Scorsese's first feature film was already packed with the trademarks and themes that he'll be known for throughout his lengthy and prolific career – contemporary music, quick edits, slow-motions, machismo, male bonding, goddess-whore complex, faith and Catholic guilt. Playing the lead role is his long-time collaborator and friend, Harvey Keitel, alongside TV star Zina Bethune. This film also marks his first collaboration with film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, on what would become a historic partnership between the two, resulting into three Oscar trophies for Thelma. This early Scorsese black-and-white film is both inventive and ragged, influenced clearly by the famous French cinematic movement of the 60s and other films Scorsese adored while growing up. Originally titled as "I Call First" in 1967, Scorsese was asked to insert nude scenes in the film to get it more distribution and eventually called "Who's That Knocking at My Door" and advertised as some sort of sex exploitation film – though those spliced nude fantasy scenes were shot terrifically, if not reasonably. This may not be the best example of the director's work and style, but we can see here the genesis of his genius. A debut film worth a look.

Aimless and unemployed young Italian-American J.R. (an excellent and explosive portrayal by Harvey Keitel in his first major role) aspires to little more than hanging out with his buddies in New York's Little Italy. J.R.'s minuscule perspective on life gets radically altered after he meets and falls for a more worldly college-educated woman (a fine and charming portrayal by the fetching Zina Bethune). However, a dark secret from the woman's past threatens to destroy their burgeoning romance.While Martin Scorsese's debut might be a little raw and marred slightly by sloppy moments of unfortunate indulgence (for example, a fantasy sequence involving several nude women comes across as pretty forced and unnecessary, but nonetheless is exceptionally well filmed and makes great galvanizing use of "The End" by The Doors), it still manages to overcome its modest budget and occasional lapses thanks to Scorsese's inspired selection of dynamic rock songs on the eclectic soundtrack, strong early interest in such familiar themes as Catholic guilt, tight-knit macho male cliques, and the intrinsic difficulty old school conventional men encounter in dealing with independent and liberated women, a true and infectious love for cinema, and several surprisingly poignant moments of real tenderness and vulnerability. Moreover, Scorsese exposes the limitations of a strict Catholic upbringing and stubborn male pride without ever becoming too sappy or preachy about it. The sharp black and white cinematography by Richard C. Coll and Michael Wadleigh vividly captures a convincingly gritty feeling of lived-in authenticity. Granted, it's not exactly perfect by any means, but it does possess a fierce urban vibrancy that's both captivating and exhilarating in equal measure.

Good movie. It's about male double standards and the role of the Catholic church in encouraging them. This theme is dramatised powerfully in the relationship between Italian-American J.R. (charismatic Harvey Keitel, making his film debut) and his unnamed beloved (Zina Bethune).Martin Scorcese's first feature, it is fizzing with inventive photography, and notable for its editing - the first collaboration of many between the director and Thelma Shoonmaker.The seeds of TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL and GOODFELLAS are clear to see here. But this is a fine piece of work in its own right.

Although he is best known for his collaborations with Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese has also worked to great effect with Harvey Keitel. In fact, Keitel was there from the very beginning, playing the lead in Marty's first feature, Who's That Knocking at My Door.Shot in black and white on the streets of New York that have an important role in the director's filmography, Knocking doesn't have a real plot, at least not that well defined. It is more of a series of moments involving main character J.R. (Keitel) and his relationship with a girl: they discuss movies, they decide to get married, he discovers she was once raped and loses it. All these scenes are linked by association rather than real coherence, even if the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker (who for some reason didn't work with Marty again until Raging Bull) does a good job in keeping the film together.Who's That Knocking at My Door fascinates at once for its seductive images, proving that Scorsese had an eye for visuals right from the start, and the black-and-white cinematography gives it an extra touch of beauty. If there is a defect to find here, it would be the lack of real narrative, as J.R.'s faith-driven struggles (a topic that Marty dealt with much better in the mesmerizing Mean Streets) serve as little more than an excuse to show random episodes of his everyday life. Another proof of the inconsistent storytelling is the presence of a quite pointless dream sequence involving prostitutes, its presence having been encouraged by Scorsese's mentor Roger Corman for sheer marketing purposes (nudity sells, you know).On the flip-side, Keitel's performance is solid and eye-catching for the entire running time, hinting, alongside the intelligent choices of music, at future cinematic glories. It doesn't prevent Who's That Knocking from feeling and looking like a student picture, but fans of Marty, and the American film industry in general, ought to check it out.