Customer Reviews

The 39 Steps (1959 Remake)

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This 1959 remake of The 39 Steps does not really deserve the scorn poured on it by critics. Of course it's not Hitchcock, but Kenneth More makes a surprisingly charming hero, and the movie has the advantage of tons of gorgeous Scottish scenery.

Where it doesn't work is where it borrows directly from the 1935 film, but otherwise this is a fairly entertaining romp. Look out for several pleasing cameos from familiar British character actors, including Brenda de Banzie, Sid James, Joan Hickson and James Hayter, among others.

It's quite possible to enjoy this 39 Steps, but it helps to see it fresh, without any recent memory of the 1935 Hitchcock version. That one is a classic of suspense, charm, testy romance, and surprises, abetted by two fine performances from Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. This 1959 Kenneth More vehicle maintains more-or-less the same plot line and contains some very good piece parts. While it doesn't add up to being in the same league with its elder sibling, it's good enough for a pleasant hour-and-a-half entertainment.

When a nanny Richard Hannay (More) had met accidently earlier in the day is murdered in his rooms after telling him there is an international plot involving ballistic missiles, he realizes he will be blamed by the police. So, after looking through the dead woman's purse and discovering a map where Glenkirk in Scotland is circled, off he goes to see if he can discover the man behind the plot...a man with part of a finger missing. What Hannay encounters along the way is a suspicious school teacher, Miss Fisher (Taina Elg), who turns him in on the train going to Scotland; a fortune teller; an all too knowledgeable professor; two killers; a clever escape while handcuffed to Fisher and, finally, the secret only Mr. Memory, a music hall performer, can unlock.

The movie has several good elements, especially the charm and confidence of Kenneth More as Hannay; some wonderful Scottish scenery (the movie is in color); great train rides and one exciting train escape; a ripely eccentric performance by Brenda de Banzie as a fortune-telling realist who helps Hannay; a menacingly friendly appearance by Barry Jones; a funny performance by Joan Hickson as a twittering school teacher that reminded me of a middle-aged Miss Marple on amphetamines; and an all too brief performance by Faith Brook as the nanny. For nostalgia buffs, the movie opens with the great J. Arthur Rank gong doing its reverberating thing.

Sadly, there is little chemistry between More and Elg. She most often only looks irritated. The spirit of the movie aims for light-hearted charm mixed with thrills, something More was very good at. To make the movie work, however, director Ralph Thomas and his editor needed to bring more energy to many of the thrills. Often the music score is used to set the tone, which is not always matched by the pace of the movie. To give Thomas credit, he was capable of delivering some menacing thrills as well as some fine, broad comedy. If you can track them down, The Clouded Yellow (1951), for romantic thrills and menace, and Doctor in the House (1954) and Doctor at Sea (1955), for comedy, are well worth viewing.

If you like Kenneth More and don't mind a relatively undemanding but pleasant adventure, you might enjoy this movie. I did. If you are one of those movie goers who fixate on how awful remakes of classics are, and indignantly make comparisons, this one will probably give you conniptions. The Region 2 DVD looks a little soft but otherwise is just fine.

What makes this the best of the 39 steps? Taina Elg, of course, both naieve and feminine and at the same time, a match for Kenneth More who, while expressionless at times, nevertheless plays a man of the world who refers to Taina Elg (Miss Fisher), his captive audience via handcuffs, as "Fisher". And when those stockings are removed in the guest house, it is sexual tension without crudeness at it's best. The picture also captures accurately the country side of England & Scotland as well as steam transport of the time, an innocent society in a world gone by. Made in 1959 and 48 years young. The see-sawing nature of their relationship works powerfully, dislike to respect,neutrality to love, and sets it apart from other productions of The 39 Steps. There is only one 39 Steps for me...... ah yes, Kenneth More and Taina Elg, a couple if ever there was one. Maybe Kenneth More can act after all.