They Live by Night Movie Review 1949

Bowie (Granger) is a naive young criminal who joins a prison break with hardened cons Chickamaw (da Silva) and T-Dub (Flippen) who then use him as an extra pair of hands in a bank heist. Bowie tries to go straight by marrying young Keechie (O'Donnell) but gets sucked back in by his criminal compatriots and winds up a fugitive with no hope. Classic film noir was Ray's first attempt at directing. Based on Edward Anderson's novel "Thieves Like Us," under which title it was remade in 1974. Compelling and suspenseful.

Distribution

Available on VHS
Running time 95 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Film Noir

Screenplay

Nicholas Ray, Charles Schnee

Cast

Cathy O'Donnell, Farley Granger, Howard da Silva, Jay C. Flippen, Helen Craig, William Wright

Cinematography

George E. Diskant

Director

Nicholas Ray

Music

Leigh Harline

Producer

RKO, Dore Schary