The 39 Steps (1959)

The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg.

• Director:Ralph Thomas
• Genre:Thriller | Drama
• Runtime:93 minutes

Cast

Kenneth More : Richard Hannay
Taina Elg : Fisher
Brenda De Banzie : Nellie Lumsden
Barry Jones : Professor Logan
Reginald Beckwith : Lumsden

Coming to the assistance of a nanny who is almost killed during a bungled hit-and-run assassination attempt, Richard Hannay (More) is surprised to find that there is no baby in her pram. Curious, he meets her at the Palace music hall where she has gone to see the act of Mr Memory (James Hayter). Afterwards, she goes back to Hannay’s flat with him, where she reveals that she is a spy working for British Intelligence following a group called “The Thirty-Nine Steps”; all they know about their elusive leader is that he is missing the tip of a finger. The Thirty-Nine Steps are in possession of a set of top-secret plans for “Boomerang”, a British ballistic missile project that could tip the balance of power in Europe. She tells Hannay that she must leave for Scotland immediately, but while Hannay is out of the room, she is killed by two hitmen.

Fearing he will be accused of her murder, Hannay decides to continue her mission and catches a train to Scotland from King’s Cross railway station, evading the hitmen outside his flat by adopting a cunning milkman disguise.

During the journey, he has a chance encounter with Miss Fisher (Taina Elg), a netball coach at a boarding school for girls. He is forced to pretend they are lovers to avoid the police detectives who boarded at Edinburgh. However, Miss Fisher gives him away and Hannay jumps from the stationary train on the Forth Rail Bridge. Read more

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