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DVD Don't Bother to Knock
Marilyn Monroe's first bona fide starring role came in the taut, stripped-down film noir Don't Bother to Knock. She plays a recently institutionalized, none-too-stable babysitter, awkwardly tending a little girl in a Manhattan hotel. Richard Widmark, jilted by the songbird (Anne Bancroft) in the hotel lounge ("The female race is always cheesing up my life," he pouts), puts the make on the lonely blonde in room 809, to his regret. The picture benefits by not being a "Marilyn" movie, but just a good little thriller with, as it happens, a terrific performance by the future superstar. Monroe's childlike distraction eerily suits her rattled character, a misfit who can't distinguish her tragic past from the confusing present. Kudos to Daniel Taradash (From Here to Eternity), whose script contains a collection of tart slang that neatly captures the noir feel--all without leaving the boundaries of the hotel. --Robert Horton
Marilyn is so amazing in her role of Nell, the psychotic babysitter, who is hired for one night to babysit an 8 year old girl. Her uncle is the elevator jockey, and he gets her the job. She has just moved to NYC after being released from an institution. She attempted suicide after her lover is killed in WWII. At the hotel, she meets Jed, played excellently by Richard Widmark. I think him and Monroe had a great chemistry together. Jed doesn't have a very understand heart at first, but by the end of the night he is a changed man. They meet looking across into each other's hotel rooms and decide to chat in her room. The little girl, Bunny, is bothered by him being there and makes problems for Nell. Nell does everything she can to keep the girl away. She even almost kills her! MM mesmerizes me everytime I watch any scene from this film. She is very expressive, and she just delivers an awesome performance. I think she should have stuck to dramatic roles.
Beautiful But Dangerous.....
This review refers to The DVD edition(Diamond Collection/20th Cent Fox)of "Don't Bother To Knock"
This film is a must have for Marilyn completists. From 1952,as a very young and emerging screen idol, she turns in an expert performance, as a woman on the edge, in this psychological drama. It also stars Richard Widmark and Anne Bancroft in her first feature film role.
The beautiful Nel(Monroe) has arrived in New York from Oregon to forget her past. She has had deep psychological problems and has recently been released from an "institution". Uncle Eddie(Elisha Cook Jr.),elevator operator at an established hotel, gets her a job babysitting for some of the guests, after all 'they' did said she was better now! But Marilyn turns out to be the babysitter from hell when her past takes over and she loses control. But even hell can be heavenly when Marilyn Monroe is involved,as she draws you into her spell and captivates you for the entire film.
The film directed by Roy Baker, has some wonderfully shot sequences that are chilling in Black and White.The character development is remarkable. As Nel goes from a quiet babysitter to a dangerous woman, Richard Widmark, is also brillant as his character develops from a cynical snob to a caring human being. It is also obvious, that in this early role, Anne Bancroft had that special something it took for her to become the great star she is today. Jim Backus and Gloria Blondell also add their talents to the supporting cast.Some old romantic tunes, including "How About You" also add greatly to the story.
This film is over 50 years old, but you won't know that by viewing this restored edition. It looks great and may be viewed in DD2.0 surround or the original mono. The special features include a restoration comparison, several trailers for other films from the Diamond Collection and a wonderful still gallery.There are subtitles in English and Spanish.It is presented in the original academy ratio (full screen1.33:1).
So don't forget to always check references and enjoy.....Laurie
Norma Jean fans, read BLONDE
I don't often see books recommended as a companion to a movie, but in this case, I strongly believe Blonde, by Joyce Carol Oates, is essential to understanding Norma Jean Baker's transformation to "Marilyn Monroe." Sure, it is a semi-fictional rendering of Baker/Monroe, but it is as spine-tingling a portrait of a cultural icon as one will ever read. (Like the scene in producer Z's office which leads directly to her landing her first major film, "The Asphalt Jungle." I hope that what happened to her is NOT true.) And Oates' analysis of Monroe's acting is dead on. Wish she would do commentary on DVD! (Don Delillo's novel Libra captures Lee Harvey Oswald in a similar vein.)
