THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS / THE LADY VANISHES

If you were to ask Google about the “Gong Man” for the Rank Organisation, you’ll likely be presented with some extraordinary back story. Probably similar in vain to how Mr. Rogers wore long sleeves to cover his inappropriate tattoos that he had inked while serving as an elite sniper. I prefer mystery, so I just assume he’s just “some rando” as the kids say today, but apparently Elliott Gould knew him, who is the star in one half of this double release from the distributing giant, The Thirty-Nine-Steps & The Lady Vanishes, available now on Blu-ray through Imprint Films.

In what is the second remake of an early Hitchcock classic, The Thirty-Nine-Steps involves an elaborate plot to instigate the First World War, which is uncovered in an engaging opening 10 minutes by an ill-fated British intelligence officer. Before he’s murdered by Prussian spies, the old man gives his black book of secrets to an unassuming mining engineer, Richard Hannay, who must figure out the sequence of events before it’s too late. With a very dignified cast of Britain’s finest, including Sir John Mills and the late David Warner, this intriguing mystery feels like it’s made for society’s upper echelon. While it could have easily ended up as a very stuffy affair, its star, Robert Powell as Hannay, gives the film a frantic energy, and is the perfect counter to the rigid government officials who instinctively suspect our hero of working for a foreign power. The Thirty-Nine-Steps is well-paced, strikes the perfect tone, and offers a magnificent set piece of Big Ben during the film’s climax.

The Lady Vanishes is another Hitchcock remake, but this time the story opens at the onset of World War II. Aboard a train in Germany bound for Switzerland, this would be the farewell journey for Hammer Films, which produced this mystery/comedy on rails sets off after an American heiress befriends a seemingly normal English nanny, Miss Froy. Shockingly, the delightful old lady not only disappears, but no one seems to remember seeing her. Despite the presence of Nazis, The Lady Vanishes has a very breezy quality about thanks to a colourful cast of characters who gradually unite against what would eventually become a common enemy. Elliot Gould as the charming American photographer, Robert Condon, has great chemistry with co-star Cybill Shepherd, who appears as Amanda Metcalf-Mdivani-Von Hoffsteader-Kelly, while Angela Lansbury as the fierce Miss Froy gives the film a very lively atmosphere.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Thirty-Nine Steps

NEW Remaking a Classic — interview with executive producer James Kenelm Clarke (2025)
NEW Hannay Hanging On — interview with stunt co-ordinator Colin Skeaping (2025)
NEW Every Second Counts — interview with film historian Sergio Angelini (2025)
On Location with Robert Powell — archival featurette
Theatrical Trailer

The Lady Vanishes

NEW Disappearing Act: Elliott Gould Finds the Vanished Lady — interview with actor Elliott Gould (2025)
NEW The Last Hammer — interviews with the production crew (2025)
NEW The End of the Line — featurette (2025)
Archival Interview with actress Angela Lansbury (1978)
Theatrical and Teaser Trailers

As both films follow a similar theme of being late 1970s remakes of Hitchcock classics, it’s only appropriate that their supplements are also uniform, with each including three new interviews and one archival featurette. For the Thirty-Nine Steps, producer James Kenelm Clarke recalls why he sought out adapting one of his favourite novels despite its previous two incarnations, and gives his modern feedback on the film. Meanwhile, Colin Skeaping looks back fondly on his first major movie as stunt coordinator, and explains some grisly stunts he undertook in place of star Robert Powell. Film historian Sergio Angelini gives a favourable overview of The Thirty-Nine Steps, and highlights some changes it made to the previous adaptations. Angelini makes an appearance in The Lady Vanishes’ featurette, The End of the Line, along with whom I dub “The Hammer Lads” to discuss how the film marked the close of the infamous production company despite it starring a strong cast, and presenting an easily accessible story. The production crew of this thriller, including a costume designer, stunt coordinator, and prop master, all appear in one single interview, which is very well-edited and flows seamlessly. Last, but not least, Elliott Gould, at 85, shares an impressive collection of anecdotes related to The Lady Vanishes, including his various encounters with Alfred Hitchcock. – by Hannah Lynch

VIDEO AND AUDIO

The Thirty-Nine Steps

Presented from a NEW 2024 2K scan and restoration, the 1.85:1 image offers vibrant colours and balanced contrast, resulting in some very flushed skin tones on several of the English stars, such as David Warner, evident of Britain’s famous lack of sunshine. However, the rural scenes when Hannay ventures to Scotland look magnificent, which are awash with a variety of natural colours.

The Lady Vanishes

Imprint Films has commissioned a NEW 2K scan of the original 35mm negative for this worldwide Blu-ray debut, and it doesn’t underwhelm. Much like The Thirty-Nine Steps mentioned above, colour and contrast are near perfect, but The Lady Vanishes does have a noticeably sharper image with some nice texture, clearly picked up from the scan.

LPCM 2.0 Mono is indistinguishable between the two films, although the volume is a little lower with The Thirty-Nine Steps. In terms of the uncompressed tracks, there are no issues regarding quality, and both titles come with optional English HOH subtitles.

The Thirty-Nine-Steps & The Lady Vanishes offers a lavish double feature, and the set is one of the finest produced by Imprint. I appreciate the extra effort in paying tribute to the last film from Hammer’s classic period. It’s a shame so many tend to sleep on these two titles, because they’re a lot of fun.

THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS / THE LADY VANISHES
(1978-1979, director: John Schlesinger)