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Don't Bother to Knock

Don't Bother to Knock

  • Status: Released
  • 18-07-1952
  • Runtime: 76 min
  • Score: 6.6
  • Vote count: 147

An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.

Richard Widmark

Jed Towers

Marilyn Monroe

Nell Forbes

Anne Bancroft

Lyn Lesley

Donna Corcoran

Bunny Jones

Jeanne Cagney

Rochelle

Lurene Tuttle

Ruth Jones

Elisha Cook Jr.

Eddie Forbes

Jim Backus

Peter Jones

Verna Felton

Mrs. Ballew

Willis Bouchey

Joe the Bartender

Don Beddoe

Mr. Ballew

Harry Bartell

Bellboy (uncredited)

Gloria Blondell

Janie - Cafe Photographer (uncredited)

John Call

Bellboy (uncredited)

Dick Cogan

Bell Captain (uncredited)

Charles J. Conrad

Speaker (uncredited)

Tom Daly

Man in Elevator (uncredited)

Elizabeth Flournoy

Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Woman at Awards Dinner (uncredited)

Charles Flynn

Uniformed Cop at End (uncredited)

Robert Foulk

Doorman (uncredited)

Grace Hayle

Mrs. McMurdock (uncredited)

Marjorie Holliday

Phone Operator (uncredited)

David McMahon

Uniformed Cop at End (uncredited)

Eda Reiss Merin

Maid (uncredited)

Harold Miller

Banquet Guest (uncredited)

Vic Perrin

Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Michael Ross

Pat - Hotel Detective (uncredited)

Olan Soule

Bespectacled Desk Clerk (uncredited)

Brick Sullivan

Doorman (uncredited)

Emmett Vogan

Toastmaster (uncredited)

Harry Denny

Harry Evans

Tom Ferrandini

Kay Garrett

Carl M. Leviness

Hans Moebus

Monty O'Grady

Foster H. Phinney

Paul Ravel

talisencrw

Just a couple of years back, I picked up this mammoth 17-film DVD collection of Marilyn Monroe's films for a really good price, only to find that the ridiculous way the discs were placed in the digipack basically ruined them, and after watching the movies the best that I could, I reluctantly had to part with it, hoping the set would soon be released at a decent price on the more resilient blu (as you can tell, I'm old-school and low-fi, but I'm hoping to quickly remedy this problem!). As you can tell by any of my prior reviews of Richard Widmark's films, I'm a huge fan of his, and he's easily one of my favourite and most entertaining and watchable actors of the period. As well, Roy Ward Baker is one of the most underrated directors of the period--his entry in The Criterion Collection, 'A Night to Remember', is easily the best telling of the 'Titanic' tragedy. Thus simply on the basis of those three alone, I heartily recommend the film to any adventurous cinephiles of this era.

Cat Ellington

Nell Forbes was by far the darkest and most volatile character Marilyn Monroe had ever portrayed in her entire career. Written by Daniel Taradash and directed by Roy Ward Baker, Don't Bother To Knock - a chilling and uncommonly masterful film noir thriller - gives its viewers an up-close glimpse into the crevices of a deeply disturbed human soul. Need a babysitter ... anyone? Yet another five star oeuvre, Don't Bother To Knock is an effort of prodigious degree in classic cinema.