Like another reviewer here, I immediately thought of Boeing Boeing, whilst watching Don't Bother to Knock. To be fair to the latter, Boeing Boeing was made 4 years later and is therefore more likely to have borrowed from DBTK than visa versa. BB also had a couple of significant advantages; Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis, both experienced in playing comedic roles.
Don't Bother to Knock relies heavily on the shoulders of lead actor Richard Todd and he is hopelessly miscast as a philandering middle-aged travel agent, who supposedly wants to settle down with his naive fiancee Stella. However his character's behaviour and actions just aren't convincing. Instead he comes across as an unfunny 40+ Lothario, whose constant attempts to seduce women far younger than him, are more in keeping with an over-sexed teenage male. Todd, well - known for his more dramatic roles, didn't have the light touch and the timing for comedy, let alone farce.
He's not helped by the script here, which doesn't exactly crackle with humour. Ironically one of the funniest things about this movie, which is mainly set in Edinburgh (to suit the storyline in the second half), is that I only remember one character who actually spoke with a Scottish accent ... a taxi driver. So yes, a distinct failure all around.
