Don't Bother to Knock
Encyclopedia
Don't Bother to Knock is a 1952 American thriller film starring Marilyn Monroe
and Richard Widmark
, directed by Roy Ward Baker
and written by Daniel Taradash
. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying. Her strange behavior makes him increasingly aware that she is the last person the parents should have entrusted with their daughter.
), the bar singer at New York's McKinley Hotel, wonders if she will ever see airline pilot Jed Towers (Richard Widmark
) again. She had ended their six-month relationship with a letter. When Jed does register at the hotel, she explains that she sees no future with him because he lacks an understanding heart.
Meanwhile, elevator operator Eddie (Elisha Cook Jr.
) introduces his shy niece, Nell Forbes (Marilyn Monroe
), to guests Peter (Jim Backus
) and Ruth Jones (Lurene Tuttle
) as a babysitter for their daughter Bunny (Donna Corcoran
). The Joneses go down a function in the hotel's banquet hall. After the child is put to bed, Nell tries on a lacy negligee, perfume and jewelry belonging to Ruth.
Jed sees Nell from his room directly opposite. He calls her on the telephone, but she is not interested. When Eddie checks up on Nell, he is appalled to find her wearing Ruth's property and orders her to take them off. Eddie tells her she can obtain such luxuries for herself by finding another boyfriend to replace the one who was killed. After Eddie leaves, Nell invites Jed over.
Nell lies to keep Jed believing that she herself is a guest. She is startled when Jed reveals that he is a pilot. She confides that her boyfriend Philip died while flying an airplane to Hawaii.
Bunny interrupts them, and Nell's masquerade is unmasked. Furious, Nell shakes the child and orders her back to bed. Feeling sorry for Nell, Jed stays a little longer. He also comforts the crying Bunny and lets her stay up. When Bunny looks out the open window, it appears that Nell is considering pushing her out. Though Jed snatches the girl away, the incident is witnessed by Emma Ballew (Verna Felton
), a long-term hotel resident.
Nell escorts the child to bed, then accuses Bunny of spying on her and implies that something might happen to her favorite toy if she makes any more trouble. Jed has decided to seek Lyn's forgiveness, but Nell again begs him not to leave. As he is fending off a kiss from her, Jed sees scars on her wrists. Nell confesses that after Philip died, she tried to kill herself with a razor.
When Eddie checks up on Nell after his shift is over, Nell makes Jed hide in the bathroom. Eddie is irate that Nell is still wearing Ruth's things. He orders her to change clothes, then harshly rubs off her lipstick. The action enrages Nell, who accuses Eddie of being just like her repressive parents. Then, when he suspects that there is someone in the bathroom, she hits him over the head with a heavy object. While Jed tends to Eddie, Nell goes into Bunny's room.
Then a suspicious Emma Ballew (accompanied by her skeptical husband), knocks on the door. Fearing for his job, Eddie persuades Jed to hide behind the door, while he slips into the closet. Jed sneaks into Bunny's room. In the dark, he does not notice that the child is now bound and gagged. When the Ballews see him exit through the door of the adjoining room, they assume that Jed had forced his way in and was holding Nell captive. They notify the hotel detective
. Nell, who is now so deluded that she believes Jed is Philip, locks Eddie in the closet and goes into Bunny's room.
In the bar, Jed tells Lyn about Nell. Lyn is surprised by his concern. Suddenly realizing that Bunny was on the wrong bed, Jed rushes back up. Ruth Jones arrives first and screams when she enters Bunny's room. A struggle ensues. Jed rushes in and pulls Nell away, but she slips away in the confusion when the hotel detective shows up.
Eddie admits that Nell had spent the previous three years in a mental institution following her suicide attempt. In the lobby, Nell steals some razor blades. When she is surrounded, she considers using one. Lyn tries to calm her down. Then Jed persuades her to give him the blade. Nell is taken away by the police. Seeing that Jed does have empathy after all, Lyn reconciles with him.
was originally cast as the picture's star, with Jules Dassin
set to direct.
This movie marked the first time Monroe and composer Lionel Newman worked together in the same movie. The title credit music was used previously in the film Panic in the Streets (1950).
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
, directed by Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker , born Roy Horace Baker, was an English film director, credited as Roy Baker for much of his career. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film in 1959...
and written by Daniel Taradash
Daniel Taradash
Daniel Taradash was an American screenwriter.Taradash's credits include Golden Boy , From Here to Eternity , Rancho Notorious , Don't Bother to Knock , Désirée , Picnic , Storm Center , which he also directed, Bell, Book and Candle , Morituri , Hawaii...
. Monroe is featured as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Widmark, is staying. Her strange behavior makes him increasingly aware that she is the last person the parents should have entrusted with their daughter.
Plot
Lyn Lesley (Anne BancroftAnne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
), the bar singer at New York's McKinley Hotel, wonders if she will ever see airline pilot Jed Towers (Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
) again. She had ended their six-month relationship with a letter. When Jed does register at the hotel, she explains that she sees no future with him because he lacks an understanding heart.
Meanwhile, elevator operator Eddie (Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films...
) introduces his shy niece, Nell Forbes (Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
), to guests Peter (Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
) and Ruth Jones (Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...
) as a babysitter for their daughter Bunny (Donna Corcoran
Donna Corcoran
Donna Corcoran, is a former child actress who appeared in several Hollywood films of the early 1950s. She most notably appeared in several aquatic musicals that featured Esther Williams ,and as a vulnerable girl being victimized by an emotionally disturbed babysitter in a more...
