Knock, knock, knock, come on in!

She can’t act. She doesn’t have what it takes to be a dramatic actress. Let her be the comedienne. She looks so great in those dresses she’s been sown into. All she has to do is wiggle and walk and the audience will go crazy. These are phrases “critics,” movie insiders, and “experts” used to describe Marilyn Monroe and her aspirations to be a dramatic actress. These “critics” and “experts” never saw her in Don’t Bother to Knock (1952). As a matter of fact, not many of her fans have seen the movie even today. But it is by far the best performance she ever gave on film. Those around her mention her portrayal of Sugar Kane in Some Like it Hot (1959) or Cherie in Bus Stop (1958). She herself mentioned her portrayal of Angela in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) as her best. But that was a bit part. As for staring roles, she was the best as the psychotic Nell Forbes.

Don’t Bother to Knock would make an interesting remake in today’s Hollywood. For the most part the suspense is great in the picture. There are a few scenes that could be tightened to enhance the suspense. There is a very real fear present in the story, that of a mother who leaves her only child alone with a stranger while she and her husband go out for the night. This is something that occurs every night in America. A woman calls a babysitter and trusts the sitter to take good care of the child until she comes back. Of course there has to be some fear in the back of every mother’s mind that the babysitter turns out to be a psycho and the child is put into danger. This is what happens to Ruth Jones. She leaves her only child, Bunny, to be watched by Nell, who is fresh out of an Oregon mental institution. We aren’t told this, but learn it from Nell’s uncle Eddy, Elisha Cook Jr., who works at the hotel the ?’s are staying at.

The basis for the movie was a rather dull novel called “Mischief” written by Charlotte Armstrong. The book is too spread out for the story to seem plausible. In the movie both Jed, Richard Widmark, and the Jones' stay at the same hotel. They don’t in the book. Because they don’t it seems less likely that the two will ever cross paths. In the movie though everything is tied together. Jed stays at the same hotel as his “girlfriend” Lyn Lesley, played by Anne Bancroft in her first screen appearance. Jed rides up and down the elevator run by Nell’s uncle. He has a room directly across the courtyard from the Jones family, which makes him a perfectly logical person to be caught up in the drama with Nell and Bunny. Like The Maltese Falcon, Don’t Bother to Knock happens to be one of those rare movies that is better than the book. In this case it is far superior.

What is interesting about Marilyn Monroe’s performance as Nell is that she is playing essentially someone from her own family. Her family had a history of psychotic and suicidal behavior. Both her mother and her grandparents on her mother’s side died in mental institutions. In fact, while Marilyn was making this movie her mother was in an institution. It had to be hard for her to wake up every morning and having to prepare herself to play a disturbed woman. Although the cynic would say since she has been around mental illness all her life, she would be perfect for the part.

Being a Hollywood movie, the suicidal Nell is talked out of slashing her wrists and given the hope of treatment in New York. There have been many conspiracy theories regarding Marilyn’s death. To add another one, how about saying that Marilyn’s role in this movie awakened the demons of her family history. She would attempt to commit suicide numerous times throughout the rest of her life after completing this movie, but there was always someone there to save her. Namely, Arthur Miller. There was no Arthur Miller or a Hollywood ending on a Saturday night in August of 1962.

Niagara (1953) is often looked at as Marilyn’s big-break as a star. She plays a conniving woman in that movie, which stars Joseph Cotton as well. It is lauded because it is in color and she looks stunning in her dresses and near the falls. The movie isn’t superior to Don’t Bother to Knock though. In her first leading role Marilyn delivers a great performance as do her co-stars. Don’t Bother to Knock is a must see for those who consider themselves Marilyn Monroe fans. But be warned this isn’t Sugar Kane or The Girl from The Seven Year Itch (1955), this is Marilyn as you’ve never seen her before.