Watch 23 Paces to Baker Street For Free

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

23 Paces to Baker Street is directed by Henry Hathaway, has a screenplay by Nigel Balchin and is based on the novel by Philip MacDonald. The film stars Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker and Estelle Winwood.Phillip Hannon(Van Johnson)is a playwright who is extremely bitter having recently become permanently blind. Hannon lives in London, in a Thames side apartment with his loyal manservant Bob(Cecil Parker). Hannon's bad temper isn't helped when his former fiancé Jean(Vera Miles)stops by to see him, he doesn't want her to feel sorry for him and cannot understand that he can still have romance and be happy despite his loss of sight.One night in a pub, Hannon overhears a conversation that troubles him, he believes the two people were talking about kidnapping a child. Reporting what he heard to the police he is annoyed when they say they don't have enough evidence to do anything. Hannon, Bob and Jean do some investigating of their own. On the streets of a foggy London the trio try and find the couple from the pub and try and prevent a kidnapping.This film has a good spooky atmosphere, aided greatly by the London setting. Johnson does quite a good job as the bitter Hannon who can't let his suspicions go. Vera Miles is good as the loyal Jean, she is still in love with Hannon and is happy to be a part of Hannon's life, even if she can only be his friend and assistant. Cecil Parker steals every scene he's in as the loyal Bob.It is a good film even if the plot is somewhat far fetched. I always wonder what this story would have been like had Hitchcock directed it. The plot is one that would have made a perfect film for him and it would no doubt have become much more suspenseful than it is.

Van Johnson's highly developed senses of sound and odor go a long way in 23 Paces To Baker Street. Although there's no reference at all to Baker Street's most famous resident in literature, Johnson turns out to be quite the detective himself although he had two premises initially wrong. The blind Johnson is an American author living in London and keeping company with fellow expatriate Vera Miles. His only living companion is his valet Cecil Parker. While enjoying a drink at a nearby pub, he overhears what sounds like a criminal plot of kidnapping. Of course when he takes his suspicions to Scotland Yard they are understandably dubious.Without sight and not being able to write apparently even braille, Johnson records the conversation on his tape recorder and goes over and over it. What I liked about 23 Paces To Baker Street and Johnson's performance in it is that it shows Johnson making use of his other senses which in turn give him a kind of mission in life as opposed to being bitter about his fate. On the other hand he certainly has obvious vulnerabilities which the bad guys take advantage of. There is a harrowing scene in a bombed out building from the Blitz in which Johnson is nearly killed.Young Natalie Norwood as an unwilling participant in the plot is also a standout here. And Patricia Laffan who was both Poppaea in Quo Vadis and the Devil Girl From Mars is equally villainous here.Nice job all around with director Henry Hathaway getting great performances from Johnson, Miles, and the British cast supporting them.

Okay, so in story 23 Paces to Baker Street mayn't be the most original on the block, but it doesn't necessarily need to be to be entertaining. There may be the odd cliché about, however there is much to enjoy namely the suspenseful and Hitchcockian-like story and the telling and suspense of it is very taut too. The film is very well made, with stylish photography and striking production values while I enjoyed the traditional fog used. Henry Hathaway's direction is excellent too, the screenplay is cracking, Van Johnson is very good in an ideal role, Vera Miles is suitably sympathetic and the support cast are faultless. Overall, very entertaining, well made and suspenseful film and worth repeat viewings. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Van Johnson is a blind playwright in London. cranky since he lost his sight he lives a reclusive existence having driven away anyone who cared about him. He's helped along by a butler. One day when he wanders off to a pub he overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that a terrible crime-a kidnapping or murder-is going to take place. When his call to the police gets him nowhere he decides to stop the crime himself, and so with the aide of his butler and his ex-fiancé he tries to get to the bottom of the crime.Shot in a beautiful widescreen that was lost in the pan and scan version I saw (Its wide at the start and end for the titles) this is a nifty little thriller that is akin to Hitchcock's films of the 1950's. While it echoes Hitchcock's work it is decidedly its own beast with the plot and events playing out in ways that Hitch never really explored. Johnson's blindness is both a blessing and a curse and a good chunk of the tension comes from not knowing if he's in over his head. The plot is nicely crafted so that, like Johnson and his companions, we are not sure what exactly is being planned. We have to piece things together. The performances are very good with everyone nicely filling out their assigned roles.If there is a problem with the film its that film has the feel of some of the big budget films of the 50's that were made in color and on location so that people would be lured back to theaters in order to see things they couldn't get on TV. Its often too "big" for some of the small moments with shots set up to look good in widescreen, but almost at the cost of the story. Still its a minor complaint and the film looks good in the full screen edition I saw.This is one to look out for, especially if you're a Hitchcock fan, since it appears to be an under appreciated thriller.7 ish out of 10.