Customer Reviews

Knock on Any Door [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

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****1/2 1949. Based on Willard Motley's Knock on Any Door, produced by Humphrey Bogart's production company and directed by Nicholas Ray. Andrew Morton accepts to take charge of Nick Romanos' defense. Romano is accused of having murdered a policeman. Convinced that his client is innocent, Morton explains to the jurors how he met the young man. Nicholas Ray handles here two of his favorite themes one will often discern in his filmography: firstly the innocence of youth, a theme found in the way Morton defends Nick Romano, the cinematic brother of THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT's hero and of the James Dean of Rebel Without a Cause (Two-Disc Special Edition). When he pleads not guilty, Morton tries to show the frailty of the accusation's evidences and when he finally pleads guilty, he'll point up the responsibility of the society in front of Nick Romano's behaviour. Also note the theme of the staunched violence of Andrew Morton, a violence that will explode one year later through the character of Dixon Steele, the hero of In a Lonely Place. Highly recommended.

If you are a Nicholas Ray completist and if you own a multizone DVD player, this Spanish DVD release could be the good choice for you. The copy is near perfect, image and sound. No special bonus but optional Portuguese subtitles.

I have a soft spot in my heart for this film being that as a child it was my first exposure to Humphrey Bogart. It is an adaptation of the book Knock on Any Door by Willard Motley. His first novel deals with all races and nationalities in his story of the poor. The picture is also notable for introducing John Derek.

For some reason this film has not been released in DVD form in the US. In addition to the original English language release, very good print, you can watch this film dubbed into Spanish. Its amusing hearing the foreign actor dubbing Bogie's lines into Spanish with a lisp