| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Richard Widmark | as Jed Towers |
| Marilyn Monroe | as Nell Forbes |
| Anne Bancroft | as Lyn Lesley |
| Donna Corcoran | as Bunny Jones |
| Jeanne Cagney | as Rochelle |
| Lurene Tuttle | as Ruth Jones |
| Elisha Cook Jr. | as Eddie Forbes |
| Jim Backus | as Peter Jones |
| Verna Felton | as Mrs. Bellew |
| Willis Bouchey | as Joe the Bartender |
| Don Beddoe | as Mr. Bellew |
| MPAA Rating: | PG-13 |
| Distributor: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Release Date (US): | Aug. 1952 |
| Running Time (US): | 76 minutes |
| Domestic Box Office: | $125,548,685 (8/04/2000) |
| Foreign Box Office: | $? |
| Production Budget: | $52,000,000 (Est.) |
| Crew | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRODUCED BY | |||
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| DIRECTED BY: Roy Ward Baker | |||
| Writing Credits (WGA): | Charlotte Armstrong (novel) Daniel Taradash (screenplay) |
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| Original Music: | Jerry Goldsmith (uncredited) | ||
| Music Department: | Earle Hagen Bernard Mayers Lionel Newman |
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| Cinematography: | Lucien Ballard | ||
| Film Editing: | George A. Gittens | ||
| Costume & Wardrobe: | Charles Le Maire | ||
| Makeup: | Ben Nye | ||
| Visual Effects: | Ray Kellog | ||
| Sound: | Bernard Freericks Harry M. Leonard |
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| Art Direction: | Richard Irvine Lyle R. Wheeler |
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| Set Decoration: | Paul S. Fox Thomas Little |
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| Costume Design: | Travilla | ||
Airline pilot Jed Powers is having trouble with his girlfriend Lyn Lesley, the singer in a swank hotel's night club. She regards him as having no heart — no sense of empathy or compassion for others. They argue in the lounge and he goes up to his room.
Meanwhile Nell Forbes is being introduced to a wealthy couple by her cousin Eddie Forbes, the hotel's elevator operator. The couple are bound for a party in the hotel and want someone to look after their 10-year-old daughter for a few hours. Eddie thinks this is a chance for Nell, who has just returned after a stint in a mental hospital.
And she does seem fine as she meets the couple and their daughter. But after they and Eddie leave, Nell's behavior changes. She puts on some of the woman's expensive clothing and makes herself up. Jed sees her from his window in an adjoining wing and introduces himself. They begin a flirtation that grows rapidly troubling as Nell confuses Jed with another pilot she says died in a crash. He leaves in disgust and Nell turns her attention to the daughter, who soon becomes frightened — and with good reason.
Will Eddie, checking on her, realize his cousin is not recovered and step in? Will Jed put the pieces together and intervene in time? What about the nosy Mrs. Bellew and the house detective?
This black&white production is well executed throughout, and very watchable. It develops the tension very competently. Marilyn Monroe is lovely, as always. But more important is her pitch-perfect performance, chilling and at the end pathetic. Let no one doubt that she was more than just a sexpot.
The rest of the cast also turn in excellent performances. The ending is surprising: not the typical Hollywood ending, yet not a cascade of mayhem either. I found it very satisfactory.
My Rating:
8 out of 10
Capsule review: Although dated, Don't Bother To Knock features a bravura performance by a young Marilyn Monroe as the disturbed Nell Forbes. The black&white film generates tension aplenty, and resolves it in a satisfactory ending that's neither sappy nor savage.
| IMDB Rating: 6.9 | Raters: 4,338 |
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