They Live by Night (The Twisted Road) (1949)
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100% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
82% of users liked it
(1,017 ratings)
"This boy...and this girl...were never properly introduced to the world we live in." With this superimposed opening title, director Nicholas Ray inaugurates his first feature, They Live by Night. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell play a "Bonnie and Clyde"-type fugitive… More "This boy...and this girl...were never properly introduced to the world we live in." With this superimposed opening title, director Nicholas Ray inaugurates his first feature, They Live by Night. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell play a "Bonnie and Clyde"-type fugitive couple, who in trying to escape their past are hell-bent down the road to Doom. Despite their criminal activities, Bowie (Granger) and Keechie (O'Donnell) are hopelessly naïve, fabricating their own idyllic dream world as the authorities close in. The entrapment -- both actual and symbolic -- of the young misfit couple can now be seen as a precursor to the dilemma facing James Dean in Ray's 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause. A box-office disappointment upon its first release, They Live by Night has since gained stature as one of the most sensitive and least-predictable entries in the film noir genre. The film was based on a novel by Edward Anderson, and in 1974 was filmed by Robert Altman under its original title, Thieves Like Us. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Nicholas Ray
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 1, 1948 Wide
- On DVD
- Jul 31, 2007
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
There's no attempt at sugarcoating a happy ending, and yarn moves towards its inevitable, tragic climax without compromise.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Passionate, lyrical, and imaginative, it's a remarkably assured debut, from the astonishing opening helicopter shot that follows the escaped convicts' car to freedom, to the final, inexorably tragic climax.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Although it -- like others -- is misguided in its sympathies for a youthful crook, this crime-and-compassion melodrama has the virtues of vigor and restraint.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A key film noir of the 40s, this was Nicholas Ray's first film as a director (1949), and the freshness of his expressionist-documentary style is still apparent and gripping.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
A cinema of anxiety and sensuality, with a streak of instability and a peculiar combination of the folksy and the Cocteau-abstract
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Cathy O'Donnell
as Keechie
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Farley Granger
as Bowie
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Howard Da Silva
as Chickamaw
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Jay C. Flippen
as T-Dub
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Helen Craig
as Mattie
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Will Wright
as Mobley
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Marie Bryant
as Singer
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Ian Wolfe
as Hawkins
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William Phipps
as Young Farmer
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Lewis Charles
as Parking Lot Attendant
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Curt Conway
as Man in Tuxedo
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Suzi Crandall
as Lulu
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Boyd Davis
as Herman
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Gail Davis
as Girl at Parking Lot
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James Dobson
as Boy at Parking Lot
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Ralph Dunn
as Policeman
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Frank Ferguson
as Bum
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Byron Foulger
as Lambert
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Fred Graham
as Motorcycle Cop
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Eula Guy
as Mrs. Havilland
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Harry Harvey
as Hagenheimer
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Teddy Infur
as Alvin
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J. Louis Johnson
as Porter
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Chester Jones
as Waiter in Nightclub
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Kate Lawson
as Tillie
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Will Lee
as Jeweler
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Frank Marlowe
as Mattie's Husband
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Myra Marsh
as Mrs. Schaeffer
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Charles Meredith
as Commissioner Hubbell
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Carmen Morales
as Mother
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Jimmy Moss
as Boy
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Jim Nolan
as Schreiber
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Erskine Sanford
as Doctor
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Mickey Simpson
as Shadow
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Lynn Whitney
as Waitress
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Stanley Prager
as Short Order Man
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Douglas Williams
as Drunk
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Guy Beach
as Plumber
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Dan Foster
as Groom
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Russ Whiteman
as Man
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Jane Allen
as People
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Helen Crozier
as Nurse
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Marilyn Mercer
as Bride
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Tom Kennedy
as Cop-Bumper Gag
