The 39 Steps (2008 film)
| The 39 Steps | |
|---|---|
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The 39 Steps title card.
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| Genre | Conspiracy thriller |
| Written by |
Lizzie Mickery (screenplay) John Buchan (novel) |
| Directed by | James Hawes |
| Starring |
Rupert Penry-Jones Lydia Leonard David Haig Eddie Marsan Patrick Malahide |
| Composer(s) | Rob Lane |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Lynn Horsford |
| Cinematography | James Aspinall |
| Running time | 86 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One, BBC HD |
| Original release | 28 December 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The 39 Steps is a 2008 British television adventure thriller feature-length adaptation of the John Buchan novel The Thirty-Nine Steps produced by the BBC. It was written by Lizzie Mickery, directed by James Hawes, and filmed on location in Scotland, starring Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig, Eddie Marsan, and Patrick Malahide. Following three screen versions of the novel and a 1977 television adaptation of The Three Hostages, Penry-Jones became the fifth actor to portray Hannay on screen. This adaptation is set on the eve of the First World War and sees mining engineer Richard Hannay caught up in an espionage conspiracy following the death of a British spy in his flat.
The single drama was first shown on BBC One and BBC HD on 28 December 2008 as part of BBC One's Christmas 2008 line-up, and it was the most watched programme of the day. Compared to Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film, it received mostly negative reviews from the press. The production was criticised for its historical inaccuracies, particularly its use of anachronistic props.
The story starts on 28 June 1914; Richard Hannay (Rupert Penry-Jones), a mining engineer and an intelligence officer during the Second Boer War, is in London following his recent return from Africa, finding England "cliquey", "class-bound" and "deathly, deathly dull". Evading German spies (Werner Daehn and Peter Stark), Scudder (Eddie Marsan) pushes himself into Hannay's flat and reveals himself to be a betrayed freelance British Secret Service Bureau agent, who has been on the trail of a German espionage ring with headquarters in Scotland. He has heard rumours of a plot to assassinate a high-ranking European royal, which could lead to war. Believing he will soon be killed, he hands Hannay a notebook to pass to Captain Kell of the Secret Service Bureau. While Hannay answers the door, Scudder is shot by one of the German spies seeking his notebook who has entered the flat via a back door. The police arrive, and Hannay is arrested for murder before escaping.
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Wikipedia