This remains a lukewarm tale of a young man's descent into crime, from petty theft to cop-killer. Doesn't seem to pack the punch of its sequel, "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"(1960) perhaps because some of the 'code restrictions' had been lifted by the 60s. Bogart's character never seems to fully develop, and one is left to wonder, had director Ray given license to Derek, as he did James Dean, in "Rebel Without a Cause"(1955), if we might have something different here. What we end up with is a fairly good picture bogged down with social commentary, not at all like the sprawling novel by Willard Motley.
Review of Knock on Any Door
