Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Knock on Any Door Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 29, 2022

Nicholas Ray's "Knock on Any Door" (1949) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic Geoff Andrew; new audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson; vintage trailer for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Listen, kid. You gotta go in and make a good impression. Smile.

At the end of Nicholas Ray’s film Knock on Any Door, Humphrey Bogart delivers a long and very passionate speech that is so bad it hurts to watch him trying to legitimize its message. The speech is about crime and responsibility. It is delivered before a jury in a small courtroom, but its message is meant for a much bigger audience.

An abrupt phone call presents prominent attorney Andrew Morton (Bogart) with a difficult dilemma. He is informed that local tough guy Pretty Boy (John Derek) has been picked up by the police and faces murder charges. Someone urges Morton to defend Pretty Boy because he owes him, but he does not need the drama and quickly turns down the request. Shortly after, because of his judgmental wife, Morton changes his mind.

On the following day, the two men running the law firm where Morton makes ends meet offer to make him a partner if he drops the case, but instead solidify his suspicion that his wife was correct to insist that he represents Pretty Boy. Morton then begins meeting Pretty Boy’s closest friends and gathers information to determine the best defense strategy for his client. Meanwhile, Pretty Boy is officially charged by the state, and Morton is given the court date for his trial.

Knock on Any Door has a non-linear structure that makes it possible for Ray to frequently jump back in time and reveal different parts of Pretty Boy’s past and the evolution of his relationship with Morton. In these segments, it is also revealed why and how Pretty Boy destroys his relationship with his family and then becomes a tough guy. Morton comments on the transformation and points out the exact events where he could have made the right decisions to reverse it.

But whether Morton could have reversed the transformation is unclear. In fact, there are plenty of developments that make it quite easy to conclude that Pretty Boy was destined to become a tough guy and eventually get into some serious trouble with the law. For example, Pretty Boy’s hatred for his immigrant parents and the social environment he faces is so overwhelming that it frequently makes it impossible for him to behave as a rational human being. Unsurprisingly, instead of trying to figure out how to do better in life, even if takes a long time and he must sacrifice a lot, Pretty Boy becomes a nihilistic rebel capable of connecting only to other rebels like him. A beautiful girl (Allene Roberts) then falls in love with Pretty Boy and presents him with the best opportunity to permanently exit the life of crime where he supposedly gets what society owes him, but she quickly becomes another target for him as well.

However, instead of acknowledging the obvious -- which is that neither Morton nor the beautiful girl nor the state could have single-handedly redirected Pretty Boy’s life -- Knock on Any Door introduces an entirely predictable ‘twist’ that produces a new villain. This new villain, which is society, is then put on trial and passionately condemned by Morton for its failures to save a bitter but supposedly innocent young man.

Ultimately, the only truly impressive aspect of Knock on Any Door is its convincing self-destruction with an astonishingly bad message that is incompatible with its narrative. The two leads are mismanaged as well. Most of the time Bogart tries hard to match Derek but remains more than a few steps behind him, so when the crucial speech arrives and he begins addressing the new villain, it just looks like he is desperate to redeem himself.

Knock on Any Door was lensed by the legendary cinematographer Burnett Guffey, whose credits include such timeless film noirs as In a Lonely Place and The Harder They Fall, as well as the classic crime film Bonnie and Clyde.

Knock on Any Door Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Knock on Any Door arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an older master, but despite some sporadic minor unevenness, I think that it is quite good. Delineation and clarity, for instance, are typically very pleasing, which isn't always easy because there is plenty of diverse footage where light and shadow produce subtle nuances. Depth is good too, though there are a couple of areas where darker visuals tend to collapse existing detail. Why? Because of small anomalies in the grayscale that produce stronger than usual blacks which introduce crushing (an example can be seen in screencapture #16). Grain exposure is fine, but the surface of the visuals could have a more attractive organic appearance. Image stability is good. A few nicks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Knock on Any Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the lossless track was very good. The dialog is always clear, clean, stable, and easy to follow. George Antheil's soundtrack easily produces plenty of good contrasts as well. In fact, I would say that for a film from the late 1940s, this dynamic intensity is probably as good as it can be. A few times, I did notice some extremely light hiss in the upper register, but I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit. It was not in any way distracting.

Knock on Any Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a remastered vintage trailer for Knock on Any Door. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Geoff Andrew on "Knock on Any Door" - in this exclusive new program, critic Geoff Andrew discusses the conception of Knock on Any Door, its key themes, and Nicholas Ray's relationship with Humphrey Bogart as well as their careers. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson.

• Stills Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for Knock on Any Door.

• Tuesday in November (1945) - documentary short on the US presidential campaign of 1944, on which Nicholas Ray served as assistant director. The documentary was directed by John Berry. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (18 min).

• Book - limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and film credits.

Knock on Any Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Knock on Any Door promotes the ancient Hollywood myth that society is the ultimate criminal that ought to be blamed for the actions of despicable individuals that have made the conscious decision to spend their lives on the wrong side of the law. I think that the film is impossible to take seriously by anyone that actually understands the concept of personal responsibility as well as its purpose in any properly functioning contemporary western society. Nicholas Ray's direction of the film's two stars, Humphrey Bogart and John Derek, is quite disappointing, too. This release is sourced from an older but good master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart, a six-disc box set.