Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)

"Who's that knocking at my door" is an excellent first film by Martin Scorsese, with a first half of great level and a second half with some irregularities and that for that reason does not have the same high level of the first. The influences of the French "nouvelle vague" are more than evident in this first work of Scorsese, more concretely the first films of Jean-Luc Godard, of the first half of the decade of 60, notably the nonlinear narrative, the style of the dialogues, the scenes "non-sense", the multiple cinematic "honors" (references to films "the searchers", "the man who shot liberty valance", "rio bravo"), artistic (references to actors John Wayne and Lee Marvin) and even musicals (references to Percy Sledge and others). Even considering these (good) influences, Scorsese's style and themes are well-grounded in his first film: psychological analysis of a man disintegrated from society, the marginality of the streets, a fatal woman, the religion, and so on. The choice of songs is also remarkable, which has become a "mark" in Scorsese's films. Harvey Keitel has his debut as an actor here and is excellent, he would collaborate with Scorsese in more films. The filmmaker's second film, "Boxcar Bertha", also notable, would emerge five years after this, in 1972, he also with notable influences of "nouvelle vague", but with a more regular and consistent narrative, although the theme of this "who's that knocking at my door" seems to me perhaps more powerful than that of "boxcar bertha".

Fmovies: It's definitely not one of Scorsese's favorites, and probably for good reason. Who's That Knocking at My Door sees Scorsese in his debut without much polish or knack for how to effectively structure a feature debut.

The problem with the film mostly falls on inexperience. Much like his second film, you see flashes of his greatness in camera movements and poise in developing likable character dynamics. Heck, he even showed promise in his screen writing abilities in a few scenes, and that's not even something he does all that often anymore. But with a low budget, sometimes sloppy editing, and a narrative that lacked substance, there isn't a whole lot to ride home about here.

Certain aspects of the film reminded me about Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy, in that a good portion of the film just walking and talking. That, I found interesting. But I wasn't as invested in the story when it falls into the trap of gratuitous sex scenes and unnecessary yelling. Something, that Scorsese has been harped on later in his career, but it seemed really out of place in what was otherwise, a calm romance-drama.

This is Scorsese's first feature, however. So perhaps certain narrative mishaps and editing issues should be forgiven, considering it underwent many changes during its production. It's also a far more artistically structured film than his subsequent movies, so by default it's more divisive. The characters just didn't connect with me. It plays more as an experiment than an experience, if that makes any sense. In all, there's flashes of the great Scorsese everyone loves, but not enough narratively here to make for a worthwhile viewing.

+Interesting directing choices

+Plenty of Scorsese staples

-Narratively flawed

-Not much substance

-Gratuitous at times

4.6/10

A well-dressed but feckless young man (Harvey Keitel, in his acting debut) on the streets of New York meets a lovely single girl reading a foreign magazine and strikes up a conversation about movies; soon after, they begin dating, however she volunteers more about her past than he is able to handle. Striking if aimless debut from writer-director Martin Scorsese, alternately titled "I Call First", began life as a short feature from the young film student. His sexual montage, featuring Keitel and his 'broads' (and set to "The End" by the Doors), is a fabulous example of cinematic sound and fury: the perfect marriage between silvery black-and-white cinematography, kinetic editing, great music and lusty bodies. Unfortunately, Scorsese as a writer had not developed a true ear for canny dialogue, and the characters fail to emerge as a result. Still, an almost-dynamic first try, and a must-see for film historians. Keitel, marvelously youthful and muscular, is more callow than expressive, though he gives the picture its pulse; the cinematography from Richard Coll and Michael Wadley is a major asset as well. **1/2 from ****

Who's That Knocking at My Door fmovies. "Who's that knocking at my door" is along with "Boxcar Bertha" the most unknown picture of the Italian-American genius Scorsese. Make no mistakes: it's nothing like a masterpiece and it's no surprise that almost no one know about this movie, but here we got some of the constants in Marty's cinema: the street talking, the violence, the outsiders... Those things that "mean streets" dealt about... This was Martin Scorsese's debut and so it was for his friend Harvey Keytel who plays a chauvinist-bad tempered young man.

So, this is a movie that I recommend to those who really love Scorsese's work and wanna know about his origins.

*My rate: 6/10

Here is Martin Scorsese's first feature film, and already, at a mere 25 years old in 1967, it is clear this young man had the determination and eye for visceral images, solid acting and a great ear for soundtracks. A rather raw and unpolished work, Who's That Knocking at My Door works in other ways such as the professionally-done editing by the great Thelma Schoonmaker, another future Scorsese collaborator. In the lead role is a very young Harvey Keitel, who plays the role of a young New York Italian very similar to the nature and style of Martin Scorsese himself. Clearly, there was a special bond between these two that continued for years.

The plot, while at times veering wildly off track, focuses on a young couple attempting to overcome a difficult instance in the past that still looms over the future. With numerous Catholic images and references, this is one of the more explicitly religious of Scorsese's work but there is still a definitive drive behind everything. It is certainly worth watching for anyone who is interested in making their own film as well as any fan of Scorsese eager to know how he got to where he is today. Not always great, sometimes very powerful, this film still remains a strong piece of work that encompasses much of future themes Scorsese would come back to: Catholic guilt, relationships between street friends and the difficulties of romance.

Filmed over years apparently, this early M. Scorsese New York tale involving young dudes being typically out of it is interesting in the scenes with Keitel and the girl (Z. Bethune), but the buddy scenes tend to drag on and semi-bore. A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Zena Bethune.

Harvey Keitel has always been interesting and believable and it's great to see him in a lead (pre-MEAN STREETS) and Ms. Bethune is very touching and human. All Scorsese fans should track this down even though it's not that great. The DVD has a semi-commentary from Marty which is unusual! It comes in the recent DVD set of Martin Scorsese and worth a look! Harry Northrup has a small role (MEAN STREETS, TAXI DRIVER).