RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The 39 Steps (1935)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
97 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:30

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.8/10

Consensus: Packed with twists and turns, this essential early Alfred Hitchcock feature hints at the dazzling heights he'd reach later in his career.

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is a Canadian rancher on vacation in London who sees a vaudeville act at the Palladium in which Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson) draws on his photographic memory to answer... Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is a Canadian rancher on vacation in London who sees a vaudeville act at the Palladium in which Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson) draws on his photographic memory to answer questions posed by the audience. When a shot rings out in the theater a frightened young woman approaches Hannay and asks for his help. The woman claims that foreign spies who plan to smuggle valuable military secrets out of the country are after her, and when she herself is later killed, Hannay finds himself both framed as the man responsible for her death as well as the next potential victim of the spy ring. Traversing through rural Scotland, on the run from both the police and the spies, Hannay finds himself attached to a cool but reluctant blonde, and together they have to figure out the meaning of the woman's last words and bring down the spy ring before the precious military secrets are smuggled abroad. THE THIRTY NINE STEPS is the film that established Hitchcock as the master of the mystery spy-thriller. [More]

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Peggy Ashcroft

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Peggy Ashcroft, Godfrey Tearle, John Laurie, Wylie Watson, Helen Haye, Frank Cellier

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Composer: Hubert Bath
Producer: Ivor Montagu

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The 39 Steps

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

All the fun of North By Northwest in a little over half the time, The 39 Steps is – even for the umpteenth viewing – absolutely unmissable.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/11/08
Total Film

For those who love a grand spy mystery, a wild chase, and a harrowing portrait of an innocent man struggling to prove his innocence while the world turns inexplicably against him, The 39 Steps is ideal.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
TV Guide's Movie Guide

If you can imagine Anatole France writing a detective story you will have some notion of the artistry that Hitchcock brings to this screen version of John Buchan's novel.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andre Sennwald
Andre Sennwald
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/13/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
New Times

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/14/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

With its great turns by Donat, Carroll (the original Hitchcock blonde) and all the cast, and immaculate direction of a cracking script, this is timelessly enjoyable. A true classic.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/11/08
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film

As an artist, Alfred Hitchcock surpassed this early achievement many times in his career, but for sheer entertainment value it still stands in the forefront of his work.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/09/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

This film couldn't be more entertaining, even if it had 40 steps.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/23/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/18/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Great fun.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
10/03/04
Greg Maki
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Hitchcock at his very best.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/11/08
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In Hitchcock's hands, however, this well-known espionage adventure provided the basis for a new sort of thriller and a new sort of comedy.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/04/08
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
02/17/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

At 35, with more than a dozen features already under his belt, the director triumphed with this dazzling mixture of spycraft, banter, expository nonsense and manic chases along the Scottish Highlands.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
09/04/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

A brilliant piece of pure -- and purely enjoyable -- filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/14/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Laced with comic romantic touches.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
09/09/02
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

68% 68% Sherlock Holmes 26/12
40% 40% The Lovely Bones 26/12
100% 100% The French Kissers 26/12
85% 85% Bright Star 26/12
87% 87% Nowhere Boy 26/12
18% 18% Alvin and the Chipmunk… 26/12
10% 10% Did You Hear About the… 26/12
05% 05% Old Dogs 26/12

What’s Hot On RT

New Alice Trailer

New Alice Trailer

Tim Burton returns to the rabbit hole

20 Must-See Films

20 Must-See Films

Your essential Summer Movie Guide

James Cameron

James Cameron

We look at the Avatar director's career

Golden Globes!

Golden Globes!

See who got nominated for the awards

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
11
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
28
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • Prince of Persia Featurette Posted Source: Yahoo! Movies
4
  • Trailer Bulletin: Robin Hood Source: ComingSoon.net
61
  • Mel Gibson Plans a Mexican Vacation Source: Variety
8
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: Avatar Is Certified Fresh
263
  • Awards Tour 2009: Golden Globe Noms Here!
145
  • Total Recall: James Cameron Movies
88
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
70
  • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
44
  • Awards Tour 2009: SAG Nominations Are In!
41
  • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
38
  • Weekly Ketchup: Bryan Singer Teaches X-Men: First Class
34
  • Awards Tour 2009: The Hurt Locker Dominates Boston Society of Film Critics
18
  • Awards Tour 2009: LAFCA: The Hurt Locker Tops List
12
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The 39 Steps at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
40 Best Films of the 2000s External Link

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!

Worst Hollywood Remakes of the Decade
Worst Hollywood Remakes of the Decade External Link

Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs External Link

We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.