39 STEPS, THE

(August 1935, U.S.)

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS is one of those great classic films that falls under the public domain. There is, in my opinion, something very irresistible about these old movies, despite their rather grainy visual texture in an era where everything we watch today has been digitally remastered in high definition picture quality. Perhaps it's that nostalgic part of me that takes me back to my childhood when it was old movies like this that dominated late night television on the independent stations. They were horror films mostly, but every once in a while there would be Hitchcock's early British films, as well as Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rothbone in the starring role. In fact, an old friend of mine once told me he used to enjoy these old Sherlock Holmes films on TV late at night and even went so far as to brew a pot of tea in order to make himself feel a little more British while watching. Hey, whatever enhances and improves your moviegoing experience is just fine by me!

This film tells the story about an ordinary English civilian, Richard Hannay (played by Richard Donat), who while attending a demonstration of the powers of "Mr. Memory" at the London Music Hall Theatre, where gun shots are fired, gets caught up in preventing an unexplained organization of spies called the "39 Steps" from stealing British military secrets. After being mistakenly accused of the fatal stabbing of a counter-espionage female agent, Annabella Smith (played by Lucie Mannheim), Richard goes on the run to Scotland and becomes tangled up with an attractive, blonde woman Pamela (played by Madeleine Carroll) in the hopes of stopping the spy ring and clearing his name.

While on the run in Scotland, there's the more-than-obvious sexual tensions that take place between Richard and the young, pretty wife of a poor farmer, but this is about as far as sex could possibly go back in those days of early cinema. In fact, Richard has gone so far as to trust the young wife by revealing his current predicament and even ask her for help. She helps him by giving Richard her husband's coat, which will cost her later when her husband beats her (off screen, of course). This coat will prove to be more of a help than one might think because it's the hymn book buried in the coat's pocket that stops a bullet from killing Richard later. Fleeing across the moors, Richard continues to elude the police in a manner that may even remind you of another Richard that would one day elude police for a murder he didn't commit (think Dr. Richard Kimble in THE FUGITIVE). When the police finally catch up, they attempt to handcuff Richard, but he escapes through an open window and tries to hide at a political meeting and is mistaken for the introductory speaker (remember Chevy Chase in FLETCH?). Surprisingly, and without knowing anything about the candidate, he gives a rousing impromptu speech about freedom and social justices. Joined by Pamela again, who's now caught up in the same mess as he is, the two of them must make their way across the English countryside in order to evade capture, all while getting on each other's nerves.

Pamela eventually leads them to the London Palladium, where "Mr. Memory" is featured again. Richard, while in the audience, recognizes his theme music, which is also a tune he's been whistling and unable to forget throughout the film. As it turns out, it's "Mr. Memory" himself that the spies are using in order to smuggle the Air Ministry secret.
As the police finally take Richard into custody, he shouts, "What are the 39 Steps?" "Mr. Memory" compulsively answers, giving full details of the organization of spies and the information they've collected on behalf of the Foreign Office, at which point he's shot by the enemy. "Mr. Memory dies, but not before expressing relief of finally being able to reveal all the secret information that's been stored in his brain for so long be declaring, "I'm glad it's off my mind." Talk about your unwanted stress relief!

THE 39 STEPS was a major British film of its time. In traditional "Hitchcockian" fashion, the film contains elements of the ordinary, everyday man who unwittingly gets caught up in situations he cannot understand, something that would be featured again in films like THE LADY VANISHES, SABOTEUR, THE WRONG MAN and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, as well as a signature cameo appearance by Hitchcock himself. International spy stories may not always be good stories, but Hitchcock manages to give them his own brand of shock, suspense, literary drama and wit. Like other stories of many heroes, Richard is often the victim of many lucky accidents, twists and turns, and it's Richard Donat's high-spirited acting that keeps the suspense moving at a good pace, even if it's not at the pace of the modern thriller of today.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Richard Hannay (to the milkman): "Are you married?"
Milkman: "Yes, but don't rub it in."

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI

(January 2016, U.S.)

Off all the directors in Hollywood today, Michael Bay is the last one I'd ever have expected to surprise me with a film like 13 HOURS, based on Mitchell Zuckoff's book. I mean, this is a man whom I've personally accused of being nothing more than a demolition expert because of his tendency to offer not much more in his movies than constantly blowing shit up. Yet, here he is, offering us an American biographical war film which follows six members of the Annex Security Team who bravely fought to defend the American diplomat compound in Benghazi, Libya after several attacks by violent militants on September 11, 2012, eleven years after the tragedy of 9/11, in one of the best films of its kind, in my opinion, since Ridley Scott's 2001 film BLACK HAWK DOWN.

Prior to watching this film, all I really understood about what occurred in Benghazi in 2012 was that then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took much of the responsibility for denying the additional security that was needed at the American compound prior to the attacks. The film however, concentrates solely on the events that took place and the men who acted like brave American soldiers rather than attempt to make any political statement or accusation toward any high-ranking White House official. Rest assured, however, Michael Bay still knows how to blow shit up very well in this one.

The film opens by making it very clear that Benghazi, Libya is one of the most dangerous places in the world, causing other countries to pull their diplomatic offices out of the country in fear of being attacked by militants. However, the U.S. still maintains a diplomatic compound in the city. Less than a mile away is the CIA outpost called "The Annex", which is protected by a team of private American military contractors. These soldiers are exactly what you'd expect to find in a modern-day war film; tough, arrogant, cocky and constantly joking around with each other using high degrees of profanity (but then, that's probably just the way we want it!). The CIA Chief on hand is exactly the type of bureaucratic, pain-in-the-ass you'd expect to be giving the team strict reminders on how to do their job and which rules they're forbidden to break, including never to engage the citizens.

