ie, daylight seems to be equated with betrayal.
Hitchcock also seems to be having some fun and the humor remains light-hearted throughout. Hannay is portrayed as a fairly cheerful individual who likes a good laugh. For instance, when Annabella Smith is trying to convince Hannay of her story he remarks jokingly, "It sounds like a spy story". She replies, more seriously, "That's exactly what it is". Later, Professor Jordan jokes, "I'm afraid I've been guilty of leading you down the garden path - or should it be up - I never can remember". Hannay, in his understated way, observes that he has definitely wandered into the wrong garden. There are also several scenes between Hannay and Pamela when they are handcuffed together, such as when she is trying to remove her stockings, that make light of this dark spy story. Two of best lines out of the story come out of the handcuff episode:
Hannay (to Pamela): "There are 20 million women on this
island and I've got to be chained to you".
Hannay (to Pamela): "May I ask what earthquake caused
In case you're curious, The 39 Steps ends up being the name of the international spy ring.
Hitchcock, A. (1935). The 39 Steps. Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, Ltd. VHS: (1998). Delta Entertainment, Inc., Laserlight Special Edition.
Notorious (1946), a spy film directed by Hitchcock, opens in a sunny, Florida courtroom. The title is derived from the main character's reputation as a party girl. Alicia Huberman's (Ingrid Bergman) German father has just been convicted of treason against the United States. Although she is used to living the "fast" life, following her father's conviction she sinks deeper into her society whirl of drink and men, planning to leave for Cuba to forget her sorrows for a little while. Instead she is approached by a government agent, T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant), who asks her to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Jane...