They Live By Night

1948's THEY LIVE BY NIGHT is a beautifully directed adaptation of Edward Anderson's novel Thieves Like Us by Nicholas Ray.  More assured a debut has rarely been seen, at least by these eyes.  Ray was given full control of the picture, working with producer John Houseman and the RKO studio.  Use of natural locations and soundstages merge seamlessly.  Ray also utilized a helicopter for both establishing shots and dramatic scenes. This was quite unusual for the time.

The story of three prison escapees who knock off banks and hole up with relatives across the Depression era Midwest does have a strong sense of deja vu, but it must be remembered that many famous "on the lam" dramas sought to emulate this one.  BONNIE AND CLYDE, for example, is a much better known and celebrated tale of crime and love on the run, but does it have the emotional weight of Ray's film?  Do we care as much about Bonnie and Clyde as we do Bowie (Farley Granger) and Keechie (Cathy O'Donnell), two innocents who barely seem mature enough make their bed?

Ray and co-screenwriter Charles Schnee pace the story evenly and briskly, eventually following the star crossed lovers from icy introduction to gut wrenching separation, with a lot of miles in between.  Keechie, whose one eyed uncle Chicamaw (Howard Da Silva) is one of the other of the larcenous trio, admits she doesn't even really know how to kiss a boy just after marrying Bowie at a quickie wedding chapel.  The one officiated by a curious, all knowing fellow who can also arrange to get you south of the border should the heat be coming down.

Stories like this always end tragically, and by the time Bowie is surrounded by the Law in a hotel parking lot, in an inventively staged sequence, it means something.  Granger very effectively portrays innocence that has been swept along by the urgency of his plight, of his inability to "go straight" and settle down like ordinary folks do.  The naivete of our poor couple is best exemplified by the scene with Keechie sitting on a bed, barely acknowledging that their bedroom has flooded due to a broken pipe. Says it all right there.  O'Donnell is just right as what some might call a "plain Jane" who is introduced as an aloof firebrand who don't need nobody but is revealed to be just another lonely young girl.  She's simple, but compellingly so. You might make the same summation of this movie.

Decades later Robert Altman adapted Anderson's novel into a film of the same name.  That film reflects the director's queer sensibilities with a real eye for the time period to match.  It, like THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, also, despite its eccentricities, had us caring about our young lovers.  Make this a double feature sometime.