A neatly enjoyable thriller in the pseudo-Hitchcock mode, Niagara offers great fun on a variety of levels. It has film noir themes (albeit in Technicolor), oodles of location shooting, and Freudian symbolism run amok. And, of course, it has Marilyn Monroe as an unbelievably ripe femme fatale: married to unstable hubby Joseph Cotten and stuck in a cabin at Niagara Falls, she plots a watery escape. Jean Peters (a future Mrs. Howard Hughes) and froggy husband Casey Adams are dragged into the intrigue during their delayed honeymoon. Veteran open-air director Henry Hathaway squeezes the most out of the spectacular scenery and the nail-biting climax, slowing down only for traveloguey interludes; the dialogue, pretty racy for 1953, comes from the civilized pen of producer-writer Charles... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Marilyn Monroe - Joseph Cotten Director(s): Henry Hathaway DVD Release Date: Released the 14 May 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" is easily one of his better films and as cynical and tough as crime dramas got in the 50's. Richard Widmark is excellent as a cocky pickpocket who swipes the wallet of sexy Jean Peters that contains microfilm of government secrets to be delivered to a Communist agency. Peters is unaware of the Communist angle and is only doing a "job" for her slimy ex-boyfriend Richard Kiley (who's also excellent). Getting mixed up in the mess to get back the microfilm is street peddler/police informant Thelma Ritter who sells information to whoever wants to buy it. The film is gritty and unsentimental and none of the characters are saints. New York City is depicted as a tough place to survive especially on the dirty waterfront where Skip McCoy (Widmark) lives and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Widmark - Jean Peters Director(s): Samuel Fuller DVD Release Date: Released the 17 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The dew of new stardom was still visible on Marilyn Monroe when she ventured up to Canada to shoot this sturdily entertaining CinemaScope Western. Although director Otto Preminger later claimed little interest in the picture, he couldn't help but bring his even-handed visual style to the widescreen process. The location shooting (in Alberta) is eye filling, and that river really does look alarming. Best of all, Marilyn, fresh and vital, had a costar to match her magnetism but not humor her sometimes-scattered approach to acting: Robert Mitchum, as a homesteader with a dark past. He's weighty enough to stand next to MM's bright flame without giving any ground; they should have worked together again. Since Marilyn plays a saloon singer, she gets to sling some tunes in her inimitable style,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Mitchum - Marilyn Monroe Director(s): Jean Negulesco - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 14 May 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Though it seems dated now, this film adaptation of William Inge's romantic comedy-drama was considered pretty hot stuff in its day, which was 1956. Directed by Joshua Logan from George Axelrod's script of Inge's Broadway hit, the film stars Marilyn Monroe as the kind of woman who can't understand why she always brings out the worst in men. A singer who has attracted the attention of a young rodeo rider (Don Murray) whom she meets on a bus, she finds herself trapped at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. The young cowboy, whose intentions are honorable, can't control his temper and can't understand why this experienced woman won't take him seriously--and why she rejects him when he begins acting jealous and possessive. Love takes its lumps but comes out slugging in the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Marilyn Monroe - Don Murray Director(s): Joshua Logan DVD Release Date: Released the 14 May 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Yes, it's true: you can virtually see Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall falling for each other in this Howard Hawks variation on Casablanca but adapted from--as legend has it--Ernest Hemingway's self-declared "worst novel." (The story goes that Hawks told Hemingway he could make a movie of the author's least work, and Hemingway gave him the rights to this story.) The script by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman actually makes this one of Hawks's and Bogart's most interesting and often exciting films. Bogart plays a boat captain who reluctantly agrees to help the French Resistance while wooing chanteuse Bacall. Hoagy Carmichael, wry at the piano, adds a delicious accent to an already wonderful mood. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Humphrey Bogart - Lauren Bacall Director(s): Howard Hawks DVD Release Date: Released the 04 November 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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