They Live by Night (1948)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Edward Anderson (novel)
Nicholas Ray (adaptation)

Release Date:

26 October 1949 (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	...	Plumber (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:

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 movie has a very unusual prologue before the opening credits showing a very romantic Granger and O'Donnell with subtitles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The breeze on the bushes makes it obvious that a helicopter is shooting the opening scene.

Quotes:

Mr. Hawkins, Wedding Chapel Proprietor: [Bowie has just asked Hawkins to arrange a passage to Mexico for Keechie and himself] Son, I'd sure like that money. I'm old, and money's a real comfort to an old man. I believe in helping people get what they want as long as they pay for it. I marry people 'cos there's a little hope they'll be happy. But I can't take this money of yours. No sir. In a way I'm a thief just the same as you are, but I won't sell you hope when there ain't any.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

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.