HITCHCOCK
My first real step into crime fiction came when I was a film student and read the interview between Francois Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock. In the book Hitchcock talks about his favorite writer, John Buchan, someone I had never heard of. Hitchcock was talking about how much he loved the Richard Hannay series. There are six books in the series, including The 39 Steps, all written at the very beginning of the genre more than a hundred years ago. And they’re all gems, even now, along with a standalone by Buchan, The Powerhouse, which is one of my personal favorites. But even more, after reading these novels you can see quite plainly that every spy thriller/political thriller Hitchcock ever made is a variation on a theme by John Buchan.
Two great Hitchcock films are now streaming for FREE, and I think if you watch them, you’ll see what I mean.
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935) (Prime, Pluto TV, YouTube)
Foreign Correspondent (1940) (Hulu, YouTube)
It’s a stormy weekend here. A perfect time to watch a great movie.
ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG
09/26/2026
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