Week 2 Blog: The 39 Steps

In Alfred Hitchcock’s movie titled “The 39 Steps,” Richard Hannay is the protagonist, who became involved in a conspiracy to steal British military secrets by an organization known as "The 39 Steps" after he was framed for murdering Annabella, a young woman who was a target of assassins due to her knowledge of the scheme. Hannay becomes a fugitive, traveling from London to Scotland to escape from the police who are on a manhunt for him.

Color contrast and lighting play important roles in one particular scene of the movie. In this scene, Hannay is on-board a train in its station, preparing to leave for Scotland (time stamp--21:55). Two men sitting across from him in the same train compartment share the information on a newspaper that announced the nationwide search for Hannay, a supposed murderer. The lighting on Hannay’s face is bright, making his face look pale in comparison to the rest of the shot as he is listening intently on the men’s conversation and attempting to read the news article held by one of the men. The camera performs a close-up shot of Hannay’s face for the audience to see his expression of dismay as he discovers that he is the target of the manhunt (time stamp--22:18). At this point, shadows of people walking past the window outside are cast on Hannay’s face. These slight shades of darkness cast over his face symbolize the dilemma that he is slowly acknowledging as the men proceed to read aloud the printed murder story.

The scene continues with Hannay asking if he could take a look at the newspaper (time stamp--22:43). When he reads the article on his own, he finds out for certain that his life is in danger. His face becomes engulfed in shadows in this shot. This shading represents Hannay’s full recognition of his situation and new life as a runaway criminal. Hitchcock could have easily left Hannay’s face lit up but instead, this casting of shadows over his face creates a contrast that represents Hannay’s crime-free “good” life gradually starting to change into the “bad” life of a fugitive. All of this took place as Hannay began his departure from London to Scotland, marking the start of his new life as a fugitive.