DVD Collectors Online

The 39 Steps, a review by Jon

The 39 Steps (1935)
5 out of 5



Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) picks up Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) at a music hall, but he finds her behaviour strange. She tells him she is a spy and warns he is now involved. Indeed, she is soon murdered and he is the only suspect and on the run to Scotland, with the one lead she gave him. Along the way he meets Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) and soon she is also caught up in discovering just what The 39 Steps are.

What a difference a year makes! My only real problem with The Man Who Knew Too Much was the quaint attitudes of the thin characters that severely dated the story. Here there is no such problem and it has stood the test of time as well as any film from the period. It’s a rollicking good thriller that has been an inspiration to so many and still is. They could do with watching a bit closer though, because it has so much more invention and ambition. It's as watchable now as any other spy caper.

Take the sequence of the maid discovering the body and her scream being the train whistle. So soon after sound had been introduced to film and already Hitchcock is pushing the technique. In fact the whole train sequence is a joy to watch for the details. As always, plenty of characters like his fellow passengers that add little to the plot, but enrich the film nonetheless. Throughout the film, there are endless grace notes making the plot both thrilling and fun. It’s magnificent.

More of Hitchcock’s regular quirks are appearing, for instance, sexual obsession is rearing its head but balanced by the wonderful chemistry between Donat and Carroll. Once more the action follows a normal guy dragged into extraordinary events, manipulated by a woman; perhaps he should have thought with his head? Later, while he is handcuffed to Carroll (a blonde, of course), the brilliant rollercoaster farce (fence!) gives way to the very famous moment with the stockings. It’s ingenious. Morals of the day would never have allowed such unresolved contact, except, how could he help it, being chained to her? Ooh, bit Freudian that!

It’s a gloriously theatrical film as well, from the dramatic murder, the twist in the sheriff’s office (followed by an enthusiastic dive out the window!) to the finale, literally on a stage. Hitchcock spent a lot of time with German filmmakers and their expressionistic methods have had a huge influence. Add to this that he was the master of audience manipulation, so the irony of the story concluding theatrically on a stage in front of a horrified audience should not be lost.

That you can watch this for nerdy film anorak material and/or as a purely exciting thriller, is testament to Hitchcock’s immense skill.

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on April 14th, 2009)

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Massie Affair, a review by Antares

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Massie Affair (2005) 86/100 - The year 1931 will never go down in the annuls of American history as a hallmark of harmony amongst the races of this country. Instead, it will be remembered as a benchmark for bigotry and injustice. Earlier in the year, the infamous Scottsboro Boys incident took place in Alabama, as nine innocent black men were accused of raping two white women. In a state known for being the one of the most intolerant of equal rights for blacks in the deep south, this was and could be expected. Jim Crow laws had been on the books for decades and most of the population was still fighting the Civil War. The Massie Affair would take place thousands of miles away, in an island paradise, where racial tensions were every bit as high as in the "Old South". In September of that year, Thalia Massie, a transplanted member of an east coast socialite family, was in Hawaii with her husband, who happened to be an officer in the U.S. Navy. They were on the brink of divorce, but were trying to work things out. Thalia, being the socialite spawn that she was, always looked down upon the Navy and felt herself above its members. She and her husband attended a party on the 12th, a party in which Thalia was not happy to be attending. Some time during the night, she left her husband at the party and decided to take a walk. According to her statement to police, she was accosted by a group of men who took her to a deserted section of road and beaten and raped. She could not identify her attackers or tell the police if they had been white or Hawaiian. What transpired after this preliminary investigation would set forth in motion, a series of events that would make Scottsboro look like a minor traffic violation. In the months that followed, there would an acquittal, revenge murder and finally, a once admired lawyer would sully his reputation by defending those who perpetrated the murder of one of the original defendants. This is a story that should never be allowed to be forgotten.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on December 4th, 2014)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Happy Days - Season 1

All The Way
Potsie sets Richie up with a girl known to have a reputation. Richie doesn't get far with her but leads Fonzie and others to believe he did.



Poodle skirts... jukeboxes... cars with soaring tail fins... and rockin' and rollin' all week long.
Those Happy Days are here again! Join one of America's best-loved TV families - the Cunninghams - in the premiere season of this top-rated television series. Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard), "Potsie" Weber (Anson Williams), Ralph Malph (Donny Most) and "The Fonz" (Henry Winkler) head a brilliant comedic cast in this nostalgic, smash-hit TV sitcom. Arnold's Drive-In is their local hangout and meeting place, and lots of hilarious, memorable and classic adventures are the result.

Nostalgic look back to a series every kid used to watch after school. Pilot works as an introduction to the whole cast, with Richies brother in evidence although I had forgotten he was actually ever in it. Also couldn't remember at the time all the annoying canned laughter, it must have just gone past without my noticing in my innocent teenage years!
Joanie is still just a little kid, and part of the gang is Chuck, another cast member I had totally fogotten about. The Fonz is not one of the leads at this stage, and there are less laughs than I remember from later series.
Not sure what happened to the likes of Potsie and Ralph after Happy Days, they don't show up in any more of my collection, and of course success came tumbling in for Ron Howard and in a smaller scale Henry Winkler.
True escapism.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 23rd, 2009)