User Reviews

Humphrey Bogart has created an impressive resume in movies. Thus when trying to choose which film personifies his best, it's difficult to say. Some would offer it's the 'Petrified Forest', others would argue and suggest 'The African Queen', or 'The Maltese Falcon'. They are all Classics, still this movie " Knock on any Door " is the one I would select. The story is taken from the novel by Willard Motley and able directed by Nicholas Ray. Seen in Black and White it relates the story of Nick Romano, superbly played by handsome John Derek (the stone-cutter from The Ten Commandments). Growing up wild and undisciplined in the wet streets of a big city, he is arrested for a Capital crime and stands a good chance of imprisonment or death. However, the only obstacle to that bleak future is able defense attorney Andrew Morton, attorney at law. The courtroom drama is inter-fused with the life of the young Romano and Bogart is at his best with a incredible narrative which encompasses the film. The drama is excellent as is the acting, leaving little doubt the end result is one of Bogart's best. Easilly offered or recommended to any fan of Bogart or Derek as a Classic picture. ****

Some have justly criticized this film for moralizing too much. However I still enjoyed it for the acting (Bogart of course and John Derek as well) and for the intelligent exploration of how much responsibility rests on the individual and how much on society. A note of interest is that Dewey Martin (Nicky's friend Butch) would later play Bogart's brother in The Desperate Hours. I also appreciated character actor Vince Barnett's (The Killers) portrayal as the less than reliable bartender. All in all, a flawed but nevertheless worthwhile film, 7/10.

It's fair to say, that life has left you somewhat scarred, growing up in poverty when times are hard, openings all but zero, just poor jobs that bring more sorrow, your only options leave you damaged, ruined, marred. But a lawyer chap has tried to help you out, given support, encouraged youth to grow and sprout, you've found a girl and settled down, past delinquencies outgrown, until that day when you're arrested, but there's doubt. In the courtroom you're examined, quizzed and grilled, after a copper was gunned down, brutally killed, your defence paints your life picture, how it couldn't be less richer, but under taunting, teasing, torment you're unskilled.

Humphey Bogart in his first movie for his own production company Santana. And introducing "pretty boy" John Derek. Bogart plays a sympathetic lawyer defending a juvenile delinquent(Derek)on trial for murder. Pretty average Film-Noir, but good enough to hold your interest. Courtroom scenes provide high drama and then comes the twist ending that really is not so surprising. Also in the cast are:George Macready, Allene Roberts and Mickey Knox. And then there is Dooley Wilson tickling the ivories.

***SPOILERS*** Nicholas Ray's first film that's very much like his 1955 classic "Rebel Without a Cause" which deals with a troubled youth where in "Rebel" it's star James Dean, as James Stark, was a troubled and misunderstood teenager. In the movie "Knock on any Door" the young man Nick"Pretty Boy" Romono", John Derek, is a hardened and career criminal. Arrested after a cop was shot and killed outside the 3.80 Club Nick is grabbed by the police together with a score of other persons and charged with the policemen's murder.

Attorney Andrew Morton ,Humphrey Bogart, who handles only property and probate cases goes against his law partners wishes to take up Nick's defense pro bono. Andrew feels that he owes him at least that since he holds himself responsible for the violent life that Nick had chosen years earlier. Six years ago Andrew turned the case of Nick's dad over to his law partner Ed Elkins, Curt Conway. He felt at the time that it was an open and shut case for old man Romono being found innocent. Elkins however blotched it up and caused the old man to be sentenced to a year in prison and died after four months behind bars. With Nick suddenly becoming the family bread-winner he drifted into a life of crime and worked himself up, over those six years, from petty theft to what he's now being accused of, the murder of a law enforcement officer.

Ahead of it's time, even though very dated now, "Knock on any Door" gets into the background of it's accused killer like a scalpel used by a neurosurgeon goes into the brain of his patient. The entire movie goes from Nick's trial to his past, through a series of flashbacks and shows how he got to where is is now; on trial for his life.

Handsome John Derek's first film and he does the best with the part that he has giving a three dimensional, unlike the usual cartoon-like, performance of the ruthless criminal Nick "Pretty Boy" Romono who has a heart of gold under all that barb wire that he covers himself up with. Humphrey Bogart gives his usual high quality performance as the lawyer Abdrew Morton who goes out of his way to try to save the "abused and troubled" young man from a one-way trip to the electric chair.

