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It's hardly fair to compare this to the Hitchcock version (which was made when Buchan was not yet a well-known author). I think the Hitchcock film is the better as a film, although there are a few stodgy moments (with the crofter, for instance), but lots of lovely visual ideas to compensate (the Bridge scene, the missing digit, and the ending). But Hitchcock's is not a filming of Buchan's novel. It's something quite different. The first remake (with Kenneth More) was a remake of the Hitchcock film, not the book. With this version, we were told it would be faithful to the original, but, yes, the ending is stolen from an old Will Hay film (which was very much before its time, with its black humour). So this is not really a remake of the Hitchcock film, but neither is it faithful to Buchan (which I must re-read). But it is enjoyable, the period feel is good, and I personally like Ed Welch's concerto score.

This is about as far removed from the Hitchcock version as you could imagine. For starters, instead of a beautiful female spy you get John Mills, (though his demise with a knife in his back in the arms of the hero in a public place might be taken as a tribute to "North by Northwest"; it's even got Hannay menaced by a plane on a lonely moor). It is, in fact, a reasonably faithful rendition of the book where Hitchcock's was a fanciful re-imagining, (and a good deal more fun), but it's no disgrace. Indeed as a Boy's Own Adventure it's thoroughly enjoyable; a Ripping Yarn in fact, with a splendid cast of British character actors, good use of locations and a spiffing climax involving Big Ben.

Robert Powell's Hannay is considerably more po-faced than Robert Donat's, (he's too stiff to be a proper action hero), and comes over as a bit of a boor. Still, you wish him well and are happy to perch close to the edge of your seat as he dodges both the police and the dastardly Huns as he attempts to clear his name. Love interest, for what it's worth, is provided by Karen Dotrice, and whose character is an amalgam of Peggy Ashcroft's and Madeline Carrol's, but this is a film in which soppy girls needn't bother us; the heroes and villains keep it ticking along nicely.

R Houghton's review claims that "...with this version, we finally get the story as it was written."

This is a very long way from true. To note only three departures, the thirty-nine steps of the original text do not refer to the steps leading up to Beg Ben, but to a staircase leading from a house in Bradgate down to the sea; in the original text, Scudder is knifed in Hannay's flat; and the scene of Hannay clinging to the hands of the clock appears nowhere in Buchan's novel.

But all that said, this production is a fine piece of work in its own right, having great pace, style and atmosphere, and with some first-class acting from Robert Powell.

This is an exciting, well acted version of the Thirty Nine Steps. David Warner is appropriately evil as the head of the Nazi's moles, Robert Powell is a convincing reluctant hero who has been thrust into mystery & danger, Sir John Mills is great as the voice of warning and reason against the pending threat of war, and Karen Dotrice is very sweet as the romantic interest now that she is all grown up. Compared to the earlier Hitchcock version (which we also like) this story is much more believable and less campy.

We love it and watch it every few months. Our only disappointment is that our VHS is getting worn and we can't find a replacement in either VHS or DVD.

The best-known film version of John Buchan's famous novel was made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935 but, although an excellent film in his typically playful style, it actually had little to do with the book. Ralph Thomas's 1959 remake was a dull affair. Don Sharp does a much better job.

The film reverts to the book's Edwardian setting and opens with a striking scene beside the fog-shrouded Thames, which reminds one of Sharp's work for Hammer Films. Robert Powell is an agile and likeable hero, supported by a strong cast and the climax, cleverly borrowed from the Will Hay classic "My Learned Friend", has Hannay attempting (literally) to turn back time.

It was reported that, when this film premiered at a West London cinema, the audience burst into spontaneous applause at the end!