They Live by Night (1948)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay)
Nicholas Ray (adaptation)

Release Date:

June 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Romance

Tagline:

Cops or no cops I'm going through!

Plot:

An escaped convict is injured and is helped by a woman with whom he has an ill-fated relationship.

Plot Keywords:

Prison Farm | Police | Escaped Convict | Car Accident | Teen

Cast

Cathy O'Donnell	...	Catherine 'Keechie' Mobley
Farley Granger	...	Arthur 'Bowie' Bowers
Howard Da Silva	...	Chicamaw 'One-Eye' Mobley
Jay C. Flippen	...	Henry 'T-Dub' Mansfield
Helen Craig	...	Mattie Mansfield
Will Wright	...	Mobley
Marie Bryant	...	Nightclub Singer
Ian Wolfe	...	Hawkins
William Phipps	...	Young Farmer
Harry Harvey	...	Hagenheimer
Will Lee	...	Jeweler
James Nolan	...	Schreiber (as Jim Nolan)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Alvin Lambert
Byron Foulger	...	Lambert
Guy Beach	...	Rudy (as Guy L. Beach)

Also Known As:

The Twisted Road (UK)
Your Red Wagon (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

France:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

RKO Encino Ranch - Balboa Boulevard & Burbank Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The opening sequence was filmed from a helicopter. Although helicopters had been used in filming by 1947, mainly for aerial views or landscapes, this is one of the first times an action scene was filmed from the sky. The most difficult thing about it was to keep the actors in focus. It took them four takes; they eventually chose the second one.

Goofs:

Continuity: Chicamaw's right eye is okay in a brief scene toward the end. Otherwise, the eye is opaque.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Catherine 'Keechie' Mobley: [reading Bowie's letter to herself] "Hello girl. I'm gonna miss you. I gotta do it this way... I'll send for both of you when I can... no matter how long it takes, I gotta see that kid... he's lucky; he'll have you to keep him squared around."
[whispers]
Catherine 'Keechie' Mobley: I love you, Bowie.

Movie Connections:

Version of Thieves Like Us (1974)

Soundtrack:

Your Red Wagon

Actually quite good

An early, nearly-forgotten picture from the director of "Rebel Without a Cause", this story of fugitive love (though not in the same was as "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Gun Crazy") is in its own right a rather accomplished picture.

Farley Granger is best remembered for his Hitchcock roles, and he gives a good, multifaceted performance. It's clear from the get-go that despite the company he keeps and despite his time in prison, he's really a scared, uncertain kid. Cathy O'Donnell is all but forgotten, but here gives a nearly Oscar-calibre performance, extremely convincing and appealing as his naive bride.

The film is also notable for early use of helicopter shots of cars, and for its refusal to vilify either the criminals or the cops (one of the policemen admits that "the system failed him", an astonishing statement for 1949).

All in all, a film which deserves to be resurrected from its obscurity.