They Live by Night (1948)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay)
Nicholas Ray (adaptation)
(more)

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Allen	...	Woman (uncredited)
Paul Bakanas	...	Shadow (uncredited)
Regan Callais	...	Young Wife (uncredited)
Lewis Charles	...	Auto Lot Attendant (uncredited)
Curt Conway	...	Man in Tuxedo (uncredited)
Suzi Crandall	...	Lulu (uncredited)
Helen Crozier	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Boyd Davis	...	Herman Hawkins (uncredited)
Gail Davis	...	Girl at Parking Lot (uncredited)
James Dobson	...	Boy at Parking Lot (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson	...	Bum (uncredited)
Dan Foster	...	Groom (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Eula Guy	...	Mrs. Haviland (uncredited)
N.L. Hitch	...	Bus Driver (uncredited)
J. Louis Johnson	...	Restroom Porter (uncredited)
Chester Jones	...	Waiter in Nightclub (uncredited)
Tom Kennedy	...	Cop (uncredited)
Kate Drain Lawson	...	Tillie (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Robert Mansfield, Mattie's Husband (uncredited)
Myra Marsh	...	Mrs. Schaeffer (uncredited)
Marilyn Mercer	...	Bride (uncredited)
Charles Meredith	...	Commissioner Hubbell (uncredited)
Carmen Morales	...	Mother on bus (uncredited)
Jimmy Moss	...	Boy on bus (uncredited)
Stanley Prager	...	Short Order Man (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Mickey Simpson	...	Shadow (uncredited)
Russ Whiteman	...	Man (uncredited)
Lynn Whitney	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Douglas Williams	...	Drunk (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray

Writing credits
Charles Schnee		(screenplay)
Nicholas Ray		(adaptation)
Edward Anderson		(novel "Thieves Like Us")

Produced by
John Houseman	....	producer
Dore Schary	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Leigh Harline
Woody Guthrie		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
George E. Diskant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sherman Todd

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Alfred Herman		(as Al Herman)

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
Maurice Yates

Costume Design by
Adele Balkan		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Helen Grizuk	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
James H. Anderson	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Lane	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John L. Cass	....	sound (as John Cass)
Clem Portman	....	sound
Roy Meadows	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Russell A. Cully	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward Bergholz	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Paul Ivano	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Ollie Sigurdson	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Knute Flint	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Mercy Weireter	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• R. K. O. Radio Pictures (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1951) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Manga Films (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Jane Greer tested for the lead role.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Arthur 'Bowie' Bowers: She's got a real house!
Chicamaw 'One-Eye' Mobley: Why not? We're real people.

Movie Connections:

Version of Thieves Like Us (1974)

Soundtrack:

Your Red Wagon

An earlier, and just as involving, version of Thieves Like Us

Nicholas Ray's first feature, in 1949, was an adaptation of the novel Thieves Like Us (which Robert Altman so memorably filmed in the mid-1970s). It's a bit of a surprise to encounter the same characters -- Bowie, Keechie, T-Dub et al. -- in postwar black-and-white. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell play the star-crossed lovers later rended by Keith Carradine and Shelly Duvall, and they bring a vulnerable, doomed edge to this very interesting, tragic movie. (Granger may never have been better during his brief bout of stardom). The supporting cast isn't quite up to the level of Altman's (without Louise Fletcher and her odd little girl), but on the whole this remains an honorable and moving piece of film art -- and a vital instalment, along with the same year's Gun Crazy (also a tale of doomed, romantic outlaws), in the noir cycle.