Alfred Hitchcock's Classic Films: Techniques and Stories

The 39 Steps (1935)

Production: Gaumont-British. Producer: Michael Balcon. Screenplay and Adaptation: Charles Bennett and Alma Reville, from the novel by John Buchan. Principal Actors: Madeleine Carroll, Robert Donat, Lucie Mannheim, and Godfrey Tearle.

The 39 Steps was based on John Buchan's novel, written in 1915. Hitchcock freely adapted and changed the premise of the novel so thoroughly that very little of the original plot remained. Buchan, who was also the British Governor General in Canada at the time, was initially upset; but after he saw the final product, he admitted that the film was much better than his novel.

This was the first time that Hitchcock used the now often-repeated theme of sympathy for the man unjustly framed and on the run, all the while attempting to clear his besmirched name and find the real culprit. Hitchcock also used the technique of combining two scenes that are unrelated visually but are linked by sound. The director relied more on action than words — the romantic banter is light and only used when essential. Hitchcock admitted that his aim was to create a talkie like a silent film.

The story revolves around the character of Richard Hannay, who escapes from his London flat when he discovers that a woman to whom he has given refuge has been murdered. The same killers are now after him; he flees to Scotland to the home of Professor Jordan, following a clue he finds near the murdered woman — that the leader of the spy ring has a missing finger on his right hand. He does not realize that the Professor is the leader of the ring of spies responsible for the murder. He escapes with his life across the Scottish Moors along with a woman he meets on the train. Spies masquerading as police handcuff him to the woman. Once again they escape following clues until they encounter a Mr. Memory, whom the spies use to transmit government secrets. Mr. Memory is shot and the spies' plans are foiled. Hannay is cleared and gets the girl — Pamela.

The plot is weak, but the visual suspense that Hitchcock instills during the chase scenes carries the film. Hitchcock employed the technique of quick movement from one scene to another — one might also credit editor Derek Twist for these effects. One such example: Hannay leaps out of the window of a police station with half a handcuff, and immediately walks through a Salvation Army band, darting into an alleyway. The techniques of editing and quick location changes created a palpable sense of urgency in the audience.

The film was enthusiastically received in both America and England. The New York Times reported: "A master of shock and suspense… There is a subtle feeling of menace in Mr. Hitchcock's low-slung, angled use of camera." One of the film's most memorable scenes occurs when the landlady screams with horror upon finding the dead woman in Hannay's flat. This scream is then interspersed with the shriek of the whistle of the train on which Hannay escapes.

The 39 Steps was remade in color in 1960 with Kenneth More replacing Robert Donat and Tania Elg substituting for Madeleine Carroll. Director Ralph Thomas, however, despite the advantage of using color to show the lush landscape of the Scottish Moors, did not match the impact of Hitchcock's black-and-white original.

Saboteur (1942)

Production: Universal. Producers: Frank Lloyd and Jack Skirball. Screenplay: Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker, from an original subject by Alfred Hitchcock. Principal Actors: Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, and Otto Kruger.

Saboteur, produced during the Second World War, was Hitchcock's paean to American patriotism. It carried the recurring theme "Buy War Bonds," but the plot went beyond mere propaganda. The cinematography was distinctive — actors were shot using a telephoto lens from almost a mile to a mile and a half away. The idea was to convey the vastness of America. "It's what strikes the eye that leaves the most impression in the moviegoer's mind," according to Hitchcock. Another distinctive element was the introduction of Dorothy Parker's wry, dry wit into the gravity of the film's subject. The movie was also subtitled "The Man Behind Your Back," intended to evoke the idea of distrust in a time of war. As Otto Kruger's character declares: "The world's choosing sides, and I know what side I am on."

The plot concerns aircraft mechanic Barry Kane, falsely accused of sabotaging the plant at which he works. Kane narrowly escapes a police dragnet and heads to a ranch to find Frank Fry — the saboteur and the only person who can clear his name. He encounters the insidious Otto Kruger, escapes again, and takes refuge with a blind man and his niece Patricia. The niece initially wants to turn him in but later relents, believing in his innocence. Barry and Patricia, on the run, are offered refuge by circus performers and eventually reach a mining-town saloon, where they discover the saboteurs are to meet. Barry pretends to be a saboteur while Patricia goes to the police — only to discover, to her dismay, that the police are in league with the saboteurs. When the police arrest Kane, he tells Patricia to follow Fry. This comes after Kane manages to prevent a new Navy ship from being blown up by spies. The finale takes place at the Statue of Liberty.

