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Who's That Knocking at My Door

185 statements
35 feature instances
1 referencing feature instances

Who's That Knocking at My Door	type	TVTItem
Who's That Knocking at My Door	label	Who's That Knocking at My Door
Who's That Knocking at My Door	page	WhosThatKnockingAtMyDoor
Who's That Knocking at My Door	comment	Who's That Knocking at My Door is a 1967 Romantic Dramedy film written and directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune.J.R. (Keitel) is an aimless young man who lives in New York's Little Italy, spending most of his days hanging out with his friends. One day, riding on the Staten Island Ferry, he meets a young, blonde, middle-class woman (Bethune). They fall in love, but the tug-of-war between J.R.'s familiar lifestyle and his uncertainty about the new possibilities that the Girl represents turns into a full-blown crisis when she reveals that she was raped by an old boyfriend. Riddled with Catholic guilt and toxic masculinity, J.R. struggles mightily with this revelation.This film marked Scorsese's feature debut as a director. It began life as a short, Bring on the Dancing Girls, he made while attending film school at New York University. Eventually more footage was added, and it gained acclaim on the film festival circuit under the title I Call First. This film introduced many of his signature motifs and tropes. It's also sometimes called the Ur-Example of a mainstream feature film that features extensive pre-existing pop music on the soundtrack, as a way to establish a mood, comment on the action, or provide Soundtrack Dissonance to the action. Scorsese would help make this an almost-universal technique of modern filmmaking with his use of it in later films.note With film studios having large music departments, and the expensive cost for music rights, using songs on a soundtrack was deemed unnecessary. Some experimental filmmakers started doing it in The '60s, and Scorsese, well-versed in the emerging underground cinema movement, created his own spin on the idea here.Michael Wadleigh was one of the cinematographers. When Wadleigh directed Woodstock three years later, Scorsese helped out with camerawork and editing. One of the movie's earliest and strongest advocates was a young Roger Ebert.BEWARE. Spoilers are unmarked.
Who's That Knocking at My Door	fetched	2024-02-13T08:45:11Z
Who's That Knocking at My Door	parsed	2024-02-13T08:45:11Z
Who's That Knocking at My Door	processingComment	Dropped link to TenderIsTheNight: Not a Feature - ITEM
Who's That Knocking at My Door	processingComment	Dropped link to thesearchers: Not a Feature - ITEM
Who's That Knocking at My Door	isPartOf	DBTropes
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_127fc252	type	Creator Cameo
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_127fc252	comment	Creator Cameo: A very young, very clean-shaven Scorsese plays one of the guys at the party in the "El Watusi" sequence.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_127fc252	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_127fc252	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_127fc252
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_18d15922	type	Title Drop
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_18d15922	comment	Title Drop: From the 1959 Doo-wop song "Who's That Knocking?" by The Genies, which plays at the climax of the film (though the actual line is "Who's that knockin' on my door?").
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_18d15922	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_18d15922	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_18d15922
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_1aa30797	type	Single Woman Seeks Good Man
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_1aa30797	comment	Single Woman Seeks Good Man: The Girl describes her former boyfriend as "gentlemanly" and likes J.R. for his charming, likable nature. Unfortunately, both turn out to be assholes.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_1aa30797	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_1aa30797	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_1aa30797
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: The Madonna-and-child statue we first see in the opening scene with J.R.'s mother is seen later in his apartment, visually representing his Catholic guilt.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_22cf536c
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_2764d432	type	Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_2764d432	comment	The Girl's former boyfriend who pretended to be a gentlemanly person but was really a violent rapist.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_2764d432	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_2764d432	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_2764d432
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_34dcfc96	type	Kick the Dog
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_34dcfc96	comment	Kick the Dog: Anytime J.R. slut-shames the Girl in regards to her rape.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_34dcfc96	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_34dcfc96	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_34dcfc96
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_358d6f63	type	Anachronistic Soundtrack
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_358d6f63	comment	Anachronistic Soundtrack: Even this early in his career, Scorsese was using pop music as a major part of the soundtrack, with frequent Soundtrack Dissonance. Here, he chooses songs from The '50s and the early part of The '60s that were a few years out-of-date to the setting, like "Who's That Knocking?" by The Genies, "I've Had It" by The Bell Notes, "El Watusi" by Ray Barretto, "Shout" by The Isley Brothers, "Shotgun" by Junior Walker, "The Plea" by The Chantels, "Jenny Take a Ride" by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and "Ain't That Just Like Me" by The Searchers (a subtle Call-Back, since there's a conversation about The Searchers—the film—earlier in the movie). The infamous added sex scene used the more contemporary "The End" by The Doors.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_358d6f63	featureApplicability	1.0
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Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_358d6f63
