The 39 Steps

In class we discussed the gender, status and class shown by the characters John Hannay played by Rupert Penry-Jones and Victoria Sinclair played by Lydia Leonard during the film The 39 Steps. The film is set in 1914 in the run up to the first world war. We firstly discussed Hannay when we first see him:

John Hannay:

• Well dressed
• Clean cut
• Dark blue suit
• Well spoken
• Posh/received pronunciation
• Alphamale although not stereotypical
• Camera work suggests he's clumsy
• Not scared/unfazed from being shot at
• Fits the action genre
• Seems hectic from the editing
• Setting suggests he's isolated and an impostor which contrasts to his usual surroundings of london.
• Setting also makes him seem vulnerable from the police and the plane shooting at him which makes him in danger.

We then looked at Victoria Sinclair and Hannay and how they interact with each other and their personalities:

Victoria Sinclair:

• Looks the part (wears petticoats)
• One of the only women in the room
• Suffragette
• Men have no respect for her
• Sarcastic
• Strong-minded
• Stubborn
• Violent (kicks a police officer)
• Uses her femininity
• Masculine traits (climbing walls)
• She is shown using The Male Gaze when she's tucking in her petticoats

John Hannay:

• Flirtatious
• Undermines Sinclair
• Gentlemanly towards her
• Sexist
• Superior

The music played during the film creates suspense, it's non-diegetic and the classical music fits the era and the action genre of the film,