Hey Alfred! Read the book next time!

I'll confess my terrible sin. While I expect to be derided and perhaps poked with sharp sticks, my only defense shall be, "I was young, yea, and foolish."

For verily, I read the book The 39 Steps, by John Buchan, after I saw the film "The 39 Steps," by Alfred Hitchcock.

Stop laughing. I know it was foolish. I'll try never to make the same mistake again.

The good thing about reading Buchan's novel after seeing the film was that the novel's twists weren't spoiled. The bad thing was the realization that no one on the film crew had evidently ever read the novel. In both, Richard Hannay is innocent of murder and flees to Scotland.

And that's where the similarities end.

In the novel, Richard Hannay is a recent emigre to England from South Africa. He is a former mining engineer, hunter, and adventurer who has come to England after making his fortune. He finds himself bored silly by London's pleasures and is seriously considering returning to Africa when his upstairs neighbor accosts him outside his flat and begins to tell a strange tale about an assassination plot, Jewish conspiracy, and a mystery surrounding the Prime Minister of Greece--all of which are intended to bring about World War I. The neighbor stays in Hannay's flat for a few days, then is murdered, and Hannay fears that he will be the most likely suspect.

Up to this point, the film is relatively true to the novel. In the film, Hannay (Robert Donat) is at a theater where a vaudeville-type act is playing. Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson) has an amazing memory and can recite things like Derby winners and distances between Canadian cities. During the show, a fight breaks out, shots are fired, and Hannay finds himself in the company of a beautiful, mysterious woman who calls herself Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) and who tells tales of spies and state secrets. Within a few hours, she is murdered, and Hannay fears that he will be the most likely suspect.

Fairly close, but there are some problems. The biggest is simply that Annabella Smith didn't have enough time to convey enough information to Hannay for him to take the steps he does later in the film. The novel at least gives a few days for him to hear the conspiracy tales (even if some will turn out not to be true), but the film requires a few leaps in logic that I found a bit baffling.

That said, the film's Hannay is a much more charming character, as played by Donat. He's quick and glib and takes the whole thing quite seriously. Buchan's Hannay is more world-weary, and seems to act more out of a sense of adventure than a desire to do the right thing.

But the biggest change to the plot (excepting the ending, which I won't discuss as it would spoil two stories at the same time) occurs when Hitchcock decides to add a love interest for his man on the run, and ends up with Hannay handcuffed to the waspish Pamela (Madeleine Carroll), who would love nothing so much as to see him hanged. The scenes with Pamela are the most enjoyable of the film, with crackling dialogue and real suspense.

Hitchcock's fine craftsmanship is all over the film, with innocent characters appearing evil, and vice versa, and plot details that felt like throwaways having great significance. The villains of the piece are fairly stupid, but since Hannay isn't much quicker, it's all for the best.

My most recent viewing of this film was last week, but I had seen it at least three times before. My husband found himself completely unable to follow the plot, and lost at least half of the dialogue. The tape we were watching was from the library, and not in good shape, but the film does require much more concentration, at least in the early going, than a modern thriller would. Much of the plot is advanced through dialogue, so no daydreaming while the characters are talking!

If you tend to roll your eyes at coincidence, this is not the movie for you (and stay far far away from the novel, as well). If you are the type of person who cavils at plot holes and irrational behavior, you will also probably be displeased. But if you enjoy fast-paced suspense, clever dialogue, some fine acting, and the Hitchcock flair, you may find this film an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half.