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_443b78cd	type	Tranquil Fury
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_443b78cd	comment	Tranquil Fury: The Girl keeps her calm but is understandably seething with quiet rage and disappointment over J.R. Slut-Shaming and blaming for her rape.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_443b78cd	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_443b78cd	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_443b78cd
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_46784617	type	Date Rape
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_46784617	comment	Date Rape: The Girl was raped by her former boyfriend during a date.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_46784617	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_46784617	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_46784617
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: J.R. and the Girl break-up as the former is unable to accept what happened to her and their relationship is fractured beyond repair. J.R. goes back to his empty life in Little Italy.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
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Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_4e3d253b
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_524f94d3	type	Rape as Backstory
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_524f94d3	comment	Rape as Backstory: During a date with a former boyfriend, the Girl was brutally raped by him.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_524f94d3	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_524f94d3	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_524f94d3
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_55232afa	type	Politically Incorrect Hero
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_55232afa	comment	Politically Incorrect Hero: Deconstructed. J.R. has a very skewed view when it comes to women and what makes them "pure". However, this only serves to highlight his jerkass nature as it's he simply sees the Girl's rape as something that makes her "dirty", when it was a traumatic experience that wasn't her fault, but J.R. is too caught up in his own selfish views to fully see and understand it.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_55232afa	featureApplicability	1.0
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Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_63b02752	type	Hair-Trigger Temper
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_63b02752	comment	Hair-Trigger Temper: This is a Scorsese trademark, and J.R.'s buddy Joey is the Ur-Example in his filmography. He's a loudmouth who always complains, even while looking at a beautiful scene after hiking to the top of a mountain. He also roughs up his friends who owe him money.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_63b02752	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_63b02752	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_63b02752
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_66755d29	type	Author Avatar
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_66755d29	comment	Author Avatar: J.R. is clearly a stand-in for Scorsese himself, as a Little Italy native who loves the work of John Ford, though giving him some less-admirable traits was probably a good way for Scorsese to distance himself enough from the character so he could approach the story more objectively.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_66755d29	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_66755d29	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_66755d29
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_7315fd38	type	Covers Always Lie
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_7315fd38	comment	Covers Always Lie: The original poster features a still from the gratuitous sex scene that the distributor forced Scorsese to add. Even more misleading than it seems, since the woman in the picture isn't Zina Bethune.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_7315fd38	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_7315fd38	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_7315fd38
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_813afa05	type	Defiled Forever
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_813afa05	comment	Defiled Forever: J.R. refuses to have sex with the Girl because he doesn't want to "spoil" her. Later on, he cruelly states that her rape meant she was this trope and that no one would want to marry her because of it.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_813afa05	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_813afa05	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_813afa05
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a07afea2	type	Random Events Plot
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a07afea2	comment	Random Events Plot: The romance has a definite arc, but everything else is episodic. This is understandable, since it's essentially three separate productions combined into a single film. The bits about J.R. and his pals are from the original Bring on the Dancing Girls short, J.R.'s relationship with The Girl was added to create I Call First, then the sex fantasy was a much later addition.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a07afea2	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a07afea2	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a07afea2
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a536f3a3	type	Gender-Blender Name
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a536f3a3	comment	Also his buddy Sally Gaga (who's a guy).
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a536f3a3	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a536f3a3	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a536f3a3
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: The Girl's former boyfriend who raped her apparently didn't face any comeuppance for his brutal assault on her.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a70223
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a7850fbf	type	Only Known by Their Nickname
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a7850fbf	comment	Only Known by Their Nickname: J.R. simply goes by... J.R. Also his buddy Sally Gaga (who's a guy).
