I don’t know, but I sure like it a heckuva lot.
What I wanna know is: Why doesn’t The 39 Steps get old or creaky? It’s just as fast-paced and fun as ever, with crackling dialogue, amusing performances (especially from Robert Donat … what a talent) and brilliant cinematography, which provides a wonderful snapshot of the old British music-hall entertainments.
Frankly, I can’t get enough of this flick.
I realized Hitch honed his craft greatly following Steps, providing much slicker pictures, but there’s something about this 1935 charmer that keeps me watching the screen when it’s on. There was a time when I preferred The Lady Vanishes to it, but now I’m not so sure. And there’s a seminal quality to Steps as well … it’s one of the films that introduced Hitchcock’s whole “wrong man” oeuvre to audiences, and there’s something to be said for that.
I’ll tell you something: I’m walkin’ these steps for as long as they’re around.
Skip and Setter's Cinema Blogishkeit 
I’ve actually never heard of “The 39 Steps,” but I do really, really like a couple of Hitchcock’s other films, so I will have to check this one out!
I think you’ll really like it–I’ve grown to appreciate it more as I grow older … it’s quite seminal in that it shows in part where Hitchcock came from. Plus, I can almost guarantee that after you see it, you’ll have the theme from the music hall running through your head! 😀