The 39 Steps

This movie played this morning on TCM. It was an Alfred Hitchcock film I have never seen before. Though I was looking for Mr. Hitchcock for his notorious personal appearance at the outset of the movie, I missed him.
First of all, I am inexplicably attracted to these early British films. Recently, I've seen " I Know Where I'm Going"...."Brief Encounter"....."The Man Who Knew Too Much"....."Pride & Prejudice".
I love the accents , even though I have a devil of a time deciphering what is being said. See? I just used a British expression!

So this was an early one of Hitchcock's suspense films. I wouldn't call it a "thriller". The plot was a little far-fetched: A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent, and is soon finding himself in one jam after another. Well, it was nearly a little comical - the jams Robert Donat as " Hannay" finds himself in. In fact, this was as close to a 'farce' as I have seen a Hitchcock movie be. I did enjoy watching Robert Donat, the British actor, and some of the witty dialogue at times ( "Are you married? Yes, but don't rub it in). It's just that I was never clutching my seat . This film isn't even nearly as suspenseful as " Strangers On A Train" - a Hitchcock masterpiece. But I do enjoy watching even a mediocre British movie, for some reason.

Often, when I watch a Hitchcock movie, I am reminded of how Hitchcock had ( in my opinion) a slightly bizarre imagination. Maybe "bizarre" is too strong a word. Many of his works have depicted a darker side to the human mind. Sometimes, it's a primal fear; sometimes it's a view of our baser instinct. In the scene where Hannay takes refuge in a Scottish country farm, eerily the farmer's suspicions are clandestinely aroused. He turns to an almost evil antagonist with the small screen time allotted him.
I knew when he saw the woman on the train, she was much too pretty to be given just a bit part. Sure enough, she shows up as the climax to the film is unveiled.
One last thing, I loved the photography of the Scottish hills and countryside. I can attest to the mob of sheep that they ran into. I saw plenty of hillside sheep during a recent train ride in Scotland.