They Live by Night

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Cast & Crew

Cathy O'Donnell
Keechie

Farley Granger
Bowie Bowers

Howard da Silva
Chickamaw

Jay C. Flippen
T-Dub

Helen Craig
Mattie

Will Wright
Mobley

Marie Bryant
Singer

Ian Wolfe
Hawkins

William Phipps
Young Farmer

Harry Harvey
Hagenheimer

Nicholas Ray
Director

John Houseman
Producer

Charles Schnee
Screenwriter

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Critic Reviews for They Live by Night

Audience Reviews for They Live by Night

• Aug 23, 2018

  First-time director Nicholas Ray does a good job of threading the needle between a romance and film noir/heist film with 'They Live by Night'. There is such a natural feeling to the actors and story-telling, and Ray keeps up a good, brisk pace for most of the film. Three convicts break out of prison at the beginning of the movie, a couple of older guys (Howard Da Silva and Jay C. Flippen) and one of the two's son (Farley Granger), who believes he was in there unjustly to begin with. He wants to raise a little money to hire a lawyer to clear his name, and makes the mistake of committing new crimes to do that. He meets a beautiful, smart young woman (Cathy O'Donnell), and soon the two of them are on the run, making this a forerunner of that kind of film. I'm not as sure about Granger, and liked him better in 'Strangers on a Train', but O'Donnell is just wonderful. She has strong scenes throughout the movie, starting with those where she tries to talk sense into him. Her imploring eyes and minimal makeup are very effective at conveying the fundamental truth of innocence and simplicity. As the two fall in love, they have this lovely exchange while driving, her head on his shoulder: "I like you so much. I don't know much about kissing. You're gonna have to show me." "I don't know too much about it myself." "We'll learn together." That sounds a little syrupy as I read it now, but it worked for me at the time. The film does get a little melodramatic, and while there are scenes which I adored, there are others which are a little cloying. On the other hand, there is a quite a bit of realism here as well. To give us this, and to create interest, Ray shoots from a helicopter, and from the backseat of the getaway car during a robbery. He also creates a natural feel in his scenes, sometimes bordering on having actors slightly out of focus. We're sometimes informed of events after the fact, relieving us of the tedium of seeing it all, and again, keeping us interested. The dialogue seems authentic, and the supporting cast is very strong. Even the character names add a certain feeling - 'Keechie', 'T-Dub', 'Chicamaw', etc The film trundles a bit towards its inexorable end, but its last scene is strong, and touching.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Aug 28, 2011

  A little too sentimental for my taste, but the film's influence is clearly apparent. Nicolas Ray's sympathy for criminals and of youth culture is on full display, and his innovative overhead helicopter shots is impressive (especially considering that, at the time, using those shots were only used for establishing shots, not to follow action). A clear precursor to Bonnie and Clyde and many famous "love on the run" films.
  Jonathan H Super Reviewer
• Sep 05, 2010

  Solid noir is full of despair but well told and acted with assurance.
  jay n Super Reviewer
• Oct 18, 2009

  You gotta love those classics! "They live by night"is yet another reason why you should. Even though it might get a bit melodramatic at moments for my own standards, by any other standards it's one of the movies that defined film-noir, future-to-come road movies and that always desired but never realised "escape to Mexico". Nicholas Ray does a robust job directing it, O'Donnel and Granger work out swell as a couple and there you have it, a film that any romantic oughts to see.
  Anastasia B Super Reviewer

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