VividSimon Simply Perfect

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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.

Kevin DiBiase Don't Bother to Knock was a solid film that defied the expectations I had going in. When I heard the Marilyn Monroe starred in the film, I was expecting a much lighter, but still dramatic, picture. Instead, Monroe gives a fantastic and unsettling performance that lets us peer into the mind of someone truly broken and deranged. The movie does a good job at setting up her character's backstory, though it has a hard time giving us reason to be invested in most of the other characters. Marilyn is without a doubt the highlight of this movie, but on the whole the movie excels in many ways. The pacing is very good, and the movie makes the most out of it's short run time. It is also very well shot, with moody, shadowy scenes lending themselves well to the dark subject matter at hand. Though I think the story is engaging, it seems a bit underdeveloped, and more of an excuse to move from disturbing scene to disturbing scene. Overall however, I enjoyed this movie quite a bit and would recommend it.

popcorninhell 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.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.

AaronCapenBanner Roy Ward Baker directed this psychological thriller that stars Richard Widmark as Airline pilot Jed Towers, who is staying at the hotel of his girlfriend Lyn(played by Anne Bancroft) who works as a singer in its lounge. Bored, he notices the beautiful Nell Forbes(played by Marilyn Monroe) who is a live-in babysitter for hotel guests. Unfortunately, she is mentally unstable, and neglects her current assignment with a young girl named Bunny to pursue Jed, whom she is convinced is her deceased fiancée alive again... Good cast and direction, but film isn't particularly suspenseful or compelling, and doesn't amount to much; mostly for fans of Monroe.