23 Paces to Baker Street

• Van Johnson: Phillip Hannon
• Vera Miles: Jean Lennox
• Cecil Parker: Bob Matthews
• Patricia Laffan: Miss Alice MacDonald
• Maurice Denham: Inspector Grovening
• Estelle Winwood: barmaid in the "Eagle"
• Liam Redmond: Joe
• Isobel Elsom: Lady Syrett
• Martin Benson: pilling
• Natalie Norwick: Janet Murch
• Terence de Marney: Detective Sgt Luce

23 steps to the Abyss ( Original title: 23 Paces to Baker Street) is an American crime film directed by Henry Hathaway in 1956 with Van Johnson, Vera Miles and Cecil Parker in the lead roles. The film was produced by Twentieth Century Fox based on the novel A Warrent for X by Philip MacDonald.

Action

The highly successful and acclaimed American playwright and writer Phillip Hannon responded for an accident that left him blind to his immediate surroundings with unconcealed irritation and resentment. Literally become an overnight doomsayers, he has become quite buried in his work, which offers him last emotional support before the absolute nihilism, but bored him to death in his heart, because it ties him to a sterile tape, with whom he philosophical dialogues leads. Intellectually his environment far superior, he abruptly withdrew from his fellow men, former friends and the outside world and has been living for two months largely isolated alone with just the kind-hearted butler Bob Matthews in a comfortable apartment in the London borough of Kensington.

As a completely unexpected his former secretary and ex- fiancée Jean Lennox at his home in London to visit him from the states, to congratulate him on the phenomenal success of his theater piece in New York, she suddenly proposes after initial sympathy undisguised sarcasm and aloofness contrary, as they inquired from him the reason for his sudden departure of his and bitterness. Hannon will, however, allow in their presence, no sentimentality, in his eyes a nakedness, and includes Jean harsh and brittle from. But Jean, who still loves the poet, despite his blindness, can reject not so easy. She feels that Hannon's hard facade is pure self-protection to expire by its suffered fate not in despair, self-pity and depression, they would like to help him, but Phil Hannon makes it not easy and sends Jean with a cynical remark back in their rented London flat to still take a trip to his local pub in London's theater before the premiere of his play. The eagle is a restaurant that is not far from his apartment Kensingtoner. When Bob wants to accompany him, he also has the help of back harshly and makes itself on the way.

In the pub arrived to Hannon sets to its rightful place and ordered from the barmaid a double whiskey in order to recover from the confusion of his feelings, the jeans unannounced visit to his home with him has caused doubt. He is a sudden involuntary overheard a conspiratorial conversation between two people behind him, sitting with his back to him, only separated by a pane of frosted glass. His other senses, the acoustics and his sense of smell sharpened many times since his blindness, and he may, only interrupted by a loud Pinball in the Barmitte, almost completely follow the conversation. It derives from the content, the snatches of conversation and the emotional reactions between Evans and another person, that on the 10th of the month, a crime was planned. Completely torn from its initial doom and gloom, he has every word listened spellbound.

As the brief but eerie conversation is over and the two persons left the restaurant, they come past his table. One of the persons accidentally drops a glove near his table, whereupon Hannon for a brief moment in a position to perceive the body odor of strangers. He thereby falls on a strange smell, but he can not interpret that right now. He asks the bartender to his table to describe the two unknowns. The barmaid, which actually has no special interest in this conversation, tells of a man and a woman, their description is very superficial. Hannon will already react angrily when a few moments later, Bob enters the pub, which is, after all, still followed despite jeans advice, not to mother Hannon him out of concern for his drinking habits in the eagle. But Bob can help with the physical description of the two unknowns not because he has not seen anyone entering the restaurant.

Back in his apartment, Hannon recapitulated minutely the conversation with the help of his audio tape and the dialogue between the two unknowns speaks emotionally after. He then informed the police. He suspects - to 10 it's just one more week - that it could be either kidnapping or robbery. But Inspector Grovening sends him home and thinks it spanned imagination. Phil now determines the name of the fragrance, which he had heard in the bar. To cheer him up, want to help him Bob and Jean: Phil remembers that she had taken the '73 bus and would be working for a noble household. So they embark on a search for the unknown woman by at night nobility Register wallow in search of Lords with young children who are living in Knightsbridge. The focus thickens until dawn on Lady Syrett and their nanny Janet Murch, who was hired by the agency of the Unity Domestic Bureau. There now are Jean before, to apply for a job.

