Faithful adaptation of John Buchan’s famous novel – which means no blonde love interest (something for which Welles apologises for in the coda at the end). Like the original story, the best bit is the first half – but it does lack a good love interest, and the ending, with Hannay finding allies who believe him a bit too easily, then playing pool with the baddies and waiting to blow its whistle, is a bit anti-climactic. Problem with these man-on-a-run tales is that they always run out of puff when the man gets to safety with the authorities eg North by Northwest. Welles in excellent vocal form as Hannay (of course). The other main problem of this adaptation is it starts with the chase, then flashes back to Hannay living a quiet life and getting involved in murder. This is an odd decision, one that doesn’t quite work, because we don’t have anything invested in the character who is on the run.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Radio review – MT#4 - “The 39 Steps” (1938) **
Faithful adaptation of John Buchan’s famous novel – which means no blonde love interest (something for which Welles apologises for in the coda at the end). Like the original story, the best bit is the first half – but it does lack a good love interest, and the ending, with Hannay finding allies who believe him a bit too easily, then playing pool with the baddies and waiting to blow its whistle, is a bit anti-climactic. Problem with these man-on-a-run tales is that they always run out of puff when the man gets to safety with the authorities eg North by Northwest. Welles in excellent vocal form as Hannay (of course). The other main problem of this adaptation is it starts with the chase, then flashes back to Hannay living a quiet life and getting involved in murder. This is an odd decision, one that doesn’t quite work, because we don’t have anything invested in the character who is on the run.
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