23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Philip MacDonald (novel)
Nigel Balchin (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 July 1956 (West Germany)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

STEP-BY-STEP...(original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race...

Plot Keywords:

London | Kidnapping | Hearing | Fiancee | Rescue

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
Liam Redmond	...	Mr. Murch
Isobel Elsom	...	Lady Syrett
Martin Benson	...	Pillings
Natalie Norwick	...	Janet Murch
Terence de Marney	...	Sgt. Luce

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

West Germany:12 (cut version) | West Germany:16 (uncut version) | USA:Approved (certificate #17867) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The central plot-gimmick about the mysterious "Mr.Evans" and its final revelation is a lift from the "Mr.Christopher" strand in The House on 92nd Street (1945), also directed by Henry Hathaway in 1945.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Nursemaid Who Disappeared (1939)

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