Van Johnson plays a blind American writer who is renting an apartment on Baker Street while in London for the opening of his new play. After a row with his former fiancée (Vera Miles), he decamps to the local pub to drown his self-pity with a drink. There, his acute hearing picks up hushed snatches of conversation from the next booth. Convinced that a kidnap plot is in the offing, he rushes to the police, who are polite but refuse to believe him. However, Johnson knows what he heard is true and engages the help of Vera and Cecil Parker, his secretary, to find the kidnappers and save the unknown victim.
This terrific suspense film takes interesting chances with the genre. Johnson's character is a study in frustration, a portrait of a man investigating something he knows exists but cannot see. The direction builds tension well and is supported by a fine musical background which heightens the mood.
23 Paces to Baker Street was one of several 20th Century-Fox films shot on location in London to take advantage of Fox's "frozen funds" -- money earned by the studio in England which by law could only be spent in that country.
(范·约翰逊饰演一位美国盲人作家,他在伦敦为新剧的首演租了一套位于贝克街的公寓。在和前未婚夫吵架之后é(薇拉·迈尔斯饰)他到当地的一家酒吧喝了一杯,以消弭自己的自怜。在那里,他敏锐的听觉捕捉到了隔壁电话亭传来的几段安静的谈话。他确信一个绑架阴谋即将发生,他冲向警察,警察很有礼貌,但拒绝相信他。然而,约翰逊知道他所听到的是真实的,并在维拉和他的秘书塞西尔帕克的帮助下,找到绑架者,并拯救未知的受害者。
这部精彩的悬疑片在这一类型中抓住了有趣的机会。约翰逊的角色是一个在挫折中的研究,一个男人调查他知道存在但看不见的东西的肖像。该方向建立张力很好,并由一个良好的音乐背景,提高情绪支持。
《23步到贝克街》是20世纪福克斯在伦敦外景拍摄的几部影片之一,这些影片是为了利用福克斯的“冻结资金”——福克斯在英国的制片厂赚来的钱,根据法律,这些钱只能在那个国家花。
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