They Live By Night
| They Live by Night | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Nicholas Ray |
| Produced by | John Houseman |
| Screenplay by |
Charles Schnee Nicholas Ray |
| Based on |
Thieves Like Us 1937 novel by Edward Anderson |
| Starring |
Cathy O'Donnell Farley Granger Howard Da Silva |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
| Cinematography | George E. Diskant |
| Edited by | Sherman Todd |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
They Live by Night is a 1948 American film noir, based on Edward Anderson's Depression era novel Thieves Like Us. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray (his first feature film) and starred Farley Granger as "Bowie" Bowers and Cathy O'Donnell as "Keechie" Mobley.
The movie is the prototype for the "couple on the run" genre, and is generally seen as the forerunner to the movie Bonnie and Clyde. Robert Altman directed a version using the original title of the novel, Thieves Like Us (1974).
Bowie (Granger) escapes from prison with bank robbers Chicamaw (DaSilva) and T-Dub (Flippen). Bowie was unfairly convicted of murder. The three plan to rob a bank. Bowie needs the money to hire a lawyer to prove he is innocent. Bowie, injured in an auto accident, finds refuge with the daughter of the owner of a gas station, Keechie (O'Donnell). They marry and plan to live an honest life. But then Chicamaw and T-Dub return and demand that Bowie come with them for one more job. Bowie refuses but finds that he is unable to escape being hunted by the law. He is betrayed and meets a tragic end. Keechie carries on and is pregnant with their child.
The novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson had been bought by RKO in 1941 for $10,000. After numerous writers tried to make a screenplay out of it, nothing became of it. According to producer John Houseman, "I found the book and gave it to Nick to read, and he fell madly in love with it–as indeed I did, but Nick particularly was very familiar with that territory. He'd been there when he worked with the Lomaxes, he'd been there when he worked for the Department of Agriculture, and so on. And that whole Depression stuff was terribly his stuff. So he sat down and wrote the treatment. I'd come home at night and we'd go over it; I'd edit it a little, that's all, and it was very, very good." Houseman would repeatedly send in treatments, fronting for the novice Ray. Houseman, who had considerable authority as a producer, was aware of Ray's passion for the project and there was never any doubt that Ray would direct the film.
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Wikipedia