16: The 39 Steps (1935)

Smack in the middle of Hitchcock’s rise to prominence throughout the 30s, THE 39 STEPS is widely considered to be Hitchcock’s best British film. I do t necessarily agree, but one cannot deny the Rosetta Stone nature of this film. It sets the template for many of Hitchcock’s most exciting and popular films, especially 1959’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST, another wrong man thriller that thrusts the protagonist into a world of international espionage that will force them to display the wit and ingenuity that every movie desires.