Thieves Like Us

R

Released Feb 18, 1974

2 hr. 3 min.

Crime

Drama

List

83%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this Robert Altman period drama, Bowie (Keith Carradine) is an escaped convict who embarks on a crime spree with fellow former prisoners Chicamaw (John Schuck) and T-Dub (Bert Remsen). While in hiding between bank robberies, Bowie meets a young woman named Keechie (Shelley Duvall), and the two quickly fall in love. A life of crime doesn't sit well with Keechie, however, so she and Bowie try to settle down, but the law is determined to bring him to justice.

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dave s

Probably one of Robert Altman's least Altman-like films, Thieves Like Us isn't up there with the best that he has to offer, but it's still a pretty decent offering. Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, convicted murderer Bowie (Keith Carradine) escapes from prison with two other felons. The trio embark on a spree of bank robberies, but when Bowie falls for the strangely child-like Keechie (Shelley Duvall), he is forced to reexamine his values and priorities. While the film feels a bit dated stylistically (check out the handful of fast zooms, for example), it does a good job capturing the flavor of the times with great locations, costumes and period details. While it compares unfavorably to other crime films from around the same time (Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands), it remains respectable and memorable, thanks in large part to Duvall's strangely affecting performance.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best gangster romance movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

andrey k

Robert Altman surely was a rule changer, his films defy all expectations and drastically differ from movies of the same genre from earlier decades. This film is heavily influenced by 'Bonnie and Clyde', as was the majority of crime movies at the time, and it has this peculiar realism. Even though the plot seems to be living its own life, it comes natural with the characters being not scripted but as a living human beings; that was surely a fresh breathe in the cinema. But as for me, though I admit its novelty, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this venture.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Weird. But good! The Bowie character is especially enjoyable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

nice but only once. very 70-th in mood, colours and directing

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty good. Not Altman's best though, and it's not as good as the book though (obviously).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Robert Altman

Director

Keith Carradine

Bowie

Shelley Duvall

Keechie Mobley

John Schuck

Elmo (Chicamaw) Mobley

Bert Remsen

T-Dub Masefield

Louise Fletcher

Mattie

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Altman, revisiting territories already familiar from his McCabe & Mrs Miller, here uses the past – this time the Great Depression – as a prism to America’s present, while finding warts-and-all sympathy for the nation’s marginalised outlaws.

Jul 6, 2023

Full Review

Judith Crist

New York Magazine/Vulture

It is, is, perhaps, the most demanding of his recent films -- but as always, the demands are justified and rewarding.

Oct 2, 2019

Full Review

Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Robert Altman finds a sure, soft tone in this movie, from 1974, and he never loses it.

Dec 8, 2014

Full Review

Katie Hogan

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

Altman lulls us into a crime story but opens us up to a romance baked in and it makes the most unexpectedly delightful film, even if the tragedy at the end brings us back to reality.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 19, 2023

Full Review

John Simon

Esquire Magazine

The characters seem real enough, but authenticity without some appeal isn't worth very much. It is worth even less without some fresh insight into social and psychological problems.

Jul 25, 2020

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

We are not kept in thrall enough to remain oblivious to the overlength of the film.

Dec 16, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this Robert Altman period drama, Bowie (Keith Carradine) is an escaped convict who embarks on a crime spree with fellow former prisoners Chicamaw (John Schuck) and T-Dub (Bert Remsen). While in hiding between bank robberies, Bowie meets a young woman named Keechie (Shelley Duvall), and the two quickly fall in love. A life of crime doesn't sit well with Keechie, however, so she and Bowie try to settle down, but the law is determined to bring him to justice.

Director: Robert Altman
Executive Producer: George Litto
Screenwriter: Robert Altman, Joan Tewkesbury, Calder Willingham
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: United Artists, George Litto Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 18, 1974, Original
Release Date (DVD): Apr 17, 2007