The 39 Steps

Gaumont British Distributors | Release Date: August 1, 1935

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

93	METASCORE Universal acclaim based on 15 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

100

Andre Sennwald

By comparison with the sinister delicacy and urbane understatement of The Thirty-nine Steps, the best of our melodramas seem crude and brawling. Read full review

100

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

One of Hitchcock's best British films, and a prototype for so much of what would follow in his American career. For those who love a grand spy mystery, a wild chase, and a harrowing portrait of an innocent man struggling to prove his innocence while the world turns inexplicably against him, The 39 Steps is ideal. Read full review

100

Thomas Dawson

A significant precursor to the same film-maker's North by Northwest, it remains a supremely entertaining and accomplished work in its own right. Read full review

100

Chuck Bowen

Like Rear Window later on, this charming, masterfully made British spy adventure from 1935 is a sigh of doubt, perhaps even a cry of anguish, disguised as a slick pop bauble. Read full review

100

Scott Tobias

Hitchcock would make richer films in Hollywood, but The 39 Steps came off the line as the Model T of cinematic plot machines. Read full review

100

Robert K. Elder

A definitive spy thriller and one of the masterpieces of Hitchcock's British years, The 39 Steps is one of those paradigm classics that influence filmmaking for decades afterward. [21 Sep 2007, p.C10]

100

Pauline Kael

This suave, amusing spy melodrama is directed with so sure a touch that the suspense is charged with wit; it's one of the three or four best things Hitchcock ever did.

J. Hoberman

The movie with which Hitchcock became Hitchcock. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Yes, they can make pictures in England. This one proves it. International spy stories are most always good, and this is one of the best. [19 Jun 1935, p.21]

The TelegraphRobbie Collin

Alfred Hitchcock is at the height of his skin-prickling powers in this brisk spy story, seasoned with oodles of humour and a dash of kink. [14 Jun 2013]

Brian Lowry

The writing and twists elevated this to a spot among the master of suspense's best. [15 Aug 2019]

Dave Kehr

As an artist, Alfred Hitchcock surpassed this early achievement many times in his career, but for sheer entertainment value it still stands in the forefront of his work. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

The Thirty-Nine Steps neatly converts its essential implausibility into an asset by stressing the difficulties which confront its hero when he tries to tell outsiders about the predicament he is in. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Other English Hitchcocks may be more provocative, but few offer such a ripping good yarn. Read full review

The GuardianPeter Bradshaw

It is witty, daring and exuberant; like his hero, Hitchcock shows himself to be energetic and resourceful in dealing with changes in locale. [11 Apr 2008, p.10]