The 39 Steps_Part 1

There are five adaptations of the origional John Buchan's novel.
This one (TV movie, 1978) stands out for being the most close to the original text. Not that it is faithful (none is), but it encapsulates more than the others the epoch.
And we're talking about Edwardian Britain, pre Great War, the invasion scare, all the idiosyncrasies of a particular period.
In that sense this film, maybe by chance rather than by design, gives us the impression of traveling in time and with that manages to provoque an atmosphere of verisimilitude not found in the others.
Robert Powell performs his character (Richard Hannay) without brilliancy, but with the right balance between overacting and inexpressiveness; quite good.
The scenes at the Scotish countryside don't fall in the usual "beautiful landscape" category but are indeed part of the dramatic narrative.
The pace of action is the right one, thriller action but without the frenziness of modern productions.
Overall, an underrated piece, worth a first look; in fact a second or third one.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• the 39 steps
• movie
• espionage
• thriller
• robert powell
• 1978

[riokidagain]

I like this version a lot as well, The first Hitchcock version is more suspenseful. But this one also benefits from some worthy actors--John Mills and even Eric Porter (I know of him from the Forsythe saga). I also think the pre first War era has more atmosphere, and of course is set in the same time frame as the original book.

No-one seems to have totally been true to the book (though this is probably the closest) , and it is very interesting to view all five adaptations.

[mkrbrtsn1]

I love this version. Great period feel.

[edvid1000]

of all the adaptations this is my favorite