They Live by Night
Encyclopedia
They Live by Night is a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

, based on Edward Anderson's Depression era
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 Thieves Like Us
Thieves Like Us (novel)
Thieves Like Us was the second and last published novel written by Edward Anderson . It was published in 1937 by Frederick A. Stokes. See: Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s by Robert Polito , The Library of America [1997].Anderson later sold the movie rights for $500...

. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause....

 (his first feature film) and starred Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...

 as "Bowie" Bowers and Cathy O'Donnell
Cathy O'Donnell
Cathy O'Donnell was an American actress, best known for her many roles in film-noir movies.-Early life:She was born Ann Steely in Siluria, Alabama...

 as "Keechie" Mobley. The movie is the prototype for the "couple on the run" genre, and is generally seen as the forerunner to the movie Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...

. Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...

 directed a version of the novel titled Thieves Like Us
Thieves Like Us (film)
Thieves Like Us is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman, starring Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall. The film was based on the novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson...

in 1974.

Plot

Bowie (Granger) escapes from prison with bank robbers Chicamaw (DaSilva) and T-Dub (Flippen). Bowie was unfairly convicted of murder. The three plan to rob a bank. Bowie needs the money to hire a lawyer to prove he's innocent.

Bowie, injured in an auto accident, finds refuge with the daughter of the owner of a gas station, Keechie (O'Donnell). They marry and plan to live an honest life. But then Chicamaw and T-Dub return and demand that Bowie come with them for one more job.

Bowie refuses but finds that he is unable to escape from being hunted by the law. He meets a tragic end after he is betrayed. Keechie carries on and is pregnant with their child.

Production

The novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson had been bought by RKO in 1941 for $10,000. After numerous writers tried to make a screenplay out of it, nothing became of it. According to producer John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...

, "I found the book and gave it to Nick to read, and he fell madly in love with it--as indeed I did, but Nick particularly was very familiar with that territory. He'd been there when he worked with the Lomaxes, he'd been there when he worked for the Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

, and so on. And that whole Depression stuff was terribly his stuff. So he sat down and wrote the treatment. I'd come home at night and we'd go over it; I'd edit it a little, that's all, and it was very, very good.". Houseman would repeatedly send in treatments, fronting for the novice Ray. Houseman, who had considerable authority as a producer, was aware of Ray's passion for the project, and there was never any doubt that Ray would direct the film.

Much to the dismay of Ray and Houseman, however, RKO didn't see any commercial value in the story, especially because Ray had had no previous film directing experience. In early 1947, producer Dore Schary
Dore Schary
Isadore "Dore" Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright who became head of production at MGM and eventually president of the studio...

 became the production head of RKO with hopes of turning it into the most adventurous studio. Schary became known for his liberal values and for giving novice directors the chance to make their debuts. Schary read Ray's treatment and on February 10, Ray signed a contract to RKO with a note by Schary specifying that "It is the intention to have him direct his first project Thieves Like Us."

Houseman hired Charles Schnee
Charles Schnee
Charles Schnee gave up law to become a screenwriter in the mid-1940s, crafting scripts for the classic Westerns Red River and The Furies , the social melodrama They Live By Night , and the cynical Hollywood saga The Bad and the Beautiful , for which he won an Academy...

 to write the screenplay, but he was concerned that he wouldn't alter Ray's treatment. Ray and Schnee worked together to make the treatment into a true script without any problems, and a completed script was submitted to RKO in May 1947.

On June 23, 1947, Ray began shooting his first film. The first scene shot was the opening scene of the film: a tracking shot of Bowie, T-Dub, and Chickamaw escaping from prison in a stolen car. Ray decided to use a helicopter, which had previously been used for establishing shots of landscapes, but never before had it been used to shoot action. This film is sometimes considered the first to use a helicopter for this purpose and predates James Wong Howe
James Wong Howe
James Wong Howe, A.S.C. was a Chinese American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films...

's celebrated final shot for Picnic by eight years. Four takes were required, with the second one being in the final cut.

For the rest of the day Ray used the helicopter for other scenes of the movie. Making They Live by Night under Houseman and Schary's guidance remained probably the only time in Ray's career when he had complete creative control, and not unlike Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...

's debut Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...

(1941), also made at RKO for Houseman, Ray experimented with sound and cinematography. Ray's biographer notes that "Only Welles similarly tried to define acoustic and even verbal textures as much as the visual." Renowned editor Sherman Todd also urged Ray to experiment and break the rules.

