Knock on Any Door (1949)

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

. . . This question from sociopath Nick "Pretty Boy" Romano is the crux of KNOCK ON ANY DOOR. If you paraphrase what Nick's defense lawyer, "Andrew Morton" (Humphrey Bogart) says to the judge before Nick is sentenced to fry on an upcoming "Fri-day" (you can't make this stuff up!), it sounds like this: America's treatment of Her sociopaths is inhumane. Nick says several times that all he really wants to do is to "die young, and leave a pretty corpse." Anyone familiar with the Ethel Rosenberg case knows that electrocution frequently turns the victim into smoldering meat, which is not only NOT pretty, but not very appetizing, either. KNOCK ON ANY DOOR makes it clear that Nick has very little fun terrorizing all the local business and automobile owners with his constant armed thefts. Driving his wife to suicide is very hard on him. Killing his first cop gives Nick the jitters. Therefore, counselor Morton demands that all high school dropouts and first-time felons be tested while they're youths (still "pretty," and Un-fried) to see if they're sociopaths. If they are, Society owes it to them to provide a fatal overdose of something that will allow them to rest easy, "die young, and leave a pretty corpse" WITHOUT going through the trauma of leading a life of crime, followed by 20 years on Death Row, and public burning in the electric chair (or whatever the flavor of the month is on Death Row). After all, as Nick says here, they "didn't ask to get born."

This story while dismissed by a few as being too liberal, should not be stereotyped into that corner. There are excellent performances here and it is worth setting your DVR for 4:55 A.M., I happened to wake up simply to review this film, having only caught the tail end of it previously.The very young John Derek is Nick Romano, a boy who had the misfortune to be born to a father who is wrongfully imprisoned. When his father dies in prison Nick becomes vengeful and distrustful of society. He spends time in a 'juvenile delinquent" home, during which all that is accomplished is abuse of the inmates. No counseling or infrastructure.At first he becomes involved in petty theft and general mischief, nothing serious. He is bored with his life, has no outlet. There is no infrastructure in the ghetto he lives in, it looks like the South Bronx did during the 1980's. Anyone from NYC will appreciate the scenes of 1940's New York, the "L train", and "mom and pop" stores and soda fountains. He and his friends decide to hold up the token taker at the elevated train station.In the interim he meets Candy Toxton (Adele Morton, appropriately naive), who runs her aunt's store "The Candy Bowl". She truly loves Nick and shows him a glimpse of a decent future, they may live in a small flat, no money, but she is devoted to him.By now however, his disgust with conformity leads to job turnover, fighting with a foreman who call him a useless ex-convict.Not justifying anti-social behavior, but Nicolas Ray liked to address society's misfits, people on the edge and how they got that way. For this time period, it was an interesting and evocative topic.Eventually due to his rage, Nick shoots a policeman and is sent to trial for murder. Enter Humphrey Bogart, as criminal defense attorney Andy Morton. Morton rose up from poverty himself, and has empathy for Nick. He takes him to dinner when the young couple is engaged. "I hope to have a fine suit like you are wearing some day Mr. Morton", Nick states, as his life seems to be on the upturn.The trial scenes are excellent, and not drawn out (as so many usually are). The D.A. played by eminent George MacReady is also very believable, a man on a mission to send all to the electric chair, regardless of extenuating circumstances.This delicate subject is treated insightfully here, and I applaud Nick Ray for the path less traveled. John Derek is edgy and while not completely sympathetic, has cadence as an outcast enraged at the system.The ending is heartbreaking and brings the issue of the death penalty to bear. Sociologically proved to not be a deterrent to crime, the United States is the last country which utilizes the death penalty, and by which some innocent poverty stricken people are still executed today.Timeless theme and Bogart excels here, as well as John Derek. 10/10.

Accused of killing a policeman, ageing juvenile delinquent John Derek (as Nick "Pretty Boy" Romano) turns to lawyerly father figure Humphrey Bogart (as Andrew Morton) for defense. Mr. Bogart was acquainted with Mr. Derek's similarly jailed father, and had been trying to rehabilitate the young man, off and on, over the years. Derek swears he is innocent; and, believing him, Bogart takes the case. District Attorney George Macready (as Kerman) is just as sure that Derek is guilty. When the trial begins, Bogart tells the unfortunate story of Derek's life, which is shown in flashbacks… Derek's life is, indeed, filled with misfortune. After the death of his father, young Derek is reared in slums; caught stealing, he is sent to reform school. Upon release, Derek fails to "go straight", despite getting a legitimate job, and marrying the attractive, compassionate young Allene Roberts (as Emma). During the flashback sequences, the film's weakness is exposed - while there is nothing wrong with his performance, Derek isn't given enough script to thoroughly make the film's point: that young men like him are "angels with dirty faces." This theme, that society was the cause of juvenile delinquency, had been a subtle part of movies during the 1930s-'40s. "Knock on Any Door" makes the theme explicit; but, the film does not offer strong enough characterizations to back up its thesis.Willard Motley's original novel was much clearer, undoubtedly; an accurate film adaptation was unlikely in 1949. Mr. Motley's sequel "Let No Man Write My Epitaph", was adapted for film, more successfully, in 1960. Together, the Motley novels might make an interesting "epic" re-make. Still, Nichols Ray and Bogart make "Knock on Any Door" interesting viewing. The supporting cast is full of faces to spot: Dooley Wilson, Sid Melton, John Mitchum, and others. ****** Knock on Any Door (2/21/49) Nicholas Ray ~ John Derek, Humphrey Bogart, George Macready, Allene Roberts

Enjoy all Humphrey Bogart films from "Dead End" to the "Caine Mutiny" and in this film Bogart plays a lawyer, (Andrew Morton) who has grown up in the rough neighborhoods of New York City and even went to prison and became a successful lawyer. Andrew Morton gets involved with John Derek,(Nick Romano) when he was very young and tried to defend and protect him from getting into trouble; however, Nick wound up in reform school and got himself in one jam after another. Nick meets up with a sweet innocent young gal named Emma in a candy Shop she works in and falls in love with her while she was selling him a Carmel candy for only five (5) cents each. This couple get married and Nick finds it hard to find a job after being a crook for so many years and gets blamed for a crime he did not commit. Nick seeks the help of his old friend Andrew Morton to represent him in a cop killing case. The District Attorny is played by George Macready who does his best to convict Nick in a court of law and sentence him to death. Bogart in my opinion did not play this role with any enthusiasm and was not really suited for this role, however, he did have his money invested in this Santana Production Company, which was the same name he used for his own private yacht in real life the "Santana".