23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)

Directed by Henry Hathaway; produced by Henry Ephron

American playwright Phillip Hannon (Van Johnson) has lived in London since he went blind. Somewhat bitter at life, he nonetheless carries on, aided by his secretary, Bob Matthews (Cecil Parker). One evening, though, while sitting in a neighbourhood pub, he overhears a plot to commit, if not a criminal act, then a highly immoral one, involving betrayal and possibly violence. When the police tell him that he has given them nothing to follow up, Hannon, Matthews and the former’s erstwhile girlfriend (Vera Miles), try to stop people they don’t know from perpetrating something they can’t guess.

I’m certain that the set-up for 23 Paces To Baker Street – individuals unseen heard planning a crime - has been used numerous times, but there are only so many premises that can be original. Nonetheless, it’s what a book or movie does with the premise that makes or breaks it, and fortunately, 23 Paces to Baker Street does well enough to create an entertaining mystery.

Unlike Hotel Reserve, reviewed last week on this blog, the trio of amateur investigators in this film follow a more or less logical series of endeavours to find the criminals - if criminals they are - and, while some of their inquiries lead to dead ends, they help expand the characters, if not the plot. And there is an obsession for Hannon - the feeling that he is missing something fundamental about the villain (‘Mr Evans’) - that always hovers in the background. The climax is a good one, and anticipates that of 1967’s Wait Until Dark.

The characters are the weakest part of the movie. Hannon has seemingly run away from New York, perhaps to get away from old commitments, but his irascible personality seems more a part of who he is than due to his blindness. Miles’s character has little depth and Matthews is played for amusement as much as for the plot, though he isn’t that amusing.

The acting is good. Johnson cannot be said to be a charismatic performer, but he has always given competent service in the movies, and is watchable. Here he makes a mildly sympathetic lead, who becomes more involving as the movie progresses. The minor characters, played by British actors, lend veracity and interest. They are, in fact, more interesting than the leads.

Good use is made of London’s locations: the Thames, affluent districts, local neighbourhoods. Advantage is taken of the fact that eleven years after the Second World War, the Metropolis was still rebuilding its ruins. There is a strange misplacement of Hannon’s flat, though: it overlooks the river, indeed, seems to be on the Embankment; its views are those of the Savoy Hotel. Yet several times, its address is given as Portman Square, which is far ‘inland’.

23 Paces to Baker Street - a title that relates not at all to the plot - is not a major entry in the mystery/crime genre of films, but is a fun, undemanding movie. (Note: producer Ephron was the father of writer/director/producer Nora Ephron.)