A wonderfully confident reworking of the original source material (John Buchan’s novel of the same name) THE 39 STEPS throws together suspense and action, along with tropes familiar to Hitchcock fans everywhere, namely the panic and confusion of a central character falsely accused of wrong-doing, and the ensuing drama of solving clues while escaping from sinister, unknown forces – all executed at breakneck speed. Canadian Richard Hannay is visiting London and finds himself offering refuge to a girl, Annabella, who claims to be a spy. When she is murdered at his flat Hannay finds that not only is he in the frame for te murder, but that the real killers now have him in their sights. With no-one to turn to, Hannay must unravel the mystery of ‘the 39 steps’ – a phrase uttered but never explained by Annabella – before he becomes the next victim.

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