Don't Bother to Knock
… a wicked sensation as the lonely girl in room 809!
1952 | 76m | English
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Roy Ward Baker |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Charlotte Armstrong, Daniel Taradash |
| Staring: |
| An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be. | |
| Release Date: | Jul 18, 1952 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Roy Ward Baker |
| Writer: | Charlotte Armstrong, Daniel Taradash |
| Genres: | Drama, Thriller |
| Keywords | hotel, detective, based on novel or book, babysitter, pilot, murder, singer, madness, voyeur |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Richard Widmark | Jed Towers |
| Marilyn Monroe | Nell Forbes |
| Anne Bancroft | Lyn Lesley |
| Donna Corcoran | Bunny Jones |
| Jeanne Cagney | Rochelle |
| Lurene Tuttle | Ruth Jones |
| Elisha Cook Jr. | Eddie Forbes |
| Jim Backus | Peter Jones |
| Verna Felton | Mrs. Ballew |
| Willis Bouchey | Joe the Bartender |
| Don Beddoe | Mr. Ballew |
| Harry Bartell | Bellboy (uncredited) |
| Gloria Blondell | Janie - Cafe Photographer (uncredited) |
| John Call | Bellboy (uncredited) |
| Dick Cogan | Bell Captain (uncredited) |
| Charles J. Conrad | Speaker (uncredited) |
| Tom Daly | Man in Elevator (uncredited) |
| Elizabeth Flournoy | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| Bess Flowers | Woman at Awards Dinner (uncredited) |
| Charles Flynn | Uniformed Cop at End (uncredited) |
| Robert Foulk | Doorman (uncredited) |
| Grace Hayle | Mrs. McMurdock (uncredited) |
| Marjorie Holliday | Phone Operator (uncredited) |
| David McMahon | Uniformed Cop at End (uncredited) |
| Eda Reiss Merin | Maid (uncredited) |
| Harold Miller | Banquet Guest (uncredited) |
| Vic Perrin | Elevator Operator (uncredited) |
| Michael Ross | Pat - Hotel Detective (uncredited) |
| Olan Soule | Bespectacled Desk Clerk (uncredited) |
| Brick Sullivan | Doorman (uncredited) |
| Emmett Vogan | Toastmaster (uncredited) |
| Harry Denny | |
| Harry Evans | |
| Tom Ferrandini | |
| Kay Garrett | |
| Carl M. Leviness | |
| Hans Moebus | |
| Monty O'Grady | |
| Foster H. Phinney | |
| Paul Ravel |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Roy Ward Baker | Director |
| Lucien Ballard | Director of Photography |
| Jerry Goldsmith | Music Consultant |
| Charlotte Armstrong | Novel |
| Paul S. Fox | Set Decoration |
| Charles LeMaire | Wardrobe Master, Wardrobe Designer |
| Max Golden | Production Manager |
| Erich von Stroheim Jr. | Assistant Director |
| Leslie Jones | Script Supervisor |
| George A. Gittens | Editor |
| Lyle R. Wheeler | Art Direction |
| Harry M. Leonard | Sound |
| Bernard Mayers | Orchestrator |
| Frank Prehoda | Makeup Artist |
| Eli Dunn | Assistant Director |
| Richard Irvine | Art Direction |
| Thomas Little | Set Decoration |
| Bernard Freericks | Sound |
| Lionel Newman | Music Supervisor |
| Esperanza Corona | Hairdresser |
| Charles Hall | Unit Production Manager |
| Ray Kellogg | Visual Effects |
| Daniel Taradash | Screenplay |
| Travilla | Costume Design |
| Ben Nye | Makeup Artist |
| Earle Hagen | Orchestrator |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Julian Blaustein | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 8 |
| 2024 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 6 |
| 2024 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 8 |
| 2024 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 6 |
| 2024 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 5 |
| 2024 | 10 | 14 | 37 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 6 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 7 |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Trending Position
Just a couple of years back, I picked up this mammoth 17-film DVD collection of Marilyn Monroe's films for a really good price, only to find that the ridiculous way the discs were placed in the digipack basically ruined them, and after watching the movies the best that I could, I reluctantly had to ... part with it, hoping the set would soon be released at a decent price on the more resilient blu (as you can tell, I'm old-school and low-fi, but I'm hoping to quickly remedy this problem!). As you can tell by any of my prior reviews of Richard Widmark's films, I'm a huge fan of his, and he's easily one of my favourite and most entertaining and watchable actors of the period. As well, Roy Ward Baker is one of the most underrated directors of the period--his entry in The Criterion Collection, 'A Night to Remember', is easily the best telling of the 'Titanic' tragedy. Thus simply on the basis of those three alone, I heartily recommend the film to any adventurous cinephiles of this era.
Nell Forbes was by far the darkest and most volatile character Marilyn Monroe had ever portrayed in her entire career. Written by Daniel Taradash and directed by Roy Ward Baker, Don't Bother To Knock - a chilling and uncommonly masterful film noir thriller - gives its viewers an up-close glimpse ... into the crevices of a deeply disturbed human soul. Need a babysitter ... anyone? Yet another five star oeuvre, Don't Bother To Knock is an effort of prodigious degree in classic cinema.