On D List of Movie Reviews

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Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 1/25

1/25: The best film ever by Marilyn Monroe?

Why...it's Don't Bother to Knock which might be the only one worth watching of her career. Let's face it: Marilyn Monroe wasn't a good actress, and there may be some, if not total, truth in her role as she was like that in real life which ended with a possible suicide. Her character's mental disorder is quite accurate.

Giving the film more credence is the presence of Richard Widmark to set up the noir vibe. His character didn't know what he was in for after first seeing a lonely woman across the building. Once she signaled that it's okay to come over, that should've told him what's wrong with her, hence the film title. At the end, he found out the hard way. At least, he didn't get wrongly accused should something go wrong.

Granted, the story is plenty stupid. The guy starts being sympathetic to the loon's problems, his singer-girlfriend suddenly sees the good in him, and they're together again? Ha! By the way, Anne Bancroft makes her screen debut although she's unrecognizable for the most part if I think of how she looked in later films such as The Miracle Worker and The Graduate.

All in all, Marilyn Monroe was average throughout her career, but she got the chance to prove critics wrong in Don't Bother to Knock.

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