The 39 Steps

Stall, please.

Ladies and gentlemen...

with your kind attention

and permission...

I have the honor

of presenting to you...

one of the most remarkable men

in the world.

- How remarkable?

- He's sweating.

Can you be surprised

at that, gentlemen?

Every day he commits to memory

and remembers every one of them.

Facts from history, from geography,

from newspapers...

from scientific books,

millions and millions of them.

Think of the strain involved

by his prodigious feat.

His feet ain't half as big

as yours, cully.

I'm referring

to his feats of memory.

Test him, please.

Ladies and gentlemen,

ask him your questions...

and he will answer you,

fully and freely.

Mr. Memory.

I also add, ladies and gentlemen,

before retiring...

that Mr. Memory has left his brain

to the British Museum.

Hurray!

A question, please.

Ladies first.

Where's my old man been

since last Saturday?

- On the booze!

- In quod!

Out with his bit!

A serious question, please.

What won the Derby in 1921?

Mr. Jack Jool's Humorist

with Steve Donoghue up.

Won by a length

at odds 6 to 1.

Second and third:

Craig-an-Eran and Lemonora.

- Am I right, sir?

- Right.

What won in 1936?

Come back in 1937,

and I'll tell you.

How far is Winnipeg from Montreal?

What won the Cup in 1926?

- Cup? Waterloo, football or tea.

- Football, silly.

- When did Chelsea win it?

- 63 B.C. in the presence of Nero.

- What causes pip in poultry?

- Don't make yourself so common.

Our fowls have it,

haven't they?

How many races

did Mick the Miller win?

How old is Mae West?

When was Crippen hanged?

Who was the last British

heavyweight champion of the world?

- Henry Vlll!

- My old woman!

Bob Fitzsimmons.

He defeated Jim Corbett...

heavyweight champion of America

at Carson City, Nevada...

in October, 1897.

He was 34 years of age.

Am I right, sir?

How old is Mae West?

I know, sir,

but I never tell a lady's age.

Next, please.

What causes pip in poultry?

- How far is Winnipeg from Montreal?

- Miss Winnie Who, sir?

How far is Winnipeg from Montreal?

A gentleman from Canada.

You're welcome, sir.

Winnipeg, the third city of Canada

and the capital of Manitoba.

Distance from Montreal:

- Am I right?

- Quite right.

How old's Mae West?

How old's Mae West?

Hey, you!

How old's Mae West?

Gentlemen!

Please, you're not at home!

Hey, you!

What causes pip in...

causes pip in po... po...

Hey, come on!

For God's sake,

play something!

Stop them from running!

Here we are.

May I come home with you?

What's the idea?

I'd like to.

It's your funeral.

Come on, there's a bus.

- You don't stay here always?

- No, I've taken a furnished flat.

I'm only here from Canada

for a few months.

By the way, am I allowed

to know your name?

- Smith.

- All right.

Do you want to know more about me?

What do you think I do for a living?

- Actress?

- Not in the way you mean.

- Chorus?

- No.

- I'm sorry.

- I'm a freelance.

- Out for adventure, eh?

- That's right.

This way.

My sitting room is all upset.

I haven't decorated.

I'll find the switch.

Not yet.

Now.

Mr. Hannay, would you be kind

and turn that mirror to the wall?

You'd be happier if there were

curtains over those windows.

- Yes.

- I'm sorry.

There's the telephone.

Just a minute.

- Don't answer the telephone.

- Why not?

Because I think it's for me.

Please don't answer.

Just as you say.

- Won't you sit down?

- Would you kick that footstool to me?

You needed that.

I did. Thank you.

- I owe you an explanation.

- Don't bother about me.

- I'm nobody.

- We cannot talk here.

All right.

Just a minute.

- Okay?

- Mm-hmm.

- Cigarette?

- No, thank you.

- There's our friend again.

- Take no notice.

Would you think me very troublesome

if I asked for something to eat?

- I've had nothing all day.

- Sure.

- You like haddock?

- Yes, please.

I suppose your name

isn't really Smith.

It depends on where I am.

- You may call me Annabella.

- Annabella Smith.

A clergyman's daughter,

I presume.

Hello. Nervy?

Upset by those shots tonight?

I fired those shots.

- You what?

- Yes, to create a diversion.

I had to get away

from that theater quickly.

There were two men there

who wanted to kill me.

You should be more careful

in choosing your gentlemen friends.

- You don't understand.

- You don't make it easy for me.

Beautiful, mysterious woman

pursued by gunmen.

Sounds like a spy story.

That's exactly what it is.

- Only I prefer the word agent better.

- "Agent"?

- For what country?

- Any country that pays me.

- What is your country?

- I have no country.

Born in a balloon?

We'll let that go.

I suppose you've come here...

to dig up

some great big state secret.

I am here to save a secret

from being divulged.

A very important secret

for this country.

Not because I love England,

but because it will pay me better.

- Thank you.

- The very brilliant agent...

of a certain foreign power...

is on the point of obtaining

a secret vital to your air defense.

I tracked two of his men

to that music hall.

Unfortunately,

they recognized me.

- That's why they're after me now.

- That was too bad.

You ever heard of a thing

called "persecution mania"?

- You don't believe me?

- Frankly, I don't.

Go and look down

into the street then.

You win.

- Are they there?

- Yes.

I'd hoped I'd shaken them off.

I'm going to tell you something

which is not very healthy to know.

But now that they have

followed me here...

you are in it

as much as I am.

How do you mean?

- Have you ever heard of the 39 Steps?

- No. What's that, a pub?

Never mind.

But what you were laughing at is true.

These men will stop at nothing.

I'm the only person

who can stop them.

If they are not stopped, it's only

a matter of days, perhaps hours...

- before the secret is out.

- Why don't you phone the police?

Because they wouldn't believe me

any more than you did.

If they did, how long do you think

it would take to get them going?

These men act quickly.

You don't know

how clever their chief is.

- Clever and ruthless.

- Who is he? What's his name?

He has a dozen names,

and he can look like a hundred people.

But one thing he cannot disguise:

this.

Part of his little finger is missing.

If ever you should meet a man

with no top joint there...

- be very careful, my friend.

- Thanks. I'll make a note of it.

Meanwhile, what are you going to do?

First, I'll eat my haddock...

then, if you are not going to

turn me out onto the street...

- have a good night's rest.

- You're welcome to my bed.

I'll get a shakedown

on the couch.

Anything else I can get you?

- A map of Scotland.

- Why Scotland?

There's a man in Scotland whom I must

visit next if anything is to be done.

Are the 39 Steps in Scotland,

by any chance?

Perhaps I'll tell you tomorrow.

Clear out, Hannay.

They'll get you next.

What you were laughing at

just now is true.

These men will stop at nothing.

There's a man in Scotland...

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