Don't Bother to Knock
Twentieth Century Fox | Release Date: August 1, 1952 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee Lenker
Don't Bother to Knock was the first film to truly grant her a juicy dramatic leading role, one that allowed Monroe to tap into her own childhood traumas and abuse. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK is directed with a quick pace by Baker, the Taradash script is as tight as a sardine can, and all the principals do well with their roles, especially lovely Marilyn Monroe. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Playing a deranged, possibly homicidal babysitter going bonkers in a hotel, Monroe steals the show in this efficient, vaguely creepy little thriller--despite the presence of both Richard Widmark (as her airline pilot target) and Anne Bancroft (as the hotel's pert lounge singer). [09 Dec 2005, p.C6]
75
Vanity FairSavannah Walsh
The film offered [Monroe] the chance to deliciously unravel as a mentally disturbed babysitter, and she also gained real-world survival skills that she’d put to use nearly a decade later. Read full review
63
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Daniel Taradash’s script is contrived in spots, and the main virtue of Roy Ward Baker’s direction is its low-key plainness, yet Monroe—appearing here just before she became typecast as a gold-plated sex object—is frighteningly real as the confused babysitter, and the deglamorized setting is no less persuasive. Read full review
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