Van Johnson/Phillip Hannon's apartment in Portman Square is over the River Thames, but the real Portman Square is... two miles from the Thames!
Well, he was blind, so he probably didn't care much about this small detail.
It's quite funny the way American directors take liberties with London's geography. It's like they're trying to fit a travelogue into the film as well as the story. No way does Portman Square overlook the Thames but it IS near Baker Street!
In 'A Touch of Class', George Segal lives in Belgravia, works at Vauxhall, but it shows him going to his office via Bank in the City.
I don't think Van Johnson is a very good actor. Despite this, 23 Paces is one of my favourite 50's films, cheesy though it is in parts.
Sorry for the delay in replying, I was absent from the IMDb message boards for nine months.
Quite indeed. Well, I suppose that some member of the British team mentioned the goof but Henry Ephron or a 20th Century Fox boss replied something like "Hmmm, this is an American movie, set and filmed in London, and American audiences want to see English bobbies, red double-deckers, red telephone booths, fog... and the Thames, of course, but nobody will care about its exact location." And that was it.
Great your 'A Touch of Class' anecdote! If I ever watch it again I'll pay more attention and will enjoy the peculiar itinerary.
'23 Paces' is an old favourite of mine as well. Mainly because of Cecil Parker, Patricia Laffan (Poppaea in 'Quo Vadis!) and... LONDON! (That London of the 50s, like the one in 'The Horse's Mouth' and others).
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And if Baker Street was 23 paces from his flat overlooking the Thames, then those 23 paces must be bloody ginormous giant paces!