Dear jimbo40-ga,
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an organization of spies, collecting
information on behalf of the foreign office of...
Unfortunately, in the film The 39 Steps (1935), Mr Memory is shot
before he can complete the sentence.
This is from a reveiw of the film:
"Mr. Memory is compelled to give the answer as he always does - with
the truth -even if the truth means his own death. He automatically
recites the answer - that reveals the term is the code name of the
organization he is covertly associated with:
The Thirty-Nine Steps is an organization of spies, collecting
information on behalf of the foreign office of...
Before he can speak the name of the country, Mr. Memory is silenced
with a gun shot that rings out from Professor Jordan's box above the
stage."
http://www.filmsite.org/thirt4.html
The film bore little resemblance to the original book by John Buchan;
the thirty-nine steps were indeed a flight of steps:
"We hurried back to the town and sent a wire to Macgillivray. I wanted
half a dozen men, and I directed them to divide themselves among
different specified hotels. Then Scaife set out to prospect the house
at the head of the thirty-nine steps.
He came back with news that both puzzled and reassured me. The house
was called Trafalgar Lodge, and belonged to an old gentleman called
Appleton?a retired stockbroker, the house agent said."
Chapter 10
John Buchan (1875?1940). The Thirty-nine Steps. 1915.
Source
http://www.bartleby.com/149/10.html
I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder
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