Van Johnson and Vera Miles know there are only “23 Paces to Baker Street”

23 Paces to Baker Street (1956) is an American mystery directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Van Johnson and Vera Miles. The supporting cast features Cecil Parker, Isobel Elsom, and Estelle Winwood.

Philip Hanson (Johnson) is a blind playwright living in London. With the help of his butler Bob Matthews (Cecil Parker), Hanson writes in his flat overlooking the Thames river. One day, Hanson overhears a conversation at a local pub that sounds to him like a plan to commit a crime. He tries to get help from Inspector Grovening (Maurice Denham) without any success. So he turns to his butler and Jean Lennox (Miles), his ex-fiancée. Will the three of them crack the case or find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for?

Henry Hathaway (1898 – 1985) was an American film director and producer. Hathaway started working in silent films in 1925 as an assistant to established directors like Victor Fleming and Josef von Sternberg. His first solo directorial effort was Heritage of the Desert (1932) starring Randolph Scott. Hathaway, along with Scott, would be known for western movies. Besides Scott, Hathaway directed Gary Cooper in several films, including The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) which earned him his only Best Director Academy Award nomination. In 1940, Hathaway began working at Fox where he directed Tyrone Power in Johnny Apollo and Brigham Young (both 1940), Gene Tierney in China Girl (1942), Don Ameche and Dana Andrews in Wing and a Prayer (1944), and Call Northside 777 (1948) starring James Stewart and Richard Conte. After leaving Fox, he was one of three directors who worked on the western epic How the West Was Won (1962). He directed Steve McQueen in Nevada Smith (1966), directed John Wayne in True Grit (1968) which won Wayne his one and only Best Actor Academy Award.

Van Johnson (1916 – 2008) was an American film, television, stage, and radio actor. He was a major star at M-G-M during and after World War II. During his heyday, Johnson was packaged as the boy next door which made him a popular leading man into the 1950s. Johnson starred opposite some of the biggest female stars in Hollywood including Esther Williams, June Allyson, Judy Garland, and Elizabeth Taylor. Some of Johnson’s many films include Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Thrill of a Romance (1945), Easy to Wed (1946), and In the Good Old Summertime (1949).

Van Johnson and Vera Miles

Vera Miles (1929 - ) is an American actress (retired) who was a popular leading lady in film during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, Miles signed a five-year personal contract with Alfred Hitchcock. Earlier he cast her opposite Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man (1956) and was his original choice for the female lead in Vertigo (1958). Hitchcock was grooming Miles as his next “cool blonde” replacing the recently retired Grace Kelly. When Miles became pregnant, she lost the role to Kim Novak. Miles starred in two classic John Ford westerns: The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Other film roles include Lila Crane in Psycho (1960), Beau James (1957), The FBI Story (1959), and Hellfighters (1968).

23 Paces to Baker Street trivia

• A lot of the film's exteriors were shot in London as opposed to a Hollywood backlot.
• The balcony scenes overlooking the Thames were shot from the Savoy Hotel.
• The scars on Van Johnson's face are real. He was in a serious car accident—his head went through the windshield—in 1943 while filming A Guy Named Joe starring Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne.

To watch the movie on YouTube, click the link below.

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Discussion questions

1. Did this film remind you of other films you've seen?
2. Was Van Johnson convincing as a blind man?
3. Did the on-location filming make a difference in the overall feel of the film?
4. Would the film have been better if it was filmed in black and white?
5. Were you surprised by anything?
6. Does the title have anything to do with the film?
7. Was the ending satisfying?