39 Steps (1935)

Cool Factor: They don’t call Hitchcock the master for nothing, and here he proves himself worthy of that title. Championing moody imagery and a keen sense of the absurd, Hitch is ridiculously creative – right down to that iconic train scream.

Made In Britain: The “awfully, awfully” dialogue elicits titters nowadays, but that stiff upper lip got us through two world wars, you know.

If It Was American: The FBI would be involved in some way. Party crashers.