23 Paces to Baker Street
| 23 Paces to Baker Street | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release lobby card | |
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Henry Ephron |
| Written by |
Philip MacDonald (novel) Nigel Balchin (screenplay) |
| Starring |
Van Johnson Vera Miles Cecil Parker |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | James B. Clark |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | May 18, 1956 |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,375,000[1] |
| Box office | $1 million (US rentals)[2] |
23 Paces to Baker Street is a 1956 American drama film released by 20th Century Fox. It stars Van Johnson and Vera Miles.
The Hitchcockian mystery thriller, filmed in Cinemascope on location in London, focuses on Philip Hannon, a blind playwright who overhears a partial conversation he believes is related to the planning of a kidnapping. When the authorities fail to take action because they believe his story is the product of a writer's fertile imagination, Hannon searches for the child with the help of his butler and fiancée, using his acute sense of hearing to gather evidence and serve as guidance. The plotline of the film bears some resemblance to Hitchcock's Rear Window of 1954, which also features a disabled protagonist witnessing a crime, which the police refuse to take seriously, therefore placing him in danger and culminating in a final standoff with the killer in the protagonist's apartment.
Nigel Balchin's screenplay, based on a novel by Philip MacDonald, was directed by Henry Hathaway.
Cast
- Van Johnson as Phillip Hannon
- Vera Miles as Jean Lennox
- Cecil Parker as Bob Matthews
- 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
- Patricia Laffan as "Mr. Evans"/Miss Alice MacDonald
Reception
Critical response
In his review in The New York Times, Bosley Crowther observed, "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 . . . . for that matter, he bores the audience, too. Lots of unimpressed fellows were ho-humming in the balcony at Loew's State yesterday . . . matters 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 . . . 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."[3]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957.
- ↑ The New York Times review