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‘The 39 Steps’ turns 90: How Alfred Hitchcock popularized the iconic ‘MacGuffin’ plot device

Summary by GoldDerby
The "MacGuffin" is one of the most famous, most enduring plot devices in all cinema (so much so, AMC Theaters named their in-house bars after it). The term was created by screenwriter Angus McPhail, but it entered the pop culture consciousness via McPhail's early collaborator, Alfred Hitchcock, whose works regularly employed the device. The filmmaker would later explain the concept to fellow auteur François Truffaut during their legendary 1960s …
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GoldDerby broke the news in on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
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