The Thirty-Nine Steps: Difference between revisions

{{tropework}}

[[John Buchan]] was one of the world's first spy novelists, and did a similar job for the genre as [[JRRJ. TolkienR. (Creator)|JRRR. Tolkien]] did for fantasy. '''''The Thirty-Nine Steps''''' is his most famous work, written in the run-up to [[World War OneI]]. It was a huge popular success and owed much to its 1903 predecessor, Erskine Childers' ''The Riddle Of The Sands'', and the adventure stories of [[H. Rider Haggard]]. Buchan began his writing career as a journalist, but enlisted at the start of the First World War, working away from the front lines producing propaganda for the War Office. His experiences of the war, interwoven with a strong sense of national pride, a love of Africa and a belief in the strength of the British character, are themes in many of his novels. Unfortunately in later years he has not enjoyed similar popularity, though according to [[The Other Wiki]] his works have been seeing a resurgence in more recent times.{{when}}

(NB: The book is ''The Thirty-Nine Steps''. Theis 1978the filmfirst isbook ''Thein Thirtythe Nine[[Richard Steps''.Hannay]] Thefranchise; otherit adaptationshas arefour ''The 39 Steps''sequels.)

* [[Captain Crash]]: Almost every car that Richard Hannay gets into ends up either careering off the road or pre-emptivelypreemptively breaking down.

{{quote| They gave me my battalion before the Somme, and I came out of that weary battle after the first big September fighting with a crack in my head and a D.S.O. I had received a C.B. for the Erzerum business, so what with these and my Matabele and South African medals and the Legion of Honour, I had a chest like the High Priest's breastplate.}}

{{quote| He was a man of remarkable qualities, which would have brought him to the highest distinction in the Stone Age.}}

{{quote| I'm not in this show for honour and glory, though. I want to do the best I can, but I wish to Heaven it was over. All I think of is coming out of it with a whole skin.}}

* [[Locking MacGyver in Thethe Store Cupboard]]

{{quote| I had no particular ill-will left against Stumm. He was a man of remarkable qualities, which would have brought him to the highest distinction in the Stone Age.}}

* [[Officer and Aa Gentleman]]

* [[World War OneI]]: ''The Thirty-nine Steps'' takes place in the run-up to the war, and both ''Greenmantle'' and ''Mr Standfast'' are set during the war.

'''===The 1935 [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film'''===

'''===The 1959 film'''===

ColourColor remake of the Hitchcock film, starring Kenneth More, moving the setting to the 1950s and changing the secrets to {{spoiler|plans for a British ballistic missile}}. Nobody really remembers this one. In this version, the 39 steps {{spoiler|are again a ring of foreign spies intent on stealing military secrets}}.

'''===The 1978 film'''===

A more faithful adaptation of the novel, moving the setting back to 1914. This one is best remembered for Robert Powell, playing Hannay, hanging off the minute hand of the clock on [[Clock Tower|St. Stephen's Tower]]<ref>Later renamed "Elizabeth Tower"; this is the older name.</ref> (aka Big Ben). Also has a love interest. The 39 steps are {{spoiler|a flight of stairs in the clock tower of the palace of Westminster, better known as 'Big Ben' (this name actually refers to the bell in the tower rather than the tower itself)}}.

'''===The 2006 play'''===

* [[Shout-Out]]: To [[North Byby Northwest]], The Alfred Hitchcock Show, and pretty much every other [[Alfred Hitchcock]] work.

'''===The 2008 [[Made for TV Movie|TV Movie]]'''===

* [[Homage]]: The scene with the plane is a homage to that other [[Alfred Hitchcock]] classic ''[[North Byby Northwest]]'', even though it's...

'''===The 2011 film'''===

A second remake of the Hitchcock film, directed by Robert Towne. This was announced in 2004 for 2006, but has now slipped back. [[Development Hell|As of 2023, it has not materialized.]]