Very emotional and powerful ending sequence where Andrew gives his closing argument not just about his client's Nick Romono tormented and troubled past,as he pleads for the jury to spare his life, but also for the future. Andrews final summery is in preventing more Nick Romono's from evolving out of the depressed and hopeless crime infested neighborhoods that they come from and grow up in.

"Knock on Any Door" (Columbia 1949), a combination courtroom drama and delinquent youth social statement, was Nicholas Ray's directorial debut. Humphrey Bogart plays lawyer Andrew Morton, one time street tough turned idealistic lawyer. Bogart's independent production company made the film shortly after he broke away from Warner Brothers. Bogart's part was originally intended for Marlon Brando, but Brando withdrew after the death of producer Mark Hellinger.

On the verge of becoming a partner in his big-time law firm, Morton is yanked out of his ivory tower and into the past by the need to defend accused murderer Pretty Boy Romano (John Derek), who he attempted to help when Romano was a petty teenage criminal. This is told in flashbacks with Romano repeating his credo: "live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse". Probably the first film use of what has become a very tired expression. Morton carries a lot of guilty baggage into the trial. He blames himself for the imprisonment of Romano's father, an event that plunged the family into poverty and led to Romano's life of crime. Through the years he had tried to help Romano who had married a nice girl and attempted to go straight. But setbacks at work returned Romano to crime. Then his pregnant wife's suicide unhinged him and he killed a cop.

The "Knock on Any Door" expression refers to Morton's plea for leniency during the trial, as he blames the conditions in the slums and the affects of poverty for Romano's actions. Stating that behind any door are young men whose lives will be wasted unless they receive guidance and are assisted in becoming productive citizens.

"Knock on Any Door" provides a nice example of the unpredictability inherit in the film making business. A look at screenplay and cast would lead you to expect the film's strengths to be the Bogart-Derek scenes and the courtroom drama, with the romantic background story (told in flashbacks) a glaring weakness.

But the trial scenes which take up a substantial part of the film suffer from the usual procedural inaccuracies and are not particularly effective dramatically. Bogart pretty much plays his Captain Queeg character ("The Caine Mutiny") and spends more time whining than defending. The Bogart-Derek scenes are nothing special and there is no chemistry between the two actors. The narrative actually contradicts the theme of outrage over social inequities. The simplistic conclusions about social justice ring hollow and any sympathetic feelings toward Romano seem misplaced.

The production design is great. When combined with the haunting the black & white photography it makes for one of the best looking examples of the film noir genre.

What ultimately saves the film and actually makes it rather special is the romance between Romano and Emma (Allene Roberts). This unlikely character pairing (imagine James Dean's "Rebel" having a serious relationship with Melanie from "Gone With the Wind") somehow works as Roberts and Derek have a real chemistry together. And she introduces intangibles that are missing from the rest of the production. In addition, the relationship itself introduces a nice irony as it is the pressure to make Emma proud of him and to tangibly demonstrate his love that ultimately leads Romano back to crime.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Bogey is superb as defense attorney with too soft a heart under his tough guy exterior, and Derek is chillingly believable as the cool, young delinquent who thinks nothing of playing his friends for marks. Macready, as the relentless D.A, pulls no punches, and allows for no softness in an indelible performance.

A pioneering movie blazes a trail later imitated but never bested.

Knock on Any Door was Humphrey Bogart's first film after leaving Warner Brothers. He and his Santana productions did a few for Columbia at that time.

It's a throwback film to the Thirties, a time it was seen that all cures to society's ills was a better social program. That's the message that attorney Bogart was driving home to the jury, that for a few better breaks his client John Derek would be a solid citizen.

Actually during the course of the film, what we see of John Derek's life showed he had some opportunities and blew them. It also did show that the family had some rotten luck. A mixed message to say the least.

The film shows Bogart as an attorney and his involvement over the years with young John Derek who was making his screen debut. Derek has been arrested for killing a policeman after a bar stickup and he turns to Bogart for help. The first part of the film is Bogart's opening remarks to the jury at the murder trial and we see in flashback, Derek's life and how it intertwined with Bogart's.

