screen fades to black where we are taken back to the farmer's cottage to see what saved him.
Robert Donat was cast in a role well suited for his talents and just at the right time since he had just come off filming The Count of Monte Cristo and was reported to sign a contract with Warner Brothers (unfortunately, Donat's battle with asthma put a stop to this as he never ventured across the Atlantic again after returning to England). He is able to play the Hitchcock everyman with an added touch of dignity and and yet showing his chops at humor, menace and nervousness in probably one of the best male performances in a Hitchcock film.
Madeleine Carroll does a really good turn as Pamela with a snippy attitude when she thinks Hannay is going to be jailed but when handcuffed together, you can really think she's going through torture (reportedly Hitchcock as a practical joke handcuffed the two together and then "lost the key"). Peggy Ashcroft has a small but memorable performance as the farmer's abused wife who wishes for a better life. Lastly who can forget Wylie Watson as one of the most unforgettable characters in a Hitchcock film, Mr. Memory.
In England, the film was a roaring success both commercially and critically. The film was promoted there more as a romantic adventure to entice the women to the audience. The New Galley 1400 seat theater was filled to capacity practically for every showing during its 5 week run there giving it an impressive 16 week run at the West End. The film did very well in Canada, primarily since the novel's author John Buchan was recently named Lieutenant Governor. It did well in various cities in the US, but advertising was mainly through word of mouth and executive producer Michael Balcon was somewhat disappointed by the results.
The Times said called the movie "a first rate film of adventure edged with comedy". The Manchester Guardian praised Madeleine Carroll and said despite the implausibilities of the story, said the movie was "something that is entertainment in the best sense of the word". The Motion Picture Daily said, "This has the speed, suspense and imagination in detail characteristic of a director with an American sense of box-office values and the humorous values, emphasized, nicely balance the melodrama."
Hitchcock makes his cameo appearance about 7 minutes in after Hannay and Annabella leave the music hall, Hitchcock walks across the frame tossing a piece of litter on the ground.
The movie is pretty popular and is available streaming of numerous sites. I'd recommend the Criterion edition on DVD and Blu-Ray (which can be bought here) or currently streaming on the Criterion Channel. Buchan's novel can be purchased here.
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