Don't Bother to Knock
Don't Bother to Knock
| 18 July 1952 (USA)
Don't Bother to Knock Trailers

Jed, an airline pilot, is resting in a hotel when he notices Nell, a young woman babysitting for a wealthy couple. As Jed gets to know Nell better he realises that the woman is not as stable as perhaps she should be.

Reviews
Softwing

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

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FirstWitch

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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Robert Joyner

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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Nayan Gough

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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Mark Turner

Marilyn Monroe is considered an iconic representation of the Hollywood female star. Her looks still inspire millions who adore her. Her breathless dialogue is mimicked to the point it is recognizable. The term glamour is still associated with her. But few look back further than those major performances she left for us to view. Not so with the release of DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK.This is Monroe's first major role, the first film where she had a lead worth noting. She certainly had starring roles in previous films but this was the first to place her center stage in the lead role. Film historians consider her performance here one to back up the claim that she was a talent that deserved more than she received.Monroe stars as Nell Forbes, a young woman whose uncle Eddie (Elisha Cook Jr.) works as an elevator operator in a posh New York City hotel. Peter and Ruth Jones' (Jim Backus and Lurene Tuttle) are in town for him to receive an award at a dinner in the hotel that night and have brought along their young daughter Bunny (Donna Corcoran). Eddie has assured them that Nell is the perfect woman for the job and soon they're introduced and the pair go off to their dinner.While this is transpiring we also meet Jed Towers (Richard Widmark) and Lyn Lesley (Anne Bancroft). Lyn is a singer in the lounge at the same hotel and has just broken off her relationship with Jed, a man who comes to town periodically but offers her no hope of a future together. Feeling that Jed has no sense of emotion deep inside Lyn tells him her issues and he leaves, going up to his room.That room is right across the way from the room Nell is in. Looking across the way Jed sees her. Nell has now displayed a different side of herself to us the viewers. She begins by eating chocolates the Jones' have left behind. She puts on a nightgown of Ruth's as well as stocking and her jewelry. Jed assumes she's in her room and calls her to flirt, eventually getting himself an invite to come over.This rebound date for Jed turns out to be more than he expected. While things seem to move along smoothly at first he soon learns the truth about Nell. At the same time we begin to learn more about her as well, including the fact that she lost the love of her life and has attempted suicide. The question rises what will she do here in this situation? Is Bunny safe in her care? Will she do harm to Jed?The movie move along at a steady pace and holds your interest from start to finish. I wasn't sure in reading the synopsis that this would be the case or not. Fortunately it does so and does it well. Even better than that we're presented with two main characters that we have no reason to sympathize with, two characters that at first seem to earn our disdain only to learn, as they do, that there is more going on beneath their shells than we expected.I've never been a fan of Monroe and honestly this film didn't make me one. I've always found her breathless way of speaking to be annoying and it can be that way at times here in this film. But she does hold her own and shows a certain amount of allure that would go on to make her a huge success. Widmark by this time had already made his mark as a star. He could have hogged the camera for himself but his performance here shows he was willing to provide an assist to someone new, both in Monroe and Bancroft's performances. Bancroft's role here isn't at the heart of things but she does provide a character that helps to bring out the best in Widmark's.Twilight Time is releasing the film as they do with all of their titles, in a great looking hi def 1080p presentation and limiting the release to just 3,000 copies. This time around they've included several great extras to be enjoyed including an isolated music track, a featurette called MARILYN MONROE: THE MORTAL GODDESS, another featurette RICHARD WIDMARK: STRENGTH OF CHARACTERS and the original theatrical trailer. If you're a Monroe or Widmark fan make sure you order this today. With limited copies available they could be gone soon.

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poetcomic1

Marilyn without the Strasbergs, without the Russian drama coach, without the Method, without the hours locked in her trailer shaking with stage fright. And it is her best ever acting job. This is the ONLY film that really taps into the 'off-kilter' and wounded quality of MM and uses it as an indispensable element of the movie. Elisha Cook's little turn as an elevator operator and his repartee with M.M. is a memorable minor moment and one of many such delights scattered throughout. I've heard that Richard Widmark was very nice to Marilyn and helpful on the set. Of course with 40 or 50 takes for even short scenes, a Billy Wilder can put up on the screen a dazzling Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot but this is the real Marilyn not just her sheer 'luminescent beauty'. Even by the time she made Niagara, something was lost already, though she was very good in that.

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Fred S. (fredschroeder-63011)

While the movie was artfully crafted it was not necessarily enthralling. The plot sort of dragged on, only peaking interest with Marilyn's acting. In this film she was slightly deeper than her previous roles, moving beyond simple sex appeal. her role in this film is deeper, darker. She is a babysitter, yet she is involved with a random man. she is deceptive in that she had spent time in a mental institution, she hid this from the bosses. the lighting and cinematography in this film were important in the making of marilyn's character. the shadows kept her hidden in certain points, attaining the certain feel of film noir.

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dougdoepke

A disturbed young woman takes a baby-sitting job in a hotel and attracts a male guest whose girl has just rejected him.The movie's a Marilyn oddity. Looks like TCF was floating a trial balloon to see what the promising Monroe's acting limits might be. But they didn't want to spend much money in the process. So, except for leading man Widmark (probably under contract), the low-end production makes do with basically one apartment, dour photography, and a journeyman director (Baker). At the same time, the script appears constrained by a compromised role for Marilyn. Her Nell is clearly disturbed, and perhaps a menace. Yet the producers want to make her pitiable, but not dislikable. So we get hints of disturbance and nothing more. Trouble is that drains away what suspense would be generated by anything more truly pathological. Consequently, scenes of a confused Nell accumulate without building.Marilyn's de-glamorized as she should be, no curvy treats here. Instead she's made wide-eyed pretty in blue-collar garb that's not exactly an eye-catcher. She does okay in the role, but the production's working against her. As the studio would soon determine, her real talent lay in musical comedy where her personality could sparkle. In that career sense, the film amounts to something of a sorting out process. Not so for Anne Bancroft who really shines in her first movie role. No wonder she quickly moved up. Anyhow, the movie stands as something of a curiosity piece, now mainly for movie research and hard-core Marilyn fans.

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