The 39 Steps, Hitchcock

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 …

…who did not love him, she a husband she did not love, and a new life that took her away from all that she knew. Hitchcock used an outstanding shot to show the three characters imprisoned in free lives, through the use of the back of the chair as a symbolic cage. The Thirty-Nine Steps is an outstanding ride of suspense with few letdowns, foreshadowing an outstanding and unique career for the master, Alfred Hitchcock.