The second half was the trial itself and the aftermath. George MacReady as the District Attorney probably gave the best performance in the movie. Another reviewer described MacReady as evil. Granted he usually is in his roles, but here he's just one very effective prosecutor.

Yet Knock On Any Door, confused as it is, does still raise some relevant questions. The scenes in the reform school are still being shown today and had their not been Code restrictions might have been more graphic. I only have to cite the movie Sleepers from a few years back.

Bogart fans will like it and John Derek certainly merited the nickname "pretty boy."

Bogart plays a forceful attorney who spends almost the entire film trying to convince the jury and the audience that Derek is an innocent victim of circumstantial evidence…

To prove his point, he takes the audience through a series of flashbacks into the dirty squalor and deprivation that brought about the killing in question…

The film is a patently phony attempt at social commentary which simply didn't come off… A sequel, "Let No Man Write My Epitaph," was made in 1960…

One line of dialog from "Knock On Any Door," used as Derek's motto, was often quoted by young people in the fifties: "Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse."

Humphrey Bogart's first film away from the controlled environment of Warner Brothers shows its technical flaws, particularly in the script which consists of scene after scene of relentless polemical exposition detailing the supposed evidence for why society has just as much a blame as the criminals living in the slums produced by them.

This is not a new message from the movies and after World War II, the intent to clean up the streets of America became much more of a signature statement for the left-leaning political crowd as a way to counter the focus on international affairs. Bogart and director Nicholas Ray were certainly huge figures in that movement but Bogie's first time as producer and Ray's second feature film leave much to be desired. Most of the performances are either too stiff or too exaggerated. Only Bogie manages to maintain a collected and understated performance despite his unnecessary preaching at the end. Perhaps no other actor in history portrays hard-edged cynicism better than Bogart, which makes it all the more surprising that his character remains this way for much of the film only to jump on society in the final scene.

Ray's direction is nothing too special as he was still feeling his way around a movie set. He does, however, exhibit some interesting and striking visual tricks, foreshadowing future films to come.

The message of this film is very important, and something we can think about today.

I will not ruin this plot for those who have not had the time to see it, but I recommend this as one of those 'hard to find' movies from Bogart's large collection.

For a thriller, this is the perfect ingredients. You have a good leading man, and a story centered around crime. The ending is one in a million. I disagree with the first review on this page, in no way does this film try to "glorify a hoodlum" the message is something we need to think about today when we see all these gang bangers on the news murdering people. There's a way we can do without all of that. This movie, should be a warning why you should not do those kind of things.

A film for Bogart aficionados as this great actor once again oozes class as the tough but empathetic lawyer.

The film though doesn't hit the same mark. The script is fairly weak and dated. Similarly the plot is tenuous and as a movie it hangs together as a romantic drama to coming of age drama, to crime drama with noir touches to retrospective character study of a juvenile delinquent turned criminal and finally all under "courtroom drama". It tries to hard to be too many things and doesn't really do justice to any of them - only Bogart and McCready's performances save this movie from being destined to the "forgettable bin".

The pace and direction is generally good and though it was Nicholas Ray's second film, his cinematography and style (using noir tones and angles) is a clear forerunner of his classic noir films including In a Lonely Place (again with Bogart) and On Dangerous Ground.

And so to John Derek, he definitely had the pretty boy looks for the "Pretty Boy Romano" role but his acting is lame and isn't believable - no matter how much Bogart and McCready (who incidentally puts in a solid performance as the DA) try to drag him up to their standard.

All in all, a reasonably interesting and engaging watch despite the flaws. Had Ray cast a better actor than Derek (e.g. Clift, Garfield or Curtis) and developed a more robust plot and less cliched script, this could have been up there as yet another classic in the Bogart canon.

A disappointing effort at the (apparently) age-old trope that crime and criminals are caused by society rather than the failings of men. These were done before this, and (many) were done after. In spite of the billing, John Derek is really the star of this picture, and he can't quite pull it off. Humphrey Bogart, as always, is excellent when he is on-screen, but this is not enough to carry the picture. Allene Roberts was beautiful, and played her role well, but it was doggedly one-dimensional. Back to the liberal theme here, the idea that bad neighborhoods, bad luck, bad times, and bad associates cause the loss of good young young people into eternal thug-hood is belied by all those (including Bogart's character) who rise above these things, and become decent and moral citizens. I found the whole effort ham-handed and preachy.

