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IMDbPro

23 Paces to Baker Street

  • 19561956
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
32,241
6,589
23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
A blind American writer living in London stumbles upon a criminal conspiracy involving kidnapping and extortion.
Play trailer2:16
1 Video
41 Photos
CrimeMysteryThriller
A blind American writer living in London stumbles upon a criminal conspiracy involving kidnapping and extortion.A blind American writer living in London stumbles upon a criminal conspiracy involving kidnapping and extortion.A blind American writer living in London stumbles upon a criminal conspiracy involving kidnapping and extortion.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
32,241
6,589
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Henry Hathaway
    • Writers
      • Nigel Balchin(screenplay by)
      • Philip MacDonald(novel)
    • Stars
      • Van Johnson
      • Vera Miles
      • Cecil Parker
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Henry Hathaway
    • Writers
      • Nigel Balchin(screenplay by)
      • Philip MacDonald(novel)
    • Stars
      • Van Johnson
      • Vera Miles
      • Cecil Parker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 30Critic reviews

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:16
    Trailer

    Photos41

    Vera Miles in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Vera Miles in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Natalie Norwick in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Patricia Laffan in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Patricia Laffan in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Isobel Elsom in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Terence de Marney and Maurice Denham in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Estelle Winwood in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    A. Cameron Grant in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Vera Miles in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Vera Miles in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
    Vera Miles in 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Van Johnson
    Van Johnson
    • Phillip Hannon
    Vera Miles
    Vera Miles
    • Jean Lennox
    Cecil Parker
    Cecil Parker
    • Bob Matthews
    Patricia Laffan
    Patricia Laffan
    • Miss Alice MacDonald
    Maurice Denham
    Maurice Denham
    • Inspector Grovening
    Estelle Winwood
    Estelle Winwood
    • Barmaid at The Eagle
    Liam Redmond
    Liam Redmond
    • Joe
    Isobel Elsom
    Isobel Elsom
    • Lady Syrett
    Martin Benson
    Martin Benson
    • Pillings
    Natalie Norwick
    Natalie Norwick
    • Janet Murch
    Terence de Marney
    Terence de Marney
    • Det. Sgt. Luce
    Robin Alalouf
    • Bellboy
    • (uncredited)
    Ashley Cowan
    • Lift Operator
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Gomez
    • Mr. Da Mestre
    • (uncredited)
    A. Cameron Grant
    • Pinball Player
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Griffiths
    • Taxi Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Walter Horsbrugh
    • Shop Assistant
    • (uncredited)
    Janice Kane
    • Miss Da Mestre
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Henry Hathaway
    • Writers
      • Nigel Balchin(screenplay by)
      • Philip MacDonald(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film maximised 20th Century-Fox's "frozen funds" - money earned in England by the studio which, by law, could only be spent there. Hence, the extensive location footage is genuinely shot in London, whilst the interiors are all Los Angeles-based.
    • Goofs
      The depicted Portman Square apartment is directly over the Thames. However, Portman Square is actually about 2 miles from the Thames.
    • Quotes

      Phillip Hannon: [blind man] Well how does it look? Is it beautiful?

      Bob Matthews: Yes... yes, very beautiful - view, buildings.

      Phillip Hannon: [sarcastically] You make it all so vivid, I can almost see it.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Crimes of the Black Cat (1972)

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Minor Masterpiece; Relentless Beautiful Noir Mystery Achievement
    This I assert is a minor masterpiece of film-making, which has long been underestimated by critics but never by fans. Its images, I suggest, burn themselves into the mind where other cinematic tales soon pale and are forgotten. To mention just a few scenes, the film presents a blind playwright describing the view of the Thames to the fiancé he left behind, a lovely nanny who isn't quite what she seems playing another nanny or perhaps not, a sightless man guiding a lost man through a fog, the same man discovering that a building's front isn't there and a battle in the darkness between a murderer and victim. The script, adapted from a tense Philip MacDonald novel by Nigel Balchin, was made into what I say is an expensive-looking and relentlessly beautiful film by veteran director Henry Hathway. Henry Ephron produced, and every element was realized seemingly by flawless skill, from understated music by Leigh Harline to the cinematography by Milton R. Krasne, to the art direction by Lyle Wheeler and Maurice Ransford, to the outstanding set decorations by Walter M. Scott and Fay Babock and costumes by Travilla. Add famed Ben Nye as makeup artist and the great Helen Turpin as hair stylist and it would be hard for this film to have gone anything but very right. The cast is headed by lovely young Vera Miles as the love interest and Van Johnson coming near something very fine as the blind playwright, Philip Hannon. Maurice Denham plays a befuddled police Inspector, and Cecil Parker tries hard as Hannon's assistant. Patricia Laffan has her best role since Quo Vadis as the mysterious Miss MacDonald, stealing every scene she is in. Other actors showing to advantage include within this strongly-made and taut fictional noir mystery Liam Redmond, Isobel Elsom, lively Estelle Winwood, Martin Benson, Natalie Norwick, and Terence de Marney. On the grounds of pace, intelligence of dialog and sheer memorability alone, this is a Top Hundred film, and the father to many stories starring blind protagonists from TV's "Longstreet" to "Wait Until Dark". There had been films about a blind central character before; but this Technicolor, attractive and exciting film was the project that brought the idea of such films to the minds of producers and viewers alike as none before had done. The mystery I believe is an interesting one, the characters believable from first to last, and the extraordinary work by Patricia Laffan and Vera Miles raise the film far above its competitors' best. It is clearly much better than "in the Heat of the Night", the obsessive "Vertigo" or even "Key Largo". And its makers accomplish its power without striving consciously to achieve it. Were it not for "Rear Window", the film might be considered the best 50's noir of all. I recommend it unreservedly.
    helpful•40
    12
    • silverscreen888
    • Aug 7, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 27, 1956 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 23 Schritte zum Abgrund
    • Filming locations
      • Barkers of Kensington, 63 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,375,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.55 : 1

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