They Live by Night is a 1948 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray in his directorial debut and starring Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger.
Based on Edward Anderson's Depression-era novel Thieves Like Us, the film follows a young fugitive who falls in love with a woman and attempts to begin a life with her.
[2] The film opened theatrically in London in August 1948 under the title The Twisted Road and was released in the United States by RKO Radio Pictures as They Live by Night in November 1949.
The men take shelter with Chicamaw's brother, who operates a service station, and niece Catherine "Keechie" Mobley, who works there.
Hoping to also free his incarcerated brother Robert, T-Dub concocts a plan to rob a bank and use the funds to hire a lawyer to prove a wrongful conviction.
"[6] Houseman, who had considerable authority as a producer, repeatedly submitted treatments created by novice director Nicholas Ray.
In early 1947, producer Dore Schary became RKO's production chief, hoping to transform it into Hollywood's most adventurous studio.
Houseman arranged for Farley Granger to test for RKO, and Ray was convinced that he had found Bowie.
Granger had appeared in just two films before his World War II service, while O'Donnell had just made the classic The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
The role of Chicamaw went to Howard Da Silva, who had made an impression in Marc Blitzstein's musical The Cradle Will Rock (1937), produced by Houseman.
Other minor roles were played by people whom Ray knew from the New York theater, including Marie Bryant from Beggar's Holiday as a nightclub singer, Curt Conway and Will Lee, who would later play Mr. Hooper on the children's television series Sesame Street.
Filming began on June 23, 1947, with the opening scene, a tracking shot of Bowie, T-Dub and Chickamaw escaping from prison in a stolen car.
As Orson Welles had done in his directorial debut, Citizen Kane (1941), also made at RKO for Houseman, Ray experimented with sound and cinematography.
"[9] Renowned film editor Sherman Todd also urged Ray to experiment and defy convention.
Exteriors were filmed both on location and at RKO's movie ranch in Encino, but Todd's editing blended the sequences well.
Despite an excellent preview, RKO was unsure about how to market the film and studio head Howard Hughes shelved it for two years before releasing it to a single theater in the UK to enthusiastic reviews.
[10] In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called They Live by Night a "commonplace little story" and wrote: "Although it—like others—is misguided in its sympathies for a youthful crook, this crime-and-compassion melodrama has the virtues of vigor and restraint ... 'They Live by