Nick Ray's 3rd film (I believe); his first with Bogey. Bogart is a lawyer and although his part is written a bit hokey, he convinces in the part. Mostly told in a conventional flashback like "A Woman's Secret". Good acting, decent photography. George Macready is excellent as well as the scarred, evil, but ultimately vindicated prosecutor. Though it has some melodrama of the forced variety, it manages to convey a sense of the rough edges around the conventional truth. No real heroes here.

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.

Humphrey Bogart stars in this rather uneven courtroom, flashback-dominated drama as a good-hearted defense attorney standing up for a young man (John Derek) accused of shooting a police officer dead while making an escape attempt. As Bogart fights against a persistent prosecuting attorney placed by George Macready, he tells the jury the story of his client's past. How this man accused of murder and facing the death penalty became the man he is, the sort of things he'd gone through, and all the while, trying to prove his innocence. Basically, Bogart spends most of the time trying to create sympathy for his client. Sympathy that the jury and the audience frankly cannot come to terms with.

"Knock on Any Door" is basically a standard courtroom drama picture with an iconic leading man narrating the whole story. It's fairly short, but sort of drawn out at the same time because this whole story of a demented young individual poisoned by the ravages of civilization has been told many times before and in better situations. Filmmakers like Otto Preminger and Sidney Lumet would later go on to prove that when it comes to courtroom dramas, it's better to relate to the killings through word of mouth rather than showing it either as a prologue or a flashback, for it just seems to get in the way and there is far more drama that can be generated by the actors relating to this event none of them have seen.

"Knock on Any Door" is a spotty and very uneven courtroom drama with very little to surprise and even less to move the audience. Even the famous and well-acted final sentencing speech done by Bogart does not strike with the impact that one should expect it to. But do not be confused. I am not bashing "Knock on Any Door". I am just simply saying that it's an underplayed, but nevertheless worthy way of spending exactly one hundred minutes of your time. Humphrey Bogart is great as usual, but the problem is that his character is a frankly uninteresting and two-dimensional defense lawyer. Bogart gives the character some charisma, but the writing just generates a recyclable hero. But do not be misled. I am not panning "Knock on Any Door." It works fine for what it is. But if you want to see Humphrey Bogart in a truly charismatic, well-written role, then rent "Casablanca." And if you want a truly well-realized courtroom drama, then set your sights on "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959) and/or "12 Angry Men" (1957).

Look there is a very good movie around here. the idea ,if less patronizing, was actually interesting. this could have been a great court drama, because the court moments weren't boring. the main problem here (besides bogart's speech at the end that it's too naive and patronizing) lies on the first hour: the flashback. there are two issues: this should have been made mostly in court with some flashbacks coming in the middle. second: john derek is not exactly the best actor.

The problem is how the structure was made: they relied too much on derek to hold the whole thing... the flashback has some boring moments, even though is not plain bad. we can find the whole story a bit emotional at times, and we can understand the life of the guy. but he's not the most compelling character in the world. Plus derek can't pull this off - we can understand why nicholas ray liked the story of this rebel with no understanding of societal rules - but the script should have been better written with another actor probably.

I mean, the film is still ok...not the best thing in the world, but better than a lot of court dramas - actually there are not court films anymore are there? - and it does have an interesting ending, if we exclude a bit what i've said above. bogart can't act bad and he didn't. there are some themes ray will explore later on his career and the plot is well thought.

but it's a bit naive, by the numbers, and bad structured. so.... if you like court dramas, go ahead. but if you're thinking on going to see bogart or nicholas ray films, don't put this on top of your list. it entertains, but there are better stuff to check. i did know it and risked. don't regret it, also don't think is awesome.

While it may be argued that the picture presents an extremely liberal viewpoint on the causes of teenage crime, it is nonetheless an excellent film.

John Derek, as Nick Romano, is absolutely fabulous in the lead role. He is certainly depicted here as a victim of society. When his father dies in prison, after being sent there due to shoddy work by his attorney, Derek becomes embittered and turns to crime. The reform school is shown as a place that hardens this young man.

