23 Paces to Baker Street

"STEP-BY-STEP..."

1956 1h 43m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 87

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.

“STEP-BY-STEP...”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Hathaway
Writers: Nigel Balchin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

70 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Leigh Harline. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James B. Clark shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Van Johnson and Vera Miles and Cecil Parker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "STEP-BY-STEP...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0048919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Hathaway directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Leigh Harline scores. James B. Clark cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
270 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Henry Hathaway, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Leigh Harline. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor James B. Clark shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Van Johnson and Vera Miles and Cecil Parker carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "STEP-BY-STEP...".
8IMDB entry: tt0048919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 87 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Leigh Harline
Editing: James B. Clark
Costume design: Travilla
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,375,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: 23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

Also by

Henry Hathaway

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-03-22
★ 7/10
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

Production companies