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens (played by Matt Letscher) arrives in Benghazi to maintain diplomatic connections and relations amidst the social and political chaos taking place. Ultimately, Stevens becomes the target of attack by failing to remain with limited armed protection. Before we can even begin to appreciate any signs of peace and luxury the soldiers get to enjoy during their stay in a foreign country, the assaults have begun when attackers gain easy access to the Special Mission compound. Like any traditional combat film, bullets fly and bombs explode. Ambassador Stevens is inevitably killed when his building is set ablaze by attackers who fail to gain access to his safe room. Knowing that more attacks are imminent, the Annex's CIA staff begin making desperate calls for help, and all they can get is assistance from a Tripoli officer, who forms a team of Delta operators to fly to Benghazi to mount a rescue. As the Annex is breached, the soldiers continue to fend off the militants during their largest attack wave. Blood is shed, lives on both sides are lost, but in the end, America triumphs in that the innocent escape the violence of the land and are rescued to live another day.

13 HOURS, if nothing else, is a sure sign of maturity by Michael Bay who's not looking to make a film which caters to sci-fi-loving teenage boys, much in the way that Steven Spielberg finally matured with THE COLOR PURPLE in the 80s (but with a lot less violence and blood). The impact that a fact-based story as this delivers is very strong. The characters, while not distinctively strong, are plausible and respected because we're forced to understand and appreciate that these are American men with love in their hearts and families back home, who must wage a war in a country they have no business being in in the first place (much like Vietnam). As an action thriller, the battle sequences that focus on real-life attacks are well-choreographed, and shit gets blown up when it has to. War, like in many modern films before it, is gritty and without Hollywood glamour. Libya, of course, delivered much controversy upon the film's release, believing it ignored the contributions of the local people who tried to help. We may empathize with such an accusation, if we wish, or we can permit 13 HOURS to focus our attention on American heroes who do what's right, and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis, both on their own soil and overseas where they are ultimately treated like strangers in a strange land.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Jack Silva (to the Benghazi CIA Chief-of-Station): "You're not giving orders! You're in my world now!"

THIRTEEN DAYS

(December 2000, U.S.)

Kevin Costner and JFK; by this time the two names are practically synonymous with each other. One might almost be surprised that Costner was even cast in THIRTEEN DAYS, a historical political thriller based on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when he was already so well linked with the legendary United States president from Oliver Stones landmark 1991 film. Yet the viewer is practically required to put aside any relations of the past and give Costner the chance to break out and further express his talents and convictions against another infamous part of our history in the 1960s.

Many of my readers were likely only small children or not even born yet when in October of 1962, the photos of a U-2 aerial surveillance revealed that the Soviet Union wass in the process of secretly placing intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. President John F. Kennedy (played by Bruce Greenwood) and his advisers, including his own brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (played by Steven Culp) were faced with the immediate task of coming up with a plan of action to prevent their activation. Kennedy was determined to show that the U.S. would not allow a missile threat against our country. He was reluctant to attack and invade Cuba because it would likely cause the Soviets to invade Berlin, which in turn, could easily lead to inevitable war. Kennedy's administration tried to find a solution that would remove the missiles and avoid war. Instead, U.S. naval forces stopped all ships entering Cuban waters with a blockade and inspected them to verify there were no destined for Cuba.

Continuing to order spy plane photos, Kennedy's top adviser Kenny O'Donnel (played by Costner) secretly alerts the pilots to have them ensure our government that they have not been fired upon by the enemy, for if they do, the country would be forced to retaliate its own rules of engagement. There are several frightening glitches during this ongoing crisis; the defense readiness level of our Strategic Air Command (SAC) is raised to DEFCON 2 (this is just one step shy of maximum readiness of war), without informing Kennedy. Nuclear weapon tests are also carried out without the President's knowledge. After much deliberation with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, Kennedy makes a final attempt to avoid war by sending RFK to meet with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. Bobby demands that the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba, and in return promises not to invade or assist in the invasion of Cuba. From the other end, the U.S. must remove all its missiles from Turkey, on the border of the Soviet Union. A quid pro quo is not possible, but in exchange for Premier Khrushchev removing all the missiles from Cuba, there will be a secret understanding that the U.S. will remove all of its "obsolete" missiles from Turkey within six months as part of a pre-scheduled plan. The Soviets announce that they will remove their missiles from Cuba, averting a war that could have escalated to the use of nuclear weapons and World War II. As the film ends, we're reminded of Kennedy's famous audio commencement speech, "A Strategy for Peace", at the American University in 1963.

History, at its best, it truly compelling. The Cuban Missile Crisis reminds us of just how close we really came to a horrible destiny. Roger Donaldson's film concentrates hard on the drama of facts and speculation, while not concerning itself too much with action. We witness on screen portraits of real life people who were involved in the crisis, as well a first-hand study of specific items like high-altitude photographs and intelligent reports, all the while wondering ourselves if the Soviets could be trusted at a time when the Cold War was at its worst. The decisions of men in power are tense and truly terrifying even in the face of trying to remain rational in a time of great fear. Perhaps the film can even remind us that no matter how bad things seem right now under a "man" like Donald Trump, it may be a far less terrifying situation than a world that was once on the brink of war for thirteen days in October.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Kenny O'Donnell: "If the sun comes up tomorrow, it is only because of men of good will. That is all there is between us and the devil."