They Live by Night (1948) 7.6
An escaped convict is injured and is helped by a woman with whom he has an ill-fated relationship. Director:Nicholas Ray |
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They Live by Night (1948) 7.6
An escaped convict is injured and is helped by a woman with whom he has an ill-fated relationship. Director:Nicholas Ray |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Farley Granger | ... |
Arthur 'Bowie' Bowers
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| Cathy O'Donnell | ... | ||
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Howard Da Silva | ... | |
| Jay C. Flippen | ... | ||
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Helen Craig | ... | |
| Will Wright | ... | ||
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William Phipps | ... |
R.T. Waters - Young Farmer
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| Ian Wolfe | ... |
Hawkins - Justice of the Peace
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Harry Harvey | ... |
Hagenheimer
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Marie Bryant | ... |
Singer
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| Will Lee | ... | ||
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James Nolan | ... |
Schreiber
(as Jim Nolan)
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Charles Meredith | ... |
Comm. Hubbell
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Teddy Infuhr | ... |
Alvin
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Byron Foulger | ... |
Lambert
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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>
An early, nearly-forgotten picture from the director of "Rebel Without a Cause", this story of fugitive love (though not in the same was as "Bonnie and Clyde" or "Gun Crazy") is in its own right a rather accomplished picture.
Farley Granger is best remembered for his Hitchcock roles, and he gives a good, multifaceted performance. It's clear from the get-go that despite the company he keeps and despite his time in prison, he's really a scared, uncertain kid. Cathy O'Donnell is all but forgotten, but here gives a nearly Oscar-calibre performance, extremely convincing and appealing as his naive bride.
The film is also notable for early use of helicopter shots of cars, and for its refusal to vilify either the criminals or the cops (one of the policemen admits that "the system failed him", an astonishing statement for 1949).
All in all, a film which deserves to be resurrected from its obscurity.