He meets his Juliet and for a time things are looking up until the lure of the streets, his inability to handle a job, the poor company he keeps and the crowd that he runs around with, all lead to tragedy.

Humphrey Bogart is equally impressive in the role as the attorney for Nick. His impassioned plea for mercy at the end of the film is done extremely well.

Look for Sid Melton as a young hood with a variety of marvelous supporting performances, especially that of George MacReady as a relentless prosecuting attorney.

I had my doubts about Humphrey Bogart in this role. He played Andrew Morton - an attorney who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks but got out, getting (as he says) a law degree by night school and taking on contract and property law with a major law firm who gets dragged back to the old neighbourhood so to speak to defend a young man charged with the murder of a police officer. Something about this role seemed "un- Bogart." I really didn't think he'd work well. I was wrong. He's actually pretty convincing in the courtroom scenes; he does a good job with them. The basic problem with the movie is that more than half of it isn't a courtroom drama, and so it doesn't make the most effective use of Bogart as it should. Instead, most of the movie is really spent exploring the background of Nick Romano (John Derek) - the accused young man.

I'd say first that the movie's a little bit laughable by modern standards. Honestly, Nick does't come across as that bad a guy (he drinks, he gambles, and, yes, he's pulled off some robberies) but that all seems pretty tame compared to what we see today on the news on a daily basis. Also, the neighbourhood he grew up in doesn't look all that bad, compared to - well - a few neighbourhoods today. So, in that sense, it doesn't strike home with a 21st century viewer. Even things like the press and prosecutor calling Nick "Pretty Boy" - maybe when this was made that would have carried a connotation; today, it just seems silly. So perhaps the basic story loses some of its power.

It loses its power, because the long recounting of Nick's past is used by Morton as a way of defending him. The basic message Morton is offering seems to be that whatever Nick has become - it's not his fault. It's society's fault. There's a moralistic, preachy tone to this that grated on me a little bit - and I'm certainly not a conservative by any stretch of the imagination. There were extended periods when I felt I was being lectured at rather than entertained. I would guess, then, that today's conservatives must sneer at this movie and at Bogart's performance. Now, they'd probably sneer at Bogart anyway. He was, after all, a liberal Democrat who once took on the House Un-American Activities Committee during the great Communist witch hunt known as the Red Scare. I admire him for doing that. But I was put off by the tone of this movie.

Having said that, Bogart's performance, when he was front and centre, did not put me off. I liked him in this. He surprised me in a role that I didn't really think would suit him. There are also enough twists and turns in the story (right up until the end) and enough uncertainty about Nick (did he do it or not) that, its overly moralistic tone aside, this wasn't a difficult movie to watch. It made its social point, I suppose, but it did so by focusing too much on Nick's background and the hardship of his upbringing at the expense of creating what probably could have been a more compelling courtroom drama. (6/10)

This is indeed an odd flick and I assume Bogart agreed to star in it because it more closely represented his real-life political and social beliefs. Because of this, it appears to be a sincere effort--unfortunately, it just doesn't grab the viewers. I assume that MANY who saw it in 1949 were VERY disappointed because instead of the tough guy Bogart, he is a lawyer who decries the evils of slums and how it produces career criminals. This social crusader Bogart must have REALLY gone over well with those who wanted the tough guy! My problem is that blaming society is too easy an answer and that really turned me off as I watched. Plus the rhetoric was just too ridiculous and over-the-top. Secondly, it just didn't convince me--if Derek's character or the events leading up to the crime were better written, I might have gone along with the premise. As it was, Derek WAS a punk and deserved to be severely punished. The film would have been MUCH better if the attempts to gain sympathy for the criminal had been deserved. Sure, he had a tough life, but ultimately, he executed a cop and was a menace. This connection and empathy just isn't there--as the writers did a lousy job of creating a flawed character worth saving--Derek was not worth the crusade. So overall, a slightly worse than average flick, though for Bogart a sincere effort but a miss nevertheless.

Star-studded cast. Good acting throughout. Pretty intense at times. Solid camera work. Odd courtroom scenes. Well worth seeing !