Don't Bother to Knock

Year: 1952
Genre: Drama
Directed: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Richard Widmark, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Bancroft, Donna Corcoran, Jeanne Cagney, Lurene Tuttle, Elisha Cook Jr., Jim Backus, Verna Felton, Willis Bouchey, Don Beddoe
Production: 20th Century Fox

Don't Bother to Knock starts with airline pilot Jed Towers (Widmark) conversing with his soon to be ex Lyn (Bancroft) at the bar of a swanky New York hotel. Six months into the relationship, Lyn has decided that the looming problems of Jed's complacency and cynical nature are enough to warrant an end to their relationship. "You lack an understanding heart," says Lyn before getting back on the stage of the hotel's lounge for another set. She leaves; Jed is devastated, "How About You" plays in the background. Jed walks upstairs to his room and immediately gravitates towards a mysterious blonde who occupies the room across. He wants to get to know her; he picks up the phone...she answers. The woman on the other end is of course the sultry Marilyn Monroe who is working as a babysitter for a wealthy family. She's starry eyed, possesses pinup girl good looks, is magnificently poured into another woman's garments and is mentally unstable.

I need not expand on Marilyn Monroe the legend but it's important to realize that throughout her career she had a surprising amount of control over her image. She leaned into the idea of becoming the "blonde bombshell" sex symbol that made her a star, all the while trying to shout down critics who claimed she couldn't act. Don't Bother to Knock is a minor piece in her filmography for this very reason. It was sold as the movie to debut Monroe as leading lady talent but only succeeds in making look silly. Her characterization of the shy and mentally unstable babysitter Nell Forbes is at times embarrassingly broad; like what a teenager would think a bereaved and psychotic young lady acts like.

Yet at certain key moments (especially in the beginning), Monroe ably coasts on her waif-like innocence to engineer some pretty masterful moments. Her brief interactions with Elisha Cook Jr. who plays her uncle and the hotel's elevator operator exudes paternal tenderness. Her moments with Bunny (Corcoran) the child she babysits, erupt in bratty tartness. However inconsistent, when she was on the ball she really was on the ball.

...and always blocking that vent for some reason

Sometimes she carried a movie to near greatness through sheer sex appeal. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) the very next year proved Monroe a real driving force in box office returns. Don't Bother to Knock however shows an actress unable to find her voice amid a tempest of wrought melodrama. It's evident Monroe's very real immaturity was more of a trap than an act. Co-star Richard Widmark remarked on the making of the film that "we had a hell of a time getting her out of the dressing room...she was scared to death of acting."

The real star of Don't Bother to Knock (if one had to choose), is its provocative screenplay written by Daniel Taradash (adapted by the Charlotte Armstrong novel). While almost distractedly modest in scale and scope, the film nevertheless crackles with spurious dialogue. Given the film's common appeal and limited location settings one could see a entertaining if disposable stage play being made out of it. Sure it's not Shakespeare but as far as Marilyn Monroe vehicles go, it rivals Bus Stop (1956) in its ability to dilute the budding star to whatever essence she allows herself to reveal.

Don't Bother to Knock is a wholly disposable film that inconsistently glimmers under the glam of its star. While not quite as awkward as River of No Return (1954), the film can't help but feel minuscule and trivial thanks to average acting, director Roy Ward Baker's meandering direction and a fundamental misunderstanding of psychology. Don't Bother to Knock? I'd simply say don't bother.

Final Grade: D