39 Steps Essay

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The 39 Steps, Hitchcock Essay, Research Paper The 39 Steps, Hitchcock Essay, Research Paper Throughout the film The Thirty-Nine Steps, there are many symbols and parallels between outside forces in the world. There were also many firsts for Hitchcock as a filmmaker which paved the way for his illustrious career. Among these symbols and themes are spies, marriage and religion. We see spies throughout the movie, very possibly symbolizing the growing power of Nazi Germany. We see the illness of an arranged marriage, and also a pretend marriage between the male and female stars. A man torn between religion and greed furthers Hitchcock s symbolism. The Thirty-Nine Steps seems to have been heralded as Hitchcock s first real masterpiece, bringing acclaim to Hitchcock for the first time from audiences in the United States. Robert Donat, our protagonist, appears as a man who cannot fully understand his position, yet is caught on the run for his life after being framed for murder with no eyewitness. He runs from citizens, police, and a group of spies, not knowing whom he can trust in any situation. Madeleine Carroll stars his opposite, who would prove to be the first in a long succession of classic, cool and icy, intelligent blonde maidens (Dirks, 1). Yet, this cool blonde is not introduced at the beginning of the film; we first meet the starkly contrasting Anabella Smith. Rather than the straightforward blonde, she is the dark and mysterious brunette. She tells Hannay in his dark and dreary apartment that she fired the shots in the theater to divert attention so she could make a getaway. Hannay coyly quips, beautiful and mysterious woman pursued by gunmen. Sounds like a spy story. Little did he know that this foreshadowed the next 4 days of his life. Hannay thinks her crazy when she tells him of the 39 Steps, a spy organization, but believes her when he sees the

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