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The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) on Netflix

PG19781h 42mCrimeHistoryMystery

London, 1914. Mining engineer Richard Hannay learns from Colonel Scudder that Prussian sleeper agents plan to start a world war. Scudder is killed, Hannay is blamed, and he flees to Scotland.

  • Netflix3.3/5
  • IMDb6.6/103,218 votes
  • Rotten TomatoesNot available

Trailer

Plot summary

In 1914 London, German spies are everywhere and British politicians have been assassinated. Colonel Scudder, a retired intelligence officer, fears for his life and for his black notebook and comes to Richard Hannay, a mining engineer in Britain briefly before returning to South Africa, who lives in the same building. Scudder describes a Prussian plan: sleeper agents mean to kill a visiting foreign minister and so set off a world war. Hannay shelters him, though he distrusts him at first. Next morning Hannay goes out to buy a train ticket north to Strathallan, his family's village, leaving Scudder at his notes. Agents try to enter the flat; Scudder escapes, posts his notebook in a pillar box and reaches St Pancras station, where he is murdered and passes Hannay a message he does not understand.

Cast

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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

  • A replica of the Big Ben clock face was built at Pinewood Studios, and Robert Powell recalls that he was still hanging at a significant height above the studio floor. The idea of Hannay dangling from the clock hands came in part from a Harold Lloyd stunt in the silent comedy Safety Last (1923).
  • SPOILERThe ending originally had Karen Dotrice's character telling Richard Hannay she would not marry him. Rank's head of Leisure, Ed Chilton, felt this was inconsistent with the rest of the film, so a shot was added to give the indication of a happy ending.
  • Robert Powell was cast as Richard Hannay in part because of his success in the mini series Jesus of Nazareth.
  • The privately owned Severn Valley Railway loaned the production a steam engine, rolling stock and a section of track for shooting.

Stills

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