Hitchcock's Spy Thrillers: Psychology and Duality

Introduction: Hitchcock, Psychology, and the Spy-Thriller

Alfred Hitchcock's fascination with psychology and the manipulation of the human mind greatly influenced his early spy-thriller masterpieces. During his British sound film period, Hitchcock explored the effect that being unwillingly pulled into a psychologically complex environment has on an individual and the consequences he or she must face. These concepts can be found in The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938), both spy-thrillers that highlight the dangers of espionage and serve as warnings of the impending social and political threat posed by spies. Hitchcock's infusion of psychoanalytic concepts — and the influence thereof — emerges through each film's narrative, characters, and cinematic structure and style.

Plot and Psychological Uncertainty in Both Films

Thriller films aim to "promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension" (Dirks). The 39 Steps tells the tale of an innocent man, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who embarks on a quest to uncover the identity behind "the 39 steps" after Annabelle Smith (Lucie Mannheim), an admitted spy, is stabbed and killed in his apartment. Introduced to an alternate reality in which spies are prevalent throughout society, Hannay must learn to determine whom he can and cannot trust while attempting to prevent the transmission of government secrets to enemy forces.

The Lady Vanishes deals with similar issues of espionage but also introduces personal psychological uncertainty, heightened by the confined space of a moving train on which most of the action takes place. In the film, Iris befriends Miss Froy, an elderly woman who mysteriously disappears from the train. As Iris attempts to discover what happened to Miss Froy, a conspiracy unfolds that aims to convince Iris that Miss Froy was a figment of her imagination — every passenger Iris interrogates denies having seen Miss Froy and insists that Iris has been alone throughout the journey. While The Lady Vanishes, like The 39 Steps, introduces espionage into its narrative, it is used primarily as a plot device — Hitchcock's MacGuffin — to explain the passengers' motivation to cover up Miss Froy's disappearance. It is eventually revealed that the seemingly innocent elderly woman was in fact a British spy. The anxiety and uncertainty in both films are heightened by Hannay's and Iris's inability to determine whom they can trust, or even whether they can trust themselves.

Duality in The 39 Steps

Hitchcock further examines psychoanalytical constructs through the development of psychologically complex characters. A central psychoanalytical concept employed in both The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes is duality. In The 39 Steps, the construct of duality first appears through Annabelle Smith, whom Hannay befriends after fleeing a performance by Mr. Memory — a man with eidetic memory — at a London music hall following the firing of shots. It is only after Hannay takes Smith back to his apartment that she reveals she is a spy. By definition, a spy inhabits a world of dualities: one persona projects a non-threatening public image, while a second persona is deliberately concealed out of necessity. By revealing her true identity to Hannay, Smith also discloses an alternate society — one operating alongside the world Hannay knows — of which he had previously been unaware.

It is also during this encounter that Smith informs Hannay of her discovery of a plot to steal valuable British military secrets, masterminded by an unknown man identifiable only by a missing joint on one of his fingers. After Smith is killed in Hannay's apartment, he is forced to adopt a dual persona — not willingly, but because the media creates one for him. This misinterpretation of his identity compels him to flee the police on several occasions, including jumping from a moving train after he fails to convince fellow passenger Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) that he means her no harm.

As the narrative develops and Hannay continues to evade police in Scotland — the destination Smith had been heading toward before her death — he stumbles upon the home of Professor Jordan (Godfrey Tearle). Unbeknownst to Hannay, Professor Jordan is the very man Smith warned him about. As a spy mastermind, Professor Jordan has constructed a dual persona to conceal his criminal activities. On the surface, his public persona is that of a respectable community member and devoted family man. He moves in social circles that trust him implicitly and will dismiss any credible claims made against him. Because of this, his spy persona remains well hidden — even from his own family — to the extent that he is willing to take drastic measures, including murder, to protect his dual identities.

The third dual persona belongs to Mr. Memory, who serves as a mode of transmission for Professor Jordan. Psychologically, Mr. Memory possesses the ability to retain any information he encounters — an eidetic memory. His dual persona is shaped by the contrast between public perception and his secret role: his public persona is adored by fans impressed by his extraordinary recall, while his spy persona is exploited by figures like Professor Jordan, who recognize his talents and use them for personal gain.

Works Cited

The 39 Steps. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. United Kingdom: Gaumont British, 1935. DVD.

Dirks, Tim. "Thriller-Suspense Films." AMC Filmsite. Web. 24 September 2012.

"Hitchcock and Psychoanalysis, 1." Web. 24 September 2012.

The Lady Vanishes. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. United Kingdom: United Artists, 1938. DVD.