KNOCK ON ANY DOOR

Against the wishes of his law partners, slick talking lawyer Andrew Morton takes the case of Nick Romano, a troubled punk from the slums, partly because he himself came from the same slums and partly because he feels guilty for his partner botching the criminal trial of Nick's father years earlier. Nick is on trial for shooting a policeman point-blank and faces execution if convicted.

Nick's history is presented through flashbacks showing him as a hoodlum committing one petty crime after another. Morton's wife Adele convinces him to play nursemaid to Nick to make Nick a better person. Nick then robs Morton of $100 after a fishing trip. Shortly after that, Nick marries Emma, and he tries to change his lifestyle. He takes on job after job but keeps getting fired because of his recalcitrance. He wastes his paycheck playing dice, wanting to buy Emma some jewelry, and then walks out on another job after punching his boss. Feeling a lack of hope of ever being able to live a normal life, Nick decides to return to his old ways, sticking to his motto: "Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse." He abandons Emma, even after she tells him that she is pregnant. After Nick commits a botched hold-up at a train station, he returns to Emma to take her with him as he flees. He finds that she had committed suicide by gas from an open oven door.

Morton's strategy in the courtroom is to argue that slums breed criminals and that society is to blame for crimes committed by people who live in such miserable conditions. Morton argues that Romano is a victim of society and not a natural-born killer. However, his strategy does not have the desired effect on the jury, thanks to the badgering of the seasoned and experienced District Attorney Kerman, who delivers question after question until Nick shouts out his admission of guilt. Morton, who is naïve enough to believe in his client's innocence, is shocked by Nick's confession. Nick decides to change his plea to guilty. During the sentencing hearing, Morton manages to arouse some sympathy for the plight of those in a dead-end existence. He pleads that anyone who "knocks on any door" may find a Nick Romano. Nevertheless, Nick is sentenced to die in the electric chair. Morton visits Nick prior to the execution and watches him walk down the hall to the death chamber.

Nick Romano is sentenced to die in the electric chair after confessing to the murder, despite Morton's defense highlighting his harsh upbringing.

The ending underscores the film’s argument that societal conditions play a critical role in shaping individuals, but also refuses easy absolution. Morton's passionate defense wins sympathy but not justice, and Nick’s fate serves as both a personal tragedy and a cautionary tale. The film lands on a somber note, refusing to let the audience look away from the consequences of neglecting society’s most vulnerable.