When Jean earnestly inquired about Janet, the agency director, Mr. Piling, suspicious, he asks for Jeans address. Taken by surprise, she gives him that of Hannon. Shortly after, a woman reported in Hannon, posing as Miss MacDonald - she wears the perfume out of the bar therefore Phil asks his housekeeper, and her hinterherzueilen to take a picture. Bob rushes after her, pursued her for several hours, buy the way a camera as they come through a department store, it also manages to take her picture, she loses but then, when the persecution goes into an abandoned house. Wet and tired, he comes back with the camera. But when Lady Syrett on the developed photo can not recognize their employees, the disappointed Phil wedged against his servant, against Jean. Then he decides to place a classified ad in which the nanny Janet is asked to choose his phone number. - In a scene set in a bar, a drunken woman is already paid for by a shadowy figure lasting for impersonate the nanny Janet Murch, it is the name of the author blind embossed. Meanwhile, the real Janet decides to call on Phil; by still speaks of the phone booth on the Thames, Evans appears and forces them to Phil a meeting " with her father " in an hour at the Adler propose. Evans stabbed Jane after she hangs up and throws it into the Thames.

An hour later, so take a person who pretends to be Jane Murch, and Phil Hannon in the bar, the writer tries in vain to give the impression that he can see the other offers him the chance to bring him to Janet. When they left the restaurant, they will just Bob sees that the two follows: The man Phil brings to the semi- ruined house and enclose it in a room whose back wall is already demolished. When finally breaks a piece of the floor, Phil recognizes the danger in which it is located, calls for help and is rescued by his servant. Back home, Phil recognizes in a scene with his ex -fiancee how much he still clings to life. Now that Janet's body was pulled from the river, also inspector Grovening to the theory of the playwright begins to believe.

Phil, who feels responsible for Janet's death is fully recognized at the Middle of the ominous date of the possible crime. When replaying the tape, he realizes that with the name Mary 'of the luxury liner Queen Mary must be meant, who had created that morning in London. With the help of the police he checked the passenger lists of affluent travelers with children. The Argentine DeMesters with her seventeen year old daughter seem to be the only candidate. When the police rushes to the hotel, she learns that the daughter has disappeared with governess. For a quick search around the wheelchair and a doll of the girl appears, finds the telltale scent of the Phil.

Since he can bring this fragrance with MacDonald in connection, he sends the police by telephone to the abandoned house to which the supposed nanny out his servants, and where he had been held captive. Not, however, on MacDonald - The police also true for the girl and two of his kidnappers. Suddenly the telephone conversation breaks off with the police; Phil suspects deadly danger to himself and Jean, who is with him in his apartment. He wants to escape, but the stairs he hears noises and repeatedly the name of Evans. So he smashes all the bulbs and thus emerged the apartment in total darkness.

When Evans enters the apartment, it can confuse him by letting play the tape recording. The deflected burglar he may engage in a fight, and both fall back on the stairs, Evans slips and falls to death. When the alarmed police examined the body, it turns out that behind Evans disguised as a man MacDonald infected.

In the final scene, the reconciled Phil and Jean caress.

German synchronization

The information on the German dubbed version taken from the synchrondatenbank.de

The dubbed version was founded in 1956 at Elite film Franz Schroeder GmbH in West Berlin. The dialog book wrote Fritz A. Koeniger. The dialogue was directed by Rolf von Sydow.

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Reviews

" A blind writer is in London witnesses a kidnapping and assassination plans, but will not listen to the police and gets in trying to solve the case on your own, in mortal danger. Not very realistic, but psychologically interesting and very exciting thriller with excellent camera work. "

Production Notes

The scene image came from Maurice Ransford and Lyle R. Wheeler. The editor comes from Bernard Freericks and Harry M. Leonard. The costumes provided Travilla, the buildings created Fay Babcock and Walter M. Scott. Ben Nye and Helen Turpin distinguished themselves responsible for masks and hairstyles. The special effects were by Ray Kellogg. Lionel Newman had as a conductor for the musical direction. Location of the film was Barkers of Kensington, 63 Kensington High Street, Kensington ( London) in England.