They Live by Night

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They Live by Night

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1h 35m

Crime

Drama

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96%

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26 Reviews

80%

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1,000+ Ratings

Wrongly convicted for murder as a teen, "Bowie" Bowers breaks out of prison with two other criminals, Chickamaw and T-Dub. While hiding out, Bowie meets Chickamaw's niece, Keechie, and they bond. Wanting to clear his name, Bowie decides to participate in a robbery with the others, so he can afford a lawyer. As he gets drawn further into crime, Bowie contemplates running away with Keechie and starting over.

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Variety Staff

Variety

10/22/2007

There's no attempt at sugarcoating a happy ending, and yarn moves towards its inevitable, tragic climax without compromise.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

06/24/2006

Passionate, lyrical, and imaginative, it's a remarkably assured debut, from the astonishing opening helicopter shot that follows the escaped convicts' car to freedom, to the final, inexorably tragic climax.

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Nick Schager

Slant Magazine

05/01/2006

Ray's plaintive artistry lends this weepy noir a melancholic beauty.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

11/23/2022

A

Lacks the expected film noir curlicues and chiaroscuro, but the amusing coded queer subtext -- that Granger is too nelly and O'Donnell too butch to make it as a nuclear family -- keeps it moving.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

11/13/2022

It’s a lovely, intimate film with a tragic story and one of the most poetic movies of the film noir genre.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

11/08/2021

3.5/4

More romantic than the typical film noir, but also just as fatalistic and hard-hitting.

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Madam D

@Madam1948 03/16/2025

Plot too romantic built upon two sad characters who never have a chance. Pretty good acting, however.

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Ted B

@Movieaddicted 07/26/2024

3.5 stars; A Bonnie and Clyde-style movie from the 1940s. Farley Granger played a young kid gone wrong who is blamed for a murder he didn't commit. He meets a young, innocent girl played by Cathy O'Donnell. Both gave performances that screamed "Movie Star." This story is very compelling, although it turns into a Greek tragedy in the end.

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guiseppa p

@Guisse 10/26/2022

Cathy O'Donnell from The Best Years Of Our Lives fame is the heart and soul of this film. Farley Granger delivers once again as the hapless love interest, trying hard to go straight after a wrongful conviction as a teen...both deliver emotional, believable, sympathetic performances. Excellent direction. Sad sad sad.

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paul d

@PaulusLoZebra 09/25/2021

Nicholas Ray's They Live by Night is a great film and a very fine example of tragic storytelling. It's a romantic melodrama that shines a light into the hard lives of young people on the edge of society. A youthful mistake from years ago has lead to a life of risk-taking and loyalty to a rough guys, criminals. Love creates hope for a better life, but the fates combine to ensure a different outcome. Great cinematography, a fine noir ambiance, two outstanding and believable performances by Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, and a remarkable supporting cast makes this a winner.

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deke p

@RT96675217 07/14/2021

INTERESTING, couple on the run from the law. Saw on tv 2021

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05/18/2021

Director Nicholas Ray's debut film is steely in its depiction of the criminal elements in this story, yet sensitive in the telling of a tragic romance between a young couple, a rural, naive woman and an escaped convict. Cathy O'Donnell's performance as the helplessly in love woman is mesmerizing. Farley Granger is excellent as the complex fugitive desperately trying to find a way to provide safe haven.

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Nicholas Ray

Director

Cathy O'Donnell

Keechie

Farley Granger

Bowie Bowers

Howard Da Silva

Chickamaw

Jay C. Flippen

T-Dub

Helen Craig

Mattie

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Synopsis

Wrongly convicted for murder as a teen, "Bowie" Bowers breaks out of prison with two other criminals, Chickamaw and T-Dub. While hiding out, Bowie meets Chickamaw's niece, Keechie, and they bond. Wanting to clear his name, Bowie decides to participate in a robbery with the others, so he can afford a lawyer. As he gets drawn further into crime, Bowie contemplates running away with Keechie and starting over.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Producer: John Houseman
Screenwriter: Charles Schnee
Production Co: RKO Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 18, 2017
Runtime: 1h 35m