PIC of the Week – Don’t Bother to Knock
Article series by Ray Schillaci
Warner Brothers/Warner Archive and Twilight Time battle it out this week for releases. WB unveils two worthy watches for real cinephiles, Carol Lombard and Chester Morris in the delightful 1934 comedy, The Gay Bride (back when “gay” solely stood for lighthearted and carefree), and MGM’s Big Parade of Comedy, a documentary featuring a boatload of comic talent including the Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, W.C. Fields, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and the list goes on. The doc highlights the funnier side of MGM from the 1920s to 1948.
The only drawback with Warners is that both are MOD (Made On Demand – DVD). On the other hand, Twilight Time delivers a triple threat of Blu releases. Roy Scheider in the 1973 hard-edged cop drama, The Seven Ups and the pedigree cop drama The New Centurions, directed by Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green), written by Sterling Siliphant (‘67s In the Heat of the Night), taken from the famed novel by Joseph Wambaugh (The Onion Field) and starring George C. Scott (Patton).
All that aside, POTW has to go to Twilight Time’s Blu of Don’t Bother to Knock starring a young vivacious and dangerous Marilyn Monroe (Some Like It Hot) as a deranged babysitter obsessed with Richard Widmark (Kiss of Death) who she believes is her dead lover. Also, introducing a very young Anne Bancroft (The Graduate) as a nightclub singer. People have been divided over this picture for years.
Love it or find fault with it, one cannot deny that this is a side of Monroe many of us are unfamiliar with. The film may lack the suspense of the early noir thrillers, but it more than makes up for it with its talent. For those that love catching glimpses of great character actors, watch for Elisha Cook, Jr. (Rosemary’s Baby) and Jim Backus. Yes, Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Island and the unmistakable voice of Mr. Magoo.
It’s also interesting to note for genre fans that Roy Ward Baker was the director of this tawdry little tale. Famous for so many Hammer and Amicus productions like Asylum, The Vault of Horror, and The Vampire Lovers. Of course, Don’t Bother to Knock was one of his early efforts. Also, fascinating tidbit, Baker was an uncredited director on the adventure/drama The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
Twilight Time’s Blu is not perfect, but it’s a vast improvement over the dark prints of the past that did not do justice to Lucien Ballard’s (The Wild Bunch) cinematography. Although the audio is a mere English 1.0 DTS-HD MA you can still enjoy the Lionel Newman (The Shape of Water) score. Extras include:
¥ Isolated music track
¥ Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess
¥ Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters
¥ Original theatrical trailer
Best price: Twilight Time – $29.95 (a virtual steal compared to Amazon’s price tag of $59.95)
