Thieves Like Us (1974)

Synopsis: THIEVES LIKE US, director Robert Altman's remake of Nicholas Ray's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT--a 1949 adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel--is an authentic, understated drama that is as much a love... THIEVES LIKE US, director Robert Altman's remake of Nicholas Ray's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT--a 1949 adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel--is an authentic, understated drama that is as much a love story as it is a gangster picture. Taking place in the South during the 1930s Depression, the film follows the exploits of three recent prison escapees who become wanted after a string of bank robberies. The hapless criminals--Bowie (Keith Carradine), Chicamaw (John Schuck), and T-Dub--shack up at the home of Dee Mobley (Tom Skerritt), where Bowie falls in love with Dee's daughter Keechie (Shelley Duvall). Soon, Keechie in tow, the foursome settles at Mattie's (Louise Fletcher) house. Eventually, Bowie and Keechie move in together and struggle to maintain their relationship while Chicamaw and T-Dub do their best to stay out of trouble, but before they can perform one final robbery, the law threatens to put them out of commission. Altman tells an honest story of ordinary people who fell into a life of crime because it was the only thing they knew how to do. He also incorporates a ROMEO AND JULIET radio show as an ironic counterpoint to the story on screen, which serves somewhat to lighten its tone. [More]

Starring: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen

Starring: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher, Ann Latham, Tom Skerritt, Joan Tewkesbury

Director: Robert Altman

Director: Robert Altman
Producer: Jerry Bick
Screenwriter: Calder Willingham

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