The 39 Steps (1935)

dir Alfred Hitchcock

Awful parts of British culture: colonialism, bland food, narrow streets, modern TERF-ism, The Beatles, lack of fluoridated water, Morrissey, salad cream

Cool parts of British culture: LUSH, fish and chips, Shakespeare, tea, trains, British Hairdressing Awards, The Smiths, Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptations of books

The 1930s might actually be one of my favorite decades of film. First off, it’s so damn nice to look at. I’m a big fan of how graphic the fashions were back then. Art deco bled into everything, from accessories to facial hair. Lots of thin lines shaved/drawn on the face in the form of handsome moustaches and darling eyebrows, very pretty.

Side note: our current trends are borrowing a LOT from the 30s! All my clients right now are into soft, romantic curls worn not-too-long and not-too-short (very 1930s), a natural evolution of the shorter, more subversive looks that everyone was eating up the last 5 years (sooo 20s). Eyebrows are thin. Bangs are swooping to the side- hell, even side parts are back!

OK. Back to The 39 Steps.

What a nostalgic film. Totally hilarious. A true hidden gem. More people need to love on this one. It’s short and snappy which makes it so easy to throw on without much commitment. After many rewatches of the film and attending more than a few performances of the stage show, a surprising number of lines are burned into my memory. It makes me wonder if I could commit a feat on par with Mr. Memory himself and try to memorize the entire script. In his honor, of course.

Despite the abrupt ending and the tragic loss of Mr. Memory, the final scene really is quite sweet. Sometimes a simple hand hold is all you need. Isn’t that nice?