Movie Review: The 39 Steps (1935)

Genre: Spy Thriller

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll

Running Time: 86 minutes

Synopsis: In London, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) meets espionage agent Annabella Smith in the chaotic aftermath of shots being fired at a performance by Mr. Memory, an expert at recalling factoids. Annabella mentions a key address in Scotland that holds the key to a nefarious plot, but she is soon killed and Hannay is identified as the prime suspect. He escapes onto a train heading to Scotland and meets fellow traveler Pamela (Madeleine Carroll). After a rocky introduction they team up to try and clear Hannay's name and thwart the conspiracy. 

What Works Well: This brisk Alfred Hitchcock thriller adapts the 1915 John Buchan book with a thrill-a-minute attitude. From the opening melee at a music hall performance to the climactic revelation, the action is filled with quality twists, narrow escapes, and a spikey romance. Hitchcock executes every chapter with delightful care, always seeking the interface between serious and buoyant. Highlights include Hannay's acrobatics at the Forth Rail Bridge, a flock of sheep enabling an escape, and handcuffs forcing Pamela and Hannay together despite her deep mistrust.

What Does Not Work As Well: Hitchcock overuses gathered crowd scenes as a set-piece device (three in 86 minutes). The conspiracy details are opaque and ultimately more bizarre than satisfying, and the antagonists are largely ignored as characters and instead lumped into faceless bad-guy territory. 

Conclusion: A suspense-filled adventure delivered with a wink.



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Movie Review: The Private Life Of Henry VIII (1933)

A costume drama-comedy, The Private Life Of Henry VIII is dominated by an over-the-top Charles Laughton performance, and otherwise enjoys a few laughs in amongst the flying chicken bones.

It's the 1500s in England, and King Henry VIII (Laughton) impatiently awaits the beheading of his second wife Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon) then immediately marries Jane Seymour (Wendy Barrie). She conceives a son but dies at childbirth. Henry is crestfallen, but under pressure to increase the number of of male heirs he agrees to another marriage.

Although he is attracted to Catherine Howard (Binnie Barnes), a member of his court, the King reluctantly accepts an arranged union with Anne of Cleaves (Elsa Lanchester) from the German royal family. However once Henry sets eyes on Anne he finds her unattractive, triggering more marital troubles.

A British production directed by Alexander Korda, The Private Life Of Henry VIII features the husband-and-wife team of Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester having some on-screen fun. With the historical context and seismic changes triggered by Henry's actions either completely ignored or reduced to monologue fragments, the film is less concerned with history and more focused on caricaturish portrayals.

And so Laughton creates the enduring cinematic image of Henry VIII as a boorish, unsophisticated, uncouth, lusty man driven by impulses, lording over his court with frequent bellowing and disgusting table manners. Almost defining what it means to chew the scenery, literally in some cases, Laughton casts a huge shadow over everything and everyone else, most of his various wives reduced to snippets of screen time.

First wife Catherine of Aragon never makes it to the screen, while Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour come and go in a flash. Elsa Lanchester enjoys chemistry with her husband and plays Anne of Cleaves purely for laughs, matching Laughton for pantomime buffoonery. Catherine Howard is portrayed as ambitious but always in love with courtier Thomas Culpeper (a wasted Robert Donat) in an example of two people reduced to elementary descriptions.

Korda directs with flair and brisk pacing, moving the action quickly between the many royal chambers. The set designs are reasonably impressive, and enjoyment is found in the gaggle of animated court servants, attendants and staff gossiping behind the King's back as they go about their daily business. 

As a child-like introduction to a complex monarch, The Private Life Of Henry VIII is good for a few clucks.



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Movie Review: Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

An affecting drama, Goodbye, Mr. Chips traces the multi-decade career of a beloved teacher.

It's the start of the academic year at the Brookfield all-boys public boarding school (established: 1492) in England. For the first time in 58 years, the hugely popular 83 year old Mr. Chipping (Robert Donat), fondly known as Chips, misses the opening day assembly due to a cold. In flashback, he recalls his career.

Chipping arrives at the school as the newest Master in 1870 to teach ancient languages. He finds it difficult to exert his authority and barely survives his first day. Over the years he builds a reputation as an effective teacher but also a shy and humourless loner. As Senior Master he has expectations to be promoted to House Master, but is passed over due to his lack of rapport with the boys.

Fellow teacher Max Staeffel (Paul Henreid) convinces Chips to vacation in Europe, and on a misty mountain hike in Austria he meets and falls in love with Katherine Ellis (Greer Garson). They get married and she has a huge influence on Chips, teasing out his hidden sense of humour and helping him develop genuine affection for the students. As Chips becomes a popular campus figure, tragedy, triumph and a world war await.

An adaptation of the James Hilton novella, Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a bittersweet journey through a humble life. The film is a salute to teachers who leave an indelible positive mark and earn the respect of generations of students (and multiple generations from the same families). The screenplay by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, and Eric Maschwitz elegantly frames the narrative as one long flashback, pausing at milestone moments in Chips' life and marking the passage of time with the daily roll-call of students announcing themselves with a tip of a hat.

Sam Wood directs with a firm hand and maintains focus on the central character. The film spans 58 years, and Chips is in almost every scene. In an illustration of loneliness accompanying longevity and legendary achievement, no other character overlaps with him for more than a few years. Chipping's memories are his true companions, the countless boys he helped to nurture into men creating an extended family.

The small incidents and seemingly casual decisions that profoundly shape a life is a constant theme. As an 83 year old man Chips is known to his contemporaries as a good-humoured, kind-hearted institution, happy to invite his students for conversation, tea and cake. None are aware of Staeffel's insistence that Chips join him on vacation, the chance mountaintop encounter with Katherine, her sharp perception of what lies hidden within the shy, hesitant young teacher, and her subsequent nudging of her man out of his shell, allowing him to blossom into an effective and rounded educator.

At just 34 years old, Robert Donat disappears into the makeup of Mr. Chips and delivers an unforgettable performance filled with poignant moments reflecting on a life well lived. In her big screen debut, Greer Garson makes potent use of limited screen time, instilling in Katherine a frisky determination powered by womanly subterfuge.

Ultimately Goodbye Mr. Chips highlights remarkable normalcy. Chips is everyman, evolving slowly thanks to the kind influence of others, riding out the disappointments, opportunities (not always easily welcomed) and joys of life with stamina and an even temperament. His legacy is built over time, on layers of experience, pain and delight.

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