Don't Bother to Knock was special for three reasons. Richard Widmark, who usually played villains, got to play the innocent hero and the love interest. Anne Bancroft made her screen debut as a lovely nightclub singer. And it was the only time Marilyn Monroe got to play a character as emotionally unhinged as she was in real life! I know that sounds harsh, but if you've read a dozen biographies on the blonde bombshell like I have, you'd know her emotional turmoil was just as memorable as her star power. If you've never seen her in a drama and want a change of pace, rent this thriller.
She stars as a woman recently released from a mental institution, emotionally raw, frightened, and incredibly insecure. Perhaps this role hit a little too close to home and Hollywood didn't want her to give a repeat performance, but I liked seeing her in the realistic part. Rather than giving her open-mouthed grin and rattling off a silly one-liner, she's constantly nervous. She puts on a black negligee and invites a total stranger to her hotel room, but mid-seduction she changes her mind and nearly has a mental collapse. She abuses her power as a babysitter by threatening and punishing the child so she can feel more powerful and in control, and at inconvenient times she hallucinates.
I'm building this up, but she doesn't give the performance of a lifetime. Marilyn Monroe wasn't known for being a great dramatic actress, and for good reason. She just didn't have the chops. I'm building this up because I always find it very interesting to see an actor or actress playing a part that reflects struggles in their personal life.
And I haven't even touched on the other two reasons for why this movie is special! I'm a huge Richard Widmark fan, and I always found him far too handsome and charming to keep playing bad guys. In this movie, compared to Marilyn, he's the innocent victim. His girlfriend is Anne Bancroft, a lovely, sweet, nightclub singer in a hotel lounge. They chat in between her numbers, but when he makes it clear he's not the marrying kind, he leaves the lounge and gets seduced by the busty blonde across the hall. It's not really fair to compare Anne to Marilyn, but it's still a great break for her debut. She gets the camera all to herself during her musical numbers, she holds her own against an established leading actor, and she shows audiences at home that she's respectable, strong, and has that rare commodity: self-respect. You can't make a better first impression than that, can you?
She stars as a woman recently released from a mental institution, emotionally raw, frightened, and incredibly insecure. Perhaps this role hit a little too close to home and Hollywood didn't want her to give a repeat performance, but I liked seeing her in the realistic part. Rather than giving her open-mouthed grin and rattling off a silly one-liner, she's constantly nervous. She puts on a black negligee and invites a total stranger to her hotel room, but mid-seduction she changes her mind and nearly has a mental collapse. She abuses her power as a babysitter by threatening and punishing the child so she can feel more powerful and in control, and at inconvenient times she hallucinates.
I'm building this up, but she doesn't give the performance of a lifetime. Marilyn Monroe wasn't known for being a great dramatic actress, and for good reason. She just didn't have the chops. I'm building this up because I always find it very interesting to see an actor or actress playing a part that reflects struggles in their personal life.
And I haven't even touched on the other two reasons for why this movie is special! I'm a huge Richard Widmark fan, and I always found him far too handsome and charming to keep playing bad guys. In this movie, compared to Marilyn, he's the innocent victim. His girlfriend is Anne Bancroft, a lovely, sweet, nightclub singer in a hotel lounge. They chat in between her numbers, but when he makes it clear he's not the marrying kind, he leaves the lounge and gets seduced by the busty blonde across the hall. It's not really fair to compare Anne to Marilyn, but it's still a great break for her debut. She gets the camera all to herself during her musical numbers, she holds her own against an established leading actor, and she shows audiences at home that she's respectable, strong, and has that rare commodity: self-respect. You can't make a better first impression than that, can you?