The 39 Steps (NR, 1935)

Alfred Hitchcock's crime thriller THE 39 STEPS centers on Richard (Robert Donat), a Canadian on holiday in England. Richard gets mixed up with a woman who tells him she's a spy and her life is in danger. When the woman is killed, Richard becomes the main suspect and must use the map he took from her hand before she died in order to clear his name. Based on the map, he heads to Scotland by train and meets Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), who says she'll help him but isn't exactly telling the truth.

If you and your older kids are fans of Rear Window and North by Northwest but you haven't seen any of Alfred Hitchcock's earlier British films, you're in for a treat. It's not a gadgety spy thriller like a James Bond flick, but The 39 Steps has its share of twists and turns, without any of that worrisome blood and screaming. There's more substance here than all of the Bond films smashed together.

Hitchcock excelled at taking an ordinary Joe and dumping him into some extraordinarily perilous situation. You can't help sympathizing with a guy who aids a woman in distress, then becomes the prime murder suspect when she winds up dead in his lap. There's no time for romance when Robert Donat's character takes Madeleine Carroll along for the ride to prove his innocence, and no need for it. The drama and sly humor are more than enough to carry the movie along. Teens hankering for a good suspense movie will enjoy the plot's intricacy, while younger children are likely to find it a bit cerebral and slow-moving at times.

Studio: Gaumont British Picture Corporation
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Godfrey Tearle, Madeleine Carroll, Robert Donat
Genre: Classic
Run time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release: August 1, 1935
DVD release: June 18, 1997
MPAA Rating: NR