). The Joneses go down a function in the hotel's banquet hall. After the child is put to bed, Nell tries on a lacy negligee, perfume and jewelry belonging to Ruth.
Jed sees Nell from his room directly opposite. He calls her on the telephone, but she is not interested. When Eddie checks up on Nell, he is appalled to find her wearing Ruth's property and orders her to take them off. Eddie tells her she can obtain such luxuries for herself by finding another boyfriend to replace the one who was killed. After Eddie leaves, Nell invites Jed over.
Nell lies to keep Jed believing that she herself is a guest. She is startled when Jed reveals that he is a pilot. She confides that her boyfriend Philip died while flying an airplane to Hawaii.
Bunny interrupts them, and Nell's masquerade is unmasked. Furious, Nell shakes the child and orders her back to bed. Feeling sorry for Nell, Jed stays a little longer. He also comforts the crying Bunny and lets her stay up. When Bunny looks out the open window, it appears that Nell is considering pushing her out. Though Jed snatches the girl away, the incident is witnessed by Emma Ballew (Verna Felton
Verna Felton
Verna Felton was an American character actress who was best-known for providing many female voices in numerous Disney animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera...
), a long-term hotel resident.
Nell escorts the child to bed, then accuses Bunny of spying on her and implies that something might happen to her favorite toy if she makes any more trouble. Jed has decided to seek Lyn's forgiveness, but Nell again begs him not to leave. As he is fending off a kiss from her, Jed sees scars on her wrists. Nell confesses that after Philip died, she tried to kill herself with a razor.
When Eddie checks up on Nell after his shift is over, Nell makes Jed hide in the bathroom. Eddie is irate that Nell is still wearing Ruth's things. He orders her to change clothes, then harshly rubs off her lipstick. The action enrages Nell, who accuses Eddie of being just like her repressive parents. Then, when he suspects that there is someone in the bathroom, she hits him over the head with a heavy object. While Jed tends to Eddie, Nell goes into Bunny's room.
Then a suspicious Emma Ballew (accompanied by her skeptical husband), knocks on the door. Fearing for his job, Eddie persuades Jed to hide behind the door, while he slips into the closet. Jed sneaks into Bunny's room. In the dark, he does not notice that the child is now bound and gagged. When the Ballews see him exit through the door of the adjoining room, they assume that Jed had forced his way in and was holding Nell captive. They notify the hotel detective
Hotel Detective
A hotel detective is a security guard employed by a hotel. Hotel detectives feature prominently in certain noir fiction, especially in the works of Raymond Chandler, and are sometimes referred to as "House Dicks"...
. Nell, who is now so deluded that she believes Jed is Philip, locks Eddie in the closet and goes into Bunny's room.
In the bar, Jed tells Lyn about Nell. Lyn is surprised by his concern. Suddenly realizing that Bunny was on the wrong bed, Jed rushes back up. Ruth Jones arrives first and screams when she enters Bunny's room. A struggle ensues. Jed rushes in and pulls Nell away, but she slips away in the confusion when the hotel detective shows up.
Eddie admits that Nell had spent the previous three years in a mental institution following her suicide attempt. In the lobby, Nell steals some razor blades. When she is surrounded, she considers using one. Lyn tries to calm her down. Then Jed persuades her to give him the blade. Nell is taken away by the police. Seeing that Jed does have empathy after all, Lyn reconciles with him.
Cast
- Richard WidmarkRichard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
as Jed Towers - Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
as Nell Forbes - Anne Bancroft Anne BancroftAnne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
as Lyn Lesley - Donna CorcoranDonna CorcoranDonna Corcoran, is a former child actress who appeared in several Hollywood films of the early 1950s. She most notably appeared in several aquatic musicals that featured Esther Williams ,and as a vulnerable girl being victimized by an emotionally disturbed babysitter in a more...
as Bunny Jones - Jeanne CagneyJeanne CagneyJeanne Carolyn Cagney was an American film and television actress.-Biography:She was born in New York City, the younger sister of film actor James Cagney and actor/producer William Cagney. She married Jack Morrison on June 6, 1953; they had two children...
as Rochelle - Lurene TuttleLurene TuttleLurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...
as Ruth Jones - Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Cook Jr.Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films...
as Eddie Forbes - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
as Peter Jones - Verna FeltonVerna FeltonVerna Felton was an American character actress who was best-known for providing many female voices in numerous Disney animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera...
as Mrs. Ballew - Willis BoucheyWillis BoucheyWillis Ben Bouchey was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but reared by his mother and stepfather in Washington State....
as Joe the Bartender (as Willis B. Bouchey) - Don BeddoeDon Beddoe-Career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe made his Broadway acting debut in 1929, receiving top billing in Nigger Rich....
as Mr. Ballew
Production Notes
This was Anne Bancroft's first film. It was Monroe's 18th and an attempt to prove to critics that she could act. The working titles of the film were Mischief and Night Without Sleep, the latter of which was the release title of another 1952 Twentieth Century-Fox film. Dorothy McGuireDorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress.-Career:Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage at the Omaha Community Playhouse...
was originally cast as the picture's star, with Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
set to direct.
This movie marked the first time Monroe and composer Lionel Newman worked together in the same movie. The title credit music was used previously in the film Panic in the Streets (1950).