MarieGabrielle 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.

Goodbye_Ruby_Tuesday I wasn't expecting THEY LIVE BY NIGHT. I wasn't even expecting REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. But considering (or perhaps not even considering) the fact that the subject matter (juvenile delinquents, rebels, anti-conformity) was close to Nicholas Ray's heart, this is an unfortunately stale effort by one of the best and most important American film directors of the 20th century. Pretty Boy (a.k.a. Nick Romano, played by the perpetually puppy-dog eyed John Derek) grows up hardened and tough in a bad neighborhood on the Columbia Studios backlot. After years of jail terms and a stretch in a reform school, he returns home and falls for Pretty Girl (a.k.a. Emma, played to almost intoxicating sweetness by Allene Roberts). When he can't quit the life of crime, his pregnant wife commits suicide and Romano is put on trial for killing (or perhaps not killing) a cop. Most of his hardship is overseen by attorney Andrew Morton (Humphrey Bogart, the only lead actor who gives his role at least some intrigue and is therefore the only one who doesn't get the nickname treatment from yours truly), also from the wrong side of the tracks. He doesn't always quite believe that Romano is telling the truth and doesn't approve of his self-pitying ways (neither do I), but nonetheless he takes Romano's case and the battle is fought in the courtroom.I believe that films should stand on their own two feet and not be compared to previous works, but since Nicholas Ray was so clearly trying to recapture the magic of his astonishing debut THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, it's hard not to compare the two; after all the love story between Pretty Boy and Pretty Girl directly parallels Bowie and Keechie's relationship. Both stories involve two young adults from the wrong side of the tracks, a criminal hardened by his tough life and the angelic girl who he marries and briefly finds inner peace with. I never thought that anyone could give a bad performance under Ray's direction, but while Farley Granger was no Montgomery Clift, John Derek is a dime-store version of Granger; at least Granger was able to give a sensitive and genuinely compelling performance under Ray's fatherly direction. Derek goes through the motions but not the emotions that Granger did so effortlessly. And even the ethereal Cathy O'Donnell was smart enough to allude to the toughness earned from years of living in the wrong place; Allenne Roberts captures none of that, only the unbelievable angelic nature. These characters don't echo the complexity of Ray's debut; they are whiny caricatures of people we're supposed to feel sorry for.It's admirable that Humphrey Bogart would want to make a film about social injustice for his first project as a producer (this film was financed by his independent production company Santana), and he even lets most of the light shine on Pretty Boy. However, given Derek's poor performance and Bogart's coy cynicism, his golden integrity just hidden beneath the surface, and his brooding on-screen presence (as preachy as his closing argument is, it is well acted by Bogart), I wished the movie had been more about him, I wished the script not been as black-and-white as Burnett Guffey's cinematography. In trying to cry out for justice, the film just annoyed me with its condescending attitude and simplified message my six-year-old cousin could've caught. I recommend two Nicholas Ray films that are a much more stimulating and thought- provoking experience: the first is THEY LIVE BY NIGHT for reasons already stated. The second is his masterful IN A LONELY PLACE, his second film with Humphrey Bogart--and in this one he *is* in the center stage, featuring probably the most complex and darkest role of his career. I guess one good thing came out of KNOCK ON ANY DOOR: Bogart and Ray, who came from different ways of approaching their jobs, needed one film to get to know each other, how the other one worked. Ray once said that during this film he "took the gun away from Bogart's hands," and by the time they re-teamed for the second and last time, their professional relationship had ripened to friendship. Bogart trusted Ray enough to give a nakedly vulnerable performance in a film which you *SHOULD* look into.

wes-connors 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

whpratt1 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".