Thieves Like Us (1974)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Edward Anderson (novel)
Robert Altman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 February 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Robbing 36 banks was easy. Watch what happens when they hit the 37th.

Plot:

Two convicts break out of Mississippi State Penitentiary in 1936 to join a third on a long spree of bank robbing...

Plot Keywords:

Mississippi | Media Hype | Limp | Southern U.S. | Murder

Cast

Keith Carradine	...	Bowie
Shelley Duvall	...	Keechie
John Schuck	...	Chicamaw
Bert Remsen	...	T-Dub
Louise Fletcher	...	Mattie
Ann Latham	...	Lula
Tom Skerritt	...	Dee Mobley
Al Scott	...	Capt. Stammers
John Roper	...	Jasbo
Mary Waits	...	Noel Joy
Rodney Lee	...	James Mattingly (as Rodney Lee Jr.)
William Watters	...	Alvin
Joan Tewkesbury	...	Lady in Train Station (as Joan Maguire)
Eleanor Matthews	...	Mrs. Stammers
Pam Warner	...	Woman in Accident

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2005) | UK:15 (video rating) (1998) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Canton, Mississippi, USA

Company:

George Litto Productions

Trivia:

Edward Anderson sold the movie rights to his novel for $500.

Quotes:

Dee Mobley: You think life's free, don't you, Elmo? I ain't never had my name in the papers like you fellas.

Movie Connections:

Version of They Live by Night (1948)

Unjustly overlooked

This film may have been a box office disappointment when it was first released, but that's no reason why it should be so completely forgotten today.

"Thieves Like Us" was Altman's second major period piece (after "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"), and he gets the details just right. From the cars to the clothing to the ubiquitous Coca-Cola bottles, everything adds to the feeling that these events could have taken place. It, of course, also helps that he has actors who look like they fit the time period. Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck and Bert Remsen were born to play these roles, and they get able support from Tom Skerritt and Louise Fletcher.

Instead of a typical soundtrack, Altman uses vintage radio programs to underscore the action (crime dramas during robberies, "Romeo and Juliet" during a love scene). It's a brilliant gamble that pays off and takes the film to a whole new level.

In short, this is one of Altman's most fully realized films. For it to remain unseen is a crime.