Alex da Silva Three prisoners are on the run - hardened bad guys Howard Da Silva (Chickamaw), and Jay C. Flippen (T-Dub) and youngster Farley Granger (Bowie). They share out some money and Granger takes a shine to Cathy O'Donnell (Keechie) who has nursed his wounds. These two pair up to start a life together but the other two spend their money and want more. They need 3 for their bank robberies and a reluctant Granger is persuaded back into a life of crime after receiving a few slaps. Things only go downhill for the trio.Well, that was all a bit boring. Nothing unexpected happens. The best in the cast are everyone else other than the two leads so that doesn't do the film any favours. Granger and O'Donnell are both unconvincing in their roles and way too much time is spent on sappy sentimental nonsense between them. Who cares if she's having a frigging baby! It's a totally irrelevant detail to put into what should be a tense noir. What we get is a bit of a mushy drama. The proper bad guys come off best and that includes Helen Craig (Mattie). The problem is they're all quite an unattractive bunch so I can't relate. The best bit of the film is Marie Bryant performing "Your Red Wagon" in a nightclub scene.Interestingly, Granger is given the name "Bowie" obviously a nod to David Bowie. This is probably the most interesting aspect of the film. I think it is probably from his 'Thin White Duke - Young Americans' period but I can't be sure.

Leofwine_draca A solid if unremarkable addition to the film noir genre from director Nicholas Ray, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT (great title, by the way) features a storyline in which a trio of thugs escape from a prison in Mississippi. The narrative follows the plight of one of their number, the youngest and most inexperienced, who ends up falling for a young woman and trying to move away from his past career in crime; unfortunately for him, his accomplices have other ideas.There's nothing wrong on the surface of this movie, which is well shot and features some strong performances from the leading players. Farley Granger (ROPE) is an underrated actor from the period who delivers some excellent performances as conflicted, nervy young men, and this is one such role. Cathy O'Donnell is okay as the love interest, but most fun comes from Howard Da Silva as the one-eyed villain as he's having a real ball with the role.The main issue I had with THEY LIVE BY NIGHT is that it's stodgy in places, focusing far too much on the romance rather than the natural thrills of the storyline. More criminal stuff and less sweetheart talk would have resulted in a better movie. The ending is predictable, but well achieved, and overall this is an acceptable genre flick.

LeonLouisRicci The excellent side Characters in this overly romantic Film-Noir are more interesting than the two love-struck leads. So is the dark atmosphere and incredible look of the Movie. Where it falters is the extreme naiveté of the Couple that becomes a bit irritating. "I don't know how to kiss, you'll have to show me".A farm Girl uttering such silly nonsense is just not wholly believable even in the Forties. They are both portrayed as such innocents that it is really too much. But if you can forgive some of the more whispering Romance scenes there is enough here to recommend as a Film-Noir with more Romantic notions than most.It can be quite engaging at times but is bogged down again and again by more school-kids playing house kind of stuff. Fortunately their Dream Life is interrupted just in time before it becomes unbearable. The world of Film-Noir is penetrated here with idealism and hope, but there is just no way that any of that will do in this perpetually bleak place. In the end, they both come to that realization.

Spikeopath They Live By Night (AKA: The Twisted Road) is directed by Nicholas Ray and written by Ray and Charles Schnee who adapt from Edward Anderson's novel Thieves Like Us. It stars Cathy O'Donnell, Farley Granger, Howard Da Silva & Jay C. Flippen. Produced by John Houseman out of RKO, it's photographed by George E. Diskant and music is by Leigh Harline.Ray's debut feature (it was actually wrapped in 1947) is a potent piece of film noir set during the Great Depression. Story follows Bowie (Granger), a naive young man who escapes from prison with two hardened criminals, Chicamaw (Da Silva) & T-Dub (Flippen), and finds unexpected love in the form of the almost saintly Keechie (O'Donnell). However, he finds that no matter what his good intentions are, crime just wont leave him be and with Keechie in tow, goes on the run to hopefully find a better life.It's a pretty simple story all told, one that has been well represented in film over the years with the likes of You Only Live Once, High Sierra & Gun Crazy. But as simple as the tale is, Ray's film is very much a leading light in the sub-genre of "lovers on the lam" movies. First thing of note is that there's a movement away from the normal characters that had frequented the noir driven crime world up till now. The protagonists here are not gangsters or private investigators, they are thieves, and country folk too. This offers up a different viewing character wise. Admittedly the protagonists are shrouded in classic film noir hopelessness, where the air of desperation hangs heavy throughout, but the characterisation shift gives the simple story a lift.From the outset it's evident that this is an intriguing, even curious, picture. A shot of our loving couple sharing a kiss is accompanied with a title card telling us that they were never properly introduced to the world we live in. A blast of Harline's music startles them and we then cut to an aerial shot (Ray leading the way for helicopter shots) of the three escapee's in the getaway car. In those 30 seconds Ray has managed to convey that his film will be an energetic, yet doom laden, love story. Quite a feat for a fledgling director to be unique right from the off. It's interesting to note that Ray himself said that he wasn't trying to make a film noir movie, he was merely telling a tragic love story. Just another point of reference as to why the film is so fascinating.Be that as it may, They Live By Night pulses with noir blood. From its perpetual moody atmospherics, to the romantic narrative being punctured by moments of violence, it deserves its classic film noir status. 8/10