Knock on Any Door

Knock on Any Door, directed by Nicholas Ray, stars Humphrey Bogart as an idealistic lawyer defending a young delinquent from his old neighborhood, accused of murdering a police officer; the lawyer argues in court that the slum's oppressive conditions drove the young man to crime. The film is based on Willard Motley's 1947 novel of the same name; Motley, an African American writer, was known for writing mostly about white characters, and the novel was a major commercial success, reaching its third printing just five days after publication. The film's line "live fast, die young" is considered one of its earliest cinematic uses, the cultural origin of a phrase that would go on to become a worn cliché. The film was the first production of Bogart's own company, Santana Productions; Bogart invited Ray to direct after being impressed by a private screening of Ray's They Live by Night, which had not yet opened in the US. Who it's for: anyone curious about a classic drama that helped popularize the phrase "live fast, die young," adapted from a novel by a writer known for writing outside his own race. Who it's not for: those looking for Nicholas Ray's actual directorial debut, since this was his third production, only his first to be released in the US.