23 Paces to Baker Street

Plot

Philip Hannon is a blind playwright who lives in a London flat with a spectacular view over the River Thames between Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross Station. One day, he overhears part of a conversation in a pub that possibly involves a plot to commit a crime. He tries to contact Inspector Grovening, who offers no help, so Hannon, his butler and his American ex-fiancée Jean seek to bring the kidnappers to justice. Their sleuthing soon leads them to a nanny agency with dire repercussions.

Cast

• Van Johnson as Phillip Hannon
• Vera Miles as Jean Lennox
• Cecil Parker as Bob Matthews
• Patricia Laffan as Miss Alice MacDonald
• Maurice Denham as Inspector Grovening
• Isobel Elsom as Lady Syrett
• Estelle Winwood as Barmaid
• Liam Redmond as Mr. Murch
• Martin Benson as Pillings
• Natalie Norwick as Janet Murch
• Terence De Marney as Sergeant Luce

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote:[A] large part of this picture is curiously casual and slow, as Van Johnson, as the blind man, bores the mischief out of everybody with his hazy suspicions. He bores Vera Miles as his ex-sweetheart. She would much rather bill and coo. He bores Cecil Parker as his butler. He would rather make cultivated gags. And, for that matter, he bores the audience, too. ... [M]atters do start popping about half or two-thirds of the way along, when it is finally discovered, through various coincidences, that something has been cooking all the time. But you have to depend on Mr. Johnson—and Nigel Balchin, the screenwriter—to give you the details after they've been discovered. This is not a good way to get people interested in a mystery show. ... But it would be a more exciting picture if it got going with a little more snap, established a more compelling mystery and built up some genuine suspense.

References

References

1. Solomon, Aubrey. ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series)''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. {{ISBN. 978-0-8108-4244-1. p250.
2. 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', ''Variety Weekly'', January 2, 1957.
3. "23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
4. Crowther, Bosley. (1956-05-19). "Screen: Foggy Mystery". [[The New York Times]].