Ceticultsot
Beautiful, moving film.
Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Maleeha Vincent
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Matthew Kresal
Remakes can be hard to judge, especially if the remake in question is of something regarded as a classic. The 1959 version of The 39 Steps is one such example. It is a remake of the 1935 film that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and well as being the second of four film versions of the 1915 John Buchan novel. Even without trying to compare it to the Hitchcock film, how well of a film is it? The casting is rather good for the most part. Kenneth More, the quintessential British leading man of the 1950s, takes on the role of Richard Hannay. This Hannay is a very different character from the Hitchcock film in that he's know a British diplomat and quite a bit older. In that case More is perfect casting. More plays the role perfectly as he balances both the thriller and the humor aspects of the character which suits the film well. More's performance is the heart and soul of the film and the film works in large part because of him.The rest of the cast does well. They range from Faith Brook as the woman who sets things in motion, Barry Jones as the mysterious Professor Logan, Brenda De Banzie as Nellie Lumsden and the various actors playing the various Scottish eccentrics that Hannay bumps into on his journey through Scotland. That said the cast isn't perfect.If there's a big miscasting in the film it is Taina Elg as the film's leading lady Fisher. Elg's performance is rather dull to say the least as she shares no chemistry with More whatsoever. Elg also lacks believability thanks to her very shaky accent that puts her far outside the British isles. As a result, Elg is a less then successful replacement for Madeleine Carroll from the Hitchcock film.The production values of the film are good as well. By the time of this version, film-making had changed to allow filming outside the walls of a studio set which means this film doesn't have the staged feeling apparent in the Hitchcock version. There are some beautiful shots of the Scottish countryside throughout the film. The production design of the film is splendid as well though one wonders if Hannay, having just returned from a long time posting overseas, would have a flat as furnished as the one seen in the film. There's also some special effects as well including better then average back projection that makes the train/bridge sequence all the more effective. Sadly the film's score by composer Clifton Parker undermines the film more then helps by over-emphasizing the humor of the film. Overall though the production values serve the film well.Which in a way brings us to the Frank Harvey script and the direction of Ralph Thomas. The film is less an adaptation of the original novel so much as an updated remake of the 1935 Hitchcock film. If you've seen the Hitchcock film you'll recognize much of the dialogue and incidents that occur through the film. This version in many respects is simply an updating of the story to the Cold War era while staying largely faithful to the film made nearly 25 years before. Where it differs from the original heavily is the emphasis of Thomas on inserting humor into the film. Sometimes the humor works (such as the start of the film in Regent's Park) but for the most part it undermines the tension (such as during the speech that Hannay has to give due to a case for mistaken identity which, despite More's best efforts, fails). As a result the film is a mixed bag as it tries to juggle tension and humor and often not succeeding.How does this second version of The 39 Steps hold up? It depends how you look at it. If you've seen the original Hitchcock film then there will likely be some disappointments due to a bit of miscasting and an over emphasis on humor. Overall though, the film has its own merits including Kenneth More's fine performance as Hannay and some good production values. The 1959 version of The 39 Steps then is a good film in its own right but not as good as the Hitchcock film that proceeded it.
ed_two_o_nine
I recorded this expecting the Hitchcock version, but ended up with this the 1950's version instead. So now I have seen three versions of this film and although not terrible unfortunately this is the worst of the three, though that is not to say this is a bad film. Kenneth Moore plays Richard Hannay here, the man framed for murder that leads to a desperate man hunt all tied in with the mysterious 'boomerang'. This version goes for a lighter more comedic touch but that does not stop the movie being fun, with some quaint set pieces and some proper British stiff upper lip bravado from Kenneth Moore. Enjoyable and worth another go.
ianlouisiana
"The 39 steps" is quite an enjoyable Kenneth More movie.Like a good boy scout Mr More is unflappable,resourceful,straightforward,clean in word and deed and whistles cheerfully under all difficulties.He carries a comb with him and manages to look manly wearing pale - blue shorts.He is a nice middle - class 1950s English hero,soon to be drowned under an ocean of vicious foul - mouthed murderous thugs who will beat the film audiences into submission to such an extent that well - spoken chaps with service flats in town and spare time on their hands to save the old country from Johnny Foreigner will shortly disappear from our screens for ever - or at least until Don Sharp's brilliant 1970's remake. There is very little actually "wrong" with this movie.It's main weakness is Miss Tania Elg who has no obvious reason for being in the picture.She can't act,she can't react and she can't even wear her clothes convincingly.It seems to me that doing the movie was a chore she just had to get done before she was allowed to go out to play. She seems an irrelevance to Mr More too,which is unfortunate as she was presumably meant to provide the love interest.Miss Brenda de Banzie proves far more interesting in that department. Mr Duncan Lamont and Mr Michael Goodliffe are good as the villains,the chillingly named Kennedy and Brown,possibly coincidentally the names of the murderers of PC Gutteridge in 1928 in Essex who shot his eyes out in fear of the superstition that the retina retained the image of the last image it saw in life. The obvious Hitchcockian "hommages" are present but not offensive and it is a delight to see Mr Reginald Beckwith and Mr James Hayter in the same movie. Watching this,you can see why Mr More was the most bankable male British actor for years.He exhudes charm,honesty,humour and good chappishness and the ladies loved him.Most people back in 1959 did not see this as a remake of a great original,merely as a good comedy - thriller starring one of their favourite actors,perhaps,nearly half a century on,we should be doing the same.
david-697
First things first, Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps' is and always will be a classic of the British cinema and Ralph Thomas's remake (it's unashamedly a remake, rather than an adaptation of the novel) fails to equal it. However, once you get past that fact, on its own terms this is rather an enjoyable little movie.Kenneth More is one of my favourite performers, perhaps not the greatest actor in the world, but one who has a charismatic personality. If he doesn't quite equal Robert Donat's original 'Richard Hannay', he comes close and invests the role with genuine warmth. Taina Elg's foreign heroine however, though very attractive is no Madeleine Carroll and is perhaps the movie's weakest link.The stars are backed up by a splendid cast of familiar British character actors, ranging from Sid James's cameo as a truck driver, to Brenda De Banzie's turn as a friendly, man-hungry roadside café owner.Another plus is the glorious Scottish locations (genuine this time, as opposed to the original's studio mock-ups), filmed in luscious 'Eastmancolor'.All in all, while Ralph Thomas is no Alfred Hitchcock (but then, there's only one Hitch), the remake is ideal entertainment, perfect viewing for a dark winter's night, curled up in your armchair with hot coffee and toast by your side.
