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
Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless
Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
padawanmovies (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)I happened upon this film last week on the FX Movie channel. I must say I really enjoyed it; typically I flip through my menu looking for classic movies that either have an interesting plot or an actor I'm familiar with. I LOVE LOVE classic movies and like I said I'm a fan. It's a pretty simple premise; really liked the idea of an unstable babysitter losing it during her watchful duties. Although I wanted to slap the nosy couple, I liked the handful of characters. I just wished Nell was a little more CRAZY but that's just me nit picking bc it was a subtle sort of movie. Decent way to wind down ones' day
rodrig58 Whoever dares to say or write again that Marilyn Monroe was just a dumb blonde, will have to deal with me. This movie was made when I was minus 6 years old and I saw it now, in August 2017, for the first time. I saw it, it's a kind of say. In fact, I lived with her all the film, with the beautiful, young and talented Marilyn Monroe. And not only just with her. I sipped her with my eyes also the very young, equally very talented and beautiful, Anne Bancroft. In fact, I tracked both of them with my mind and my soul. Both are exceptional, especially Marilyn, who makes a big role as a mad woman with suicidal tendencies, which is not easy. Great actress! Delicious woman! Richard Widmark is also very good. All the others, Elisha Cook Jr., the little girl Donna Corcoran, Verna Felton, are all authentic and convincing. A film with a simple, excellent and well-written story. Great directing by Roy Baker, who started his career as a tea boy at the Gainsborough Studios in London. Check on him, the man is a real legend!
roddekker Favorite movie quote - "She's violent, so go easy!" Well-well-well - Who would've ever thought that Marilyn Monroe (the proverbial blond "eye-candy" from a 1950's Hollywood) could ever pull off a fairly convincing portrayal of a tragically psychotic babysitter with tendencies of a seriously destructive nature? Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that Monroe delivered an Oscar-worthy performance, or anything of the sort - But, I will say that there was certainly something genuinely eerie and, yes, even compelling about her portrayal. And, that, alone, was sufficient enough to hold my attention and keep me intrigued throughout Don't Bother to Knock's (DBTK, for short) 76-minute running time.Clearly meant as a vehicle to showcase the undeniable allure and magnetism of the 26-year-old Monroe, DBTK was, in itself, quite a quirky, little picture for the year 1952. Not only did this picture hold some very intense and dramatic moments, but it also had a few really priceless moments of unintentional humor, as well.From where I was sitting, I found that the only scenes which held my rapt attention were, of course, the ones that focused in on Monroe's character, Nell Forbes, whose mental state was deteriorating rapidly.All-in-all - I was not at all disappointed with this vintage, b&w picture where Monroe took a walk on the loony-tune side.(Ironically speaking) - Sad to say, in 10 years time (1962), Monroe would, indeed, be dead by her own hand.
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.