23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

Famed American playwright Phillip Hannon is in London making revisions to his play currently running in the West End. He is doing this mundane work rather than write a new play since he has... See full summary »

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Nigel Balchin (screenplay), Philip MacDonald (novel)

Stars:

Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Van Johnson	...	Phillip Hannon
Vera Miles	...	Jean Lennox
Cecil Parker	...	Bob Matthews
Patricia Laffan	...	Miss Alice MacDonald
Maurice Denham	...	Inspector Grovening
Estelle Winwood	...	Barmaid at The Eagle
Liam Redmond	...	Joe
Isobel Elsom	...	Lady Syrett
Martin Benson	...	Pillings
Natalie Norwick	...	Janet Murch
Terence de Marney	...	Det. Sgt. Luce

Storyline

Famed American playwright Phillip Hannon is in London making revisions to his play currently running in the West End. He is doing this mundane work rather than write a new play since he has retreated from life following the recent and permanent loss of his sight. That retreat from life includes breaking off his engagement to his former secretary, Jean Lennox, who still loves him. One evening at his local pub, he overhears a conversation between a man and a woman that he knows involves criminal activity, what he surmises to be the kidnapping plot of a child in exactly one week's time. The local police patronizingly dismiss his report as the overactive imagination of a blind writer. With Jean and his faithful manservant Bob Matthews by his side - the former with some reluctance on Phil's part - Phil goes on a search to uncover the plot using what little pieces of information he has at hand, which includes the man's name being Evans, the woman, who is involved under duress, working as a ...

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Plot Keywords:

police | playwright | kidnapping | pub | bus | 

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Taglines:

The screen's most unusual crime-challenge!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 1956 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

23 Schritte zum Abgrund

Filming Locations:

Barkers of Kensington, 63 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The curious title (a clear allusion to Sherlock Holmes) is only referenced once, when Phil helps a lost bespectacled man find his way in the fog.

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Goofs

When leaving Lady Syrett's the first time, Bob puts Phil's scarf on his shoulders, then the camera angle changes and he puts it on him again.

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Connections

Version of The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939)

User Reviews

A truly pleasant surprise.

Philip Hannon is a blind playwright residing in London, during one of his R&R moments at the local public house, he overhears part of a conversation that suggests the vile kidnapping of a child. Getting the police force to take him seriously proves hard to achieve, so with the help of his trusty butler and his ex fiancée, Jean Lennox, he hopes to avert a dastardly crime.

Well well well, sometimes you can tune into a film not expecting much more than a B movie rush, yet just occasionally you get submarined and get a mysterious treat that deserves far better support than it actually gets. I have been delighted to log on to this films page and see that others have been entertained by this picture as much as myself. This is not ground breaking or even remotely original, in fact it does play out as some sort of cheap knock off idea that Hitchcock turned down in his sleep, but you know what? Sometimes a film can be great just for having an honest will to entertain the viewers with suspense and mystery being its main fortitudes.

Henry Hathaway directs and it's just another film to prove that as up and down as his career was, he was never afraid to tackle different genres, here, with the London location totally interesting, he manages to knit it all together with impressive results. Van Johnson has his critics, and it would be foolish of me to not concur that at times he has been wooden, but here as the blind Phillip Hannon, he shows that if given good enough roles he was more than able to rise to the challenge. Not one to revisit often for sure, but seriously recommended to those who like the genre and are stuck for a good film to watch. 7/10