Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Pretty Nell (Marilyn Monroe) is hired to watch a young girl while her parents attend a banquet at a fancy New York hotel. She catches the eye of recently dumped pilot Jed (Richard Widmark), but he soon discovers she is a few crackers short of a full sleeve.

Monroe was finally offered the chance for a starring role and showed surprising depth, although contemporary reviews didn’t acknowledge it. Co-star Widmark was already an established leading man and had a long career, frequently playing military leaders.

Old friend Eliza Cook Jr. plays Monroe’s uncle and Millionaire Jim Backus is the little girl’s father. Anne Bancroft is the pilot’s heart-breaker in her first feature role.

While not a truly remarkable film, Don’t Bother to Knock covers some fairly serious subject matter, and a little more maturely than I would have expected. But it is Jed who experiences the character arc, learning to care about other people. This felt a little unearned, but it may have been part of the source material. AMRU 3.5.