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a7850fbf	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a7850fbf	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_a7850fbf
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_abad35b4	type	Soundtrack Dissonance
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_abad35b4	comment	Soundtrack Dissonance: Many of the songs are used in stark counterpoint to what's happening onscreen, but most dramatically with "Don't Ask Me (to be Lonely)" a dreamy 1957 Doo-wop ballad by The Dubs, playing during the rape flashback.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_abad35b4	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_abad35b4	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_abad35b4
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_b097493c	type	Madonna-Whore Complex
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_b097493c	comment	Madonna-Whore Complex: During one of their dates, J.R. explains the difference between a "girl" and a "broad" — The former is a woman who you can settle down with, a "good girl" while the latter are women only good for sex, a "bad girl". During their fight in the last scene, J.R. angrily calls her a "broad" and then, a "whore" because of her rape.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_b097493c	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_b097493c	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_b097493c
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bb18a227	type	It's All About Me
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bb18a227	comment	It's All About Me: The Girl tells J.R. a personal story of the traumatic rape she endured by a former boyfriend, and how does he respond? Angrily states how her rape negatively effects him and how she broke his heart.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bb18a227	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bb18a227	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bb18a227
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bec82f41	type	Anti-Hero
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bec82f41	comment	Antihero: J.R. is much more likable than his macho buddies, has Hidden Depths, and has a sensitive side that The Girl helps bring out, but the negative attitudes of the culture he was raised in make him do and say some bad things.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bec82f41	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bec82f41	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_bec82f41
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c36cba70	type	Mooks
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c36cba70	comment	Mooks: The film doesn't come right out and say that J.R. and his friends are this, but it's easy to figure out. For one thing, the reason J.R. is on the ferry in the first place is that he's delivering a suspicious-looking package (which he claims is from his grandmother). When The Girl asks him what he does for a living, he just vaguely replies that he's between jobs.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c36cba70	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c36cba70	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c36cba70
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: J.R. is a movie buff, and talks to The Girl about The Searchers and Lee Marvin (his performance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in particular). They also go to see Rio Bravo. One of J.R.'s friends has a picture of Frank Sinatra on a table at his apartment. The Girl has a copy of Tender Is the Night in her apartment.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c75df49a
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c972d624	type	Slut-Shaming
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c972d624	comment	Slut-Shaming: When the Girl talks about the rape that happened to her, J.R.'s response is to blame and then accuse her of being a whore. Needless to say, the Girl is pissed.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c972d624	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c972d624	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_c972d624
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ca87e3ec	type	No Name Given
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ca87e3ec	comment	No Name Given: Except for J.R. and a few of his friends, practically no one has their full name revealed. Not even J.R.'s girlfriend.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ca87e3ec	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ca87e3ec	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ca87e3ec
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d028ca10	type	Deliberately Monochrome
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d028ca10	comment	Deliberately Monochrome: A consequence of No Budget, though it works in giving the film a gritty feel, not to mention highlighting the similarities between it and I Vitelloni.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d028ca10	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d028ca10	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d028ca10
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d7fc9fd0	type	Vitriolic Best Buds
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d7fc9fd0	comment	Vitriolic Best Buds: J.R. and Joey are always bickering back-and-forth.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d7fc9fd0	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d7fc9fd0	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_d7fc9fd0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_e7e558	type	The Oner
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_e7e558	comment	The Oner: Most of the scene where J.R. meets the Girl is a single shot, with the camera tracking side-to-side and moving in for close-ups.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_e7e558	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_e7e558	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_e7e558
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: Despite his earlier kind nature, J.R. proves to be a selfish, misogynistic asshole who slut-shames the Girl in regards to her rape. And then has the nerve to say he forgives her for getting raped! The Girl's former boyfriend who pretended to be a gentlemanly person but was really a violent rapist.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_eb8ec7c8
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ef20d7bc	type	A Minor Kidroduction
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ef20d7bc	comment	A Minor Kidroduction: The first scene shows a young J.R., his siblings, and their mother.
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ef20d7bc	featureApplicability	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ef20d7bc	featureConfidence	1.0
Who's That Knocking at My Door	hasFeature	Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_ef20d7bc
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_f0e85546	type	Unbuilt Trope
Who's That Knocking at My Door / int_f0e85546	comment	Unbuilt Trope: The No Budget naturalistic style, unorthodox use of camerawork, episodic story structure and extensive use of pop music on the soundtrack all make this feel like Scorsese took a time machine to The '90s, studied the Indie film boom, then went back to The '60s and did his own riff on the style.
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