There is also a scene featuring an innovative and spectacular shootout at Radio City Music Hall. Not only was this sequence original, it was made all the more special because most of Hitchcock's films premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The Navy was unhappy with the film because footage of a capsized ship was included as part of the set; the Navy concluded that the capsized vessel "Normandie" would be perceived as the work of saboteurs. The Navy forced Hitchcock to edit certain scenes from the film. As a wartime film, Saboteur was a forerunner of the more famous North by Northwest.

While the actors gave competent performances, Hitchcock believed the leads were miscast. Robert Cummings had a comedic quality that made it difficult for him to portray the gravity of the situation. Priscilla Lane — not Hitchcock's first choice — had to be included because of her contract with Universal Studios; though she was a capable actress, Hitchcock felt she projected the girl-next-door quality rather than the sophistication he wanted. Otto Kruger, by contrast, provided precisely the right villainous touch.

The film was not considered Hitchcock's best work by the critics. The exception was Dorothy Parker's dialogue — including a gag involving the bearded lady's beard curlers, and one of the Siamese twins complaining of insomnia and tossing and turning all night. The black-and-white cinematography appropriately distinguishes between the good and the bad. It remains an absorbing movie and a good example of Hollywood escapism.

Production: Universal. Producer: Jack Skirball. Screenplay: Thornton Wilder, Alma Reville, and Sally Benson, from a story by Gordon McDonnell. Principal Actors: Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, MacDonald Carey, and Patricia Collinge.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Though Shadow of a Doubt did not receive the publicity of other Hitchcock films, it remains a gem — a taut thriller that was well scripted and well characterized. The audience in this film already knows who the real killer is, yet is drawn to root for him — the anti-hero. The plot achieves profundity through simplicity. Charles Oakley comes to Santa Rosa, California, to visit his sister's family in order to elude two detectives on his trail. The family — Oakley's sister, her husband, and their daughter "Charlie" — welcomes him warmly. However, through a series of events, young Charlie comes to realize that her uncle may be the serial killer who has earned the nickname "The Merry Widow Killer."

At one point in the film, a dismembered body is discovered that people assume belongs to the real killer. Oakley is relieved and relaxed — but he soon realizes that his niece Charlie still suspects him. He attempts to kill her three times, and each time she survives. In the finale, he attempts to throw her onto the rail tracks in the path of a train; instead, fate intervenes and the killer is killed himself.

Shadow of a Doubt employs realistic settings, and unlike the cut-and-dried thrillers in which, according to Hitchcock, the characters are like cardboard cutouts, this film probes and analyzes its characters, bringing subtle nuances home to the audience. Viewers could relate to the scenes and the people in them. The typical action-driven fare audiences had come to expect from Hitchcock only occurs at the film's end. Several non-professionals were used in the film, including a grocer's daughter from Santa Rosa — the town that serves as the story's setting — in a prominent role.

This film is not about finding the bad guy; the audience already knows who he is, and yet they root for him. Hitchcock manipulates the audience into sympathizing with a man he has already shown to be reprehensible. Clues are provided in advance: the audience knows that Uncle Charlie robs and kills rich widows because the tune "Merry Widow Waltz" and couples dancing to it are hauntingly ubiquitous throughout the film. In one of the final sequences, when young Charlie is trapped in the garage — one of Oakley's attempts on her life — the audience knows more than the rest of the family, who remain blissfully unaware of Charlie's predicament.

There is a close relationship between Shadow of a Doubt and Orson Welles's masterpiece Citizen Kane. Both make deliberate use of overlapping dialogue, in which actors do not wait to hear out another's line before beginning their own — a technique Welles used to great effect. In 1959, Shadow of a Doubt was remade under the title Step Down to Terror. Unfortunately, it represented a significant loss in quality compared to the original.

Production: RKO Studios. Producer: Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay: Ben Hecht, from a theme by Alfred Hitchcock. Principal Actors: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Claude Rains.