Along with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped and Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male, John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps is among the greatest British thrillers ever written. Yet even though it pokes fun at Buchan’s yarn, Hitchcock’s adaptation is an improvement on the original — thanks to the introduction of Madeleine Carroll’s strong-willed character. Pamela is handcuffed to innocent-man-on-the-run Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who drags her into the Scottish fog while escaping from his captors. En route to a rustic inn, the two perform a screwball routine, complete with slapstick action and fast-paced repartee, which reaches its apogee when Hannay holds Pamela’s sandwich while she removes her stockings. The blocking in this farcical romantic scene is not only thrilling, but — thanks to the sandwiches — very British indeed.

An occasional series analyzing some of the author’s favorite moments in the positioning or movement of actors in a movie.

SIMILAR HiLobrow series include: ANGUSONICS — the solos of Angus Young | FILE X — a gallery | FITTING SHOES — famous literary footwear | MOULDIANA — the solos of Bob Mould | SKRULLICISM