Filming completed in October 1947. Despite an excellent preview, the studio didn't know how to market the film, and Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

's takeover of RKO exacerbated the situation. Hughes shelved the film for two years before releasing it to a single theater in the UK to enthusiastic reviews (one such rave review came from Gavin Lambert
Gavin Lambert
Gavin Lambert was a British-born screenwriter, novelist and biographer who lived for part of his life in Hollywood...

, who eventually became a screenwriter for Ray), and it was finally released in the US in November 1949 under the title They Live by Night, after being changed from Thieves Like Us (the source novel's name), The Twisted Road, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, and Your Red Wagon. The title, chosen from an audience poll, was favored by Hughes.

During those two years, however, many of the rich living in Hollywood had their own personal screening rooms and many saw the film, which lead to further employment of its cast and crew--Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

 cast Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...

 in Rope
Rope (film)
Rope is a 1948 American thriller film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions...

(1948) upon seeing this film, and Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....

, greatly impressed by Ray's direction, hired him to direct his own independent production Knock on Any Door
Knock on Any Door
Knock on Any Door is an American court-room trial film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart. The picture introduced John Derek to film and was based on the novel of the same name by Willard Motley.-Plot:...

(1949) at Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

.

Casting

Farley Granger
Farley Granger
Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...

 recounts that he was at Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...

's house for a party. Ray had also been invited and just sat and stared at Granger. Granger asked guest Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...

 about Ray's behavior, who replied that Ray was in the middle of casting his first movie and had taken a professional interest in Granger. Houseman arranged to have Granger test for RKO, which went very well; Ray was determined that he had found his Bowie and then asked Granger if there was an actress whom he felt comfortable with. Granger replied with Cathy O'Donnell
Cathy O'Donnell
Cathy O'Donnell was an American actress, best known for her many roles in film-noir movies.-Early life:She was born Ann Steely in Siluria, Alabama...

, who was also brought in to make a test.

Both Granger and O'Donnell were under contract to Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...

 and had limited acting experience behind them—Granger had been in two films before being drafted for World War II while O'Donnell had just made the classic The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell, a United States paratrooper who lost both hands in a military training accident. The film is about three United States...

(1946) but Ray was fiercely loyal and fought for both of them. Granger later said that "[Ray] and John Houseman were among the few people who fought for me in my career. They said no, we will not make the film without him. When Nick believed in you, he was very loyal." In his autobiography, Granger lists They Live by Night as one of his two or three favorite films.

Many of the supporting cast and minor characters were played by personal friends of Houseman and Ray, although RKO contract player Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

 expressed interest in playing Chicamaw, saying that like Ray he knew all about the Depression-era South and had once been in a chain gang. Mitchum went so far as to shave his head and dye it black for the role (in the original novel Chicamaw is an Indian), but because Mitchum was a rising star and had recently received an Oscar nomination, the role of a bank robber was deemed unfit for him. He and Ray did end up working together on projects, including The Lusty Men. The role of Chicamaw went to Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...

, who had made an impression in Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...

's musical The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The show was recorded and released on seven 78-rpm discs in 1938, making it the first cast album recording.The musical is a...

(1937), produced by Houseman.

Many minor roles were played by actors and friends of Ray's from his time in the New York theater, including Marie Bryant from Beggar's Holiday
Beggar's Holiday
Beggar's Holiday is a musical with a book and lyrics by John La Touche and music by Duke Ellington.An updated version of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, it focuses on a corrupt world inhabited by rakish mobsters and their double crossing gangs, raffish madams and their dissolute whores, panhandlers...

(the nightclub singer), Curt Conway (the man in the tuxedo at the night club), and Will Lee (the jeweler).

Actor Byron Foulger appears uncredited as the owner of the cabin where the couple try to hide out.

Later film version

Another movie based on the same book was released in 1974: Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us
Thieves Like Us (film)
Thieves Like Us is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman, starring Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall. The film was based on the novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson...

.

Cast

  • Cathy O'Donnell
    Cathy O'Donnell
    Cathy O'Donnell was an American actress, best known for her many roles in film-noir movies.-Early life:She was born Ann Steely in Siluria, Alabama...

    as Catherine "Keechie" Mobley
  • Farley Granger
    Farley Granger
    Farley Earle Granger was an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he was perhaps best known for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...

    as Arthur "Bowie" Bowers
  • Howard Da Silva
    Howard Da Silva
    Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...

    as Chicamaw "One-Eye" Mobley
  • Jay C. Flippen
    Jay C. Flippen
    Jay C. Flippen is an American character actor who often played police officers or weary criminals in many films of the 1940s/'50s....

    as Henry "T-Dub" Mansfield
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