They Live By Night (1948)
Director: Nicholas Ray
A picture whose history saw it caught up in distribution
limbo due to distrust in a debuting director, a lack of interest in its story,
and a studio being shook up its new movie mogul, They Live By Night defied its detractors to become a favorite amongst
late 1940s film noirs. It would also help to user in a new kind of sub-genre as
one of the earliest successful examples lovers on the run movies. Introducing audiences
to a new filmmaker and a theme about misunderstood young people, They Live By Night proved to crack open
a door of new possibility for Hollywood in the near future. Not initially
embraced, especially domestically, the film would grow in favor and influence with
time, and helped its leading man get the biggest break in his career.
They Live By Night
is a lovers on the run crime film noir abut a young couple being pursued by authorities
as they attempt to live a happy, married life away from crime that brought them
togther. Bowie (Farley Granger) and Keechie (Cathy O’Donnell) are an unlikely
pair of misunderstood young people that run away to begin life anew together
while running away from their pasts. Bowie, a fugitive for murder, prison
break, and bank robbery had already turned his name into a legendary name in
crime, falls in love Keechie, the shy, mistreated daughter of a safe house when
he escaped from prison, find companionship in each other that others fail to
give them credit for due to their age. Together they naively marry and attempt
to live out as idyllic and honest a life they can while avoiding the law. Bowie
is blackmailed back into crime by his old partner Chicamaw (Howard Da Silva),
leaving his now pregnant Keechie distraught. Realizing he cannot escape being a
wanted man, unable to truly be there for his family, Bowie attempts to leave
Keechie for her and their unborn child’s own good, but meets a tragic end.
What They Live By
Night provides the world of cinema is a new twist on noir pictures with a
story that centers on younger people and their feeling of being misunderstood,
ultimately being their undoing. It is unpredictable as it follows is brooding crime
drama into a realm of tragic romance, perhaps even speaking to a younger
audience then in the ever growing film noir genre. Even with the its plot revolving
around crimes, this “lovers on the lam” story focuses on the romance of two
individuals that find their only fit in each other. This type of story would help
establish a new sub-genre of movie that would one day be defined by Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Under-appreciated
for its time, They Live By Night would
eventually be considered a revolution in a quiet way. Presenting a cast of
little known actors and a first time director it is a feature with good amount
of tension as its point of view transitioned to a younger, misguided audience
looking to find themselves represented in motion pictures.
Deriving from its source material in the Depression era
novel “Thieves Like Us” by Edward Anderson the story was acquire by RKO in 1941
and discovered by a studio employee Nicholas Ray. Ray, whose resume ranged no
higher than an assistant director, grew a passion to share this story and with
the help from various friends throughout the studio who would beside him he
eventually wrote the treatment and the ensuing screenplay which landed him his
first directing job.
With a novice director and a story that heads at RKO did not
see promise in Nicholas Ray right away had had to deal with trust issues from
the beginning of pre-production through the final product, therefore earning
the feature a small, humble budget. For his cast he landed two no names on loan
from Goldwyn Studios, Farley Granger and Cathy O”Donnell, while filling the supporting
cast with character actors and people Ray was enjoyed working with from his
days on the stage, but had little in terms of Hollywood credits, including
Howard Da Silva, Jay C. Flipped, Helen Craig, and Will Wright.
During filming Ray, with naiveté as a first time director,
had a bit a an experimental mind, bring a different appeal to the picture. He
employed the use of a helicopter on single a day of filming, a practice nothing
new to filmmaking for establishing shots, but here Ray maximized his use of the
aircraft by adding action to these shots. Aside from capturing the motion of
moving automobiles running at high speeds to at intensity, he even gathers a
few short moments of his actors running from this new, and at the time unique
angle shots of action. This would be a subtle genesis of a new way to capture
high energy action, even though the action in this picture would be low key
compared to how aerial cinematography would be utilized in the following generations
of filmmakers.
Following principle photography that wrapped in 1947 the
film found itself in distribution limbo as just about the time it was ready for
release RKO was in the middle of a transitional period following the acquisition
by billionaire magnate and film enthusiast Howard Hughes. This period of studio
change put They Live By Night, the
picture the studio already did not have much faith in, to be put on an
indefinite back burner for distribution to theaters as projects and personnel
were being rearranged throughout RKO.
Special screenings of the completed picture were held at the
studio and throughout the film world as it awaited its eventual release. During
one of these screenings Farley Granger’s performance caught the eye of Alfred
Hitchcock, leading to Granger being cast in Rope,
the film actor would ultimately best be known for in his career. Through RKO’s uncertainty
of the picture, Rope was saw it released
before They Live By Night even premiered
which eventually happened in London in August of 1948.
Rope would meet
mixed to positive reviews while They
Lived By Night’s premiere saw overwhelming positive reactions from British critics
during its premiere, but somehow due to the all the studio issues the picture
would not receive an official wide release until November 1949. When it finally
released stateside with little fanfare They
Lived By Night was not embraced by American audiences. Despite all the
positive reactions in European markers the picture lost money and was quickly
considered a failure for RKO. Granger and O’Donnell saw a fair share of
positive feedback for their performances, and by this time Granger had seen his
name in bigger and better things. The cast filled with strong performances each
play fine roles in the film, but would not receive their greats praise until much
later when the movie was long in the rear view mirror.
Despite it failure at the box office and lukewarm reception
from critics from its initial release the film grew in stature in the years to
come. In time They Lived By Night has
come to be praised for its sensitivity towards being a young persons’ film of
deep drama. It tragic story with its painful ending would speak more to the
“misunderstood” young adult culture instead of the entrenched old Hollywood,
helping to inspire new dramas that were serious and spoke to young people or
emerging cultures in society. Nicholas Ray’s future movies embraced a similar
theme as he would go on to direct Rebel
Without a Cause (1955) and Bigger
Than Life (1956).
Today They Live By
Night lies deep within the background of American cinema, despite being
well before its time and speaking more to growing international audiences. The
film still stands up well to the movies we watch nowadays, even with most of
its picture being filmed in a rather simple 1940’s low budget manner. However
its impact it still felt today in film as it continues to find new admirers now
and again, making it worth a watch for new generations of movie lovers.
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