In Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film, Wesley Britton offers his opinion on the character of Richard Hannay as he relates to the beginnings of an interest in spy stories in general. Britton notes Hannay as an “unimportant archetype” in the historical development of spy novels and films.

Like many other writers, Britton recognizes the Hannay as the amateur hero. Unlike many other spy characters of the time, the Richard Hannay from The 39 Steps has no formal training in the art of espionage – he is an everyman who comes to foil an international plot against his country. This is not to say that he is not at an advantage – his lack of responsibilites or ties to his domestic space allow him the freedom to take on this new burden but the fact remains that he stands out by way of his lack of training. Interestingly, Britton notes that in Buchman’s later writings, Hannay becomes skilled, trained by “natives in South Africa.” This shift in Hannay’s character brings him more into line with the likes of James Bond. As the spy genre develops, it becomes necessary to sensationalize his character in a way that was absent from Buchman’s writing of the The 39 Steps and Hitchcock’s adaptation. It would seem that Hitchcock prefers the amateur spy, for even as Hannay develops, Hitchcock prefers to still portray an everyman surmounting fantastic obstacles, such as Roger Thornhill in North by Northwest.

Wesley Britton’s explanation of the development of spy characters allows us to illuminate Richard Hannay in the context of the general development of the genre. In doing so, we also reveal Hitchcock’s preference toward the amateur hero rather than the polished secret agent that was beginning to come into vogue. 

In Toby Miller’s book Spyscreen, he includes an entire chapter on the The 39 Steps and examines how the portrayal of Richard Hannay reflects on the position of the film within the genre of spy fiction in the late 1930s.  His analysis not only sheds light on the importance of the character for the film’s release at the time, but also  examines the films attention to everyday life and normality in contrast to many other spy works of the time.

Toby Miller asserts that The 39 Steps is, relative to other spy film works of the time, a “conservative text” due to both it’s  “faith in the ‘talented amateur’ and it’s abhorrence of the crowd” while still portraying very standard, everyday life. This is notable, he argues, at a time when most spy films were centred on the revelation of a secretive, hidden world of espionage. For Hitchcock to portray an everyman is notably different from the more extreme spy films of the era and this makes it, Miller argues, “not a case of spy fiction allegorizing or adequating to the real, but of contributing to it.” In other words, Hitchcock’s choice does not seek to escape any sense of reality, but rather revels in the capability of the everyman working within the confines of everyday life.

Toby Miller, like many critics of Hitchcock’s work, appreciates the role of the everyman in his spy films. Richard Hannay works within the confines of his own abilities and the resources of everyday life to rise to complete a task far above what could be expected of him. This portrayal is a reflection of Hitchcock’s conservative approach to spy films and flaunts the less realistic, overly dramatic spy film options of the time.