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They Live by Night (1949)

APPROVED 95 min  -  Crime | Film-Noir | Romance  -   5 November 1949 (USA)
7.6
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Ratings: 7.6/10 from 2,563 users  
Reviews: 36 user | 39 critic

An escaped convict is injured and is helped by a woman with whom he has an ill-fated relationship.

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay), Nicholas Ray (adaptation), and 1 more credit »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Farley Granger ...
Bowie Bowers
Cathy O'Donnell Cathy O'Donnell ...
Howard Da Silva Howard Da Silva ...
Jay C. Flippen Jay C. Flippen ...
Helen Craig Helen Craig ...
Will Wright ...
William Phipps William Phipps ...
Young Farmer
Ian Wolfe Ian Wolfe ...
Hawkins
Harry Harvey Harry Harvey ...
Hagenheimer
Marie Bryant Marie Bryant ...
Singer
Will Lee ...
Jeweler
James Nolan James Nolan ...
Schreiber (as Jim Nolan)
Charles Meredith Charles Meredith ...
Comm. Hubbell
Teddy Infuhr Teddy Infuhr ...
Alvin
Byron Foulger Byron Foulger ...
Lambert
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Storyline

In the '30s, three prisoners flee from a state prison farm in Mississippi. Among them is 23-years-young Bowie, who spent the last seven years in prison and now hopes to be able to prove his innocence or retire to a home in the mountains and live in peace together with his new love, Kitty. But his criminal companions persuade him to participate in several heists, and soon the police believe him to be their leader and go after "Bowie the Kid" harder than ever. Written by Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Prison Farm | Police | Escaped Convict | Car Accident | Teen  | See more »

Taglines:

Cops or no cops I'm going through!

Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Twisted Road See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film lost USD$445,000 in its initial release in the USA. See more »

Goofs

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

Quotes

[last lines]
Catherine 'Keechie' Mobley: [reading Bowie's letter to herself] "Hello girl. I'm gonna miss you. I gotta do it this way... I'll send for both of you when I can... no matter how long it takes, I gotta see that kid... he's lucky; he'll have you to keep him squared around."
[whispers]
Catherine 'Keechie' Mobley: I love you, Bowie.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"Your Red Wagon"
by Richard M. Jones, Don Raye and Gene de Paul (as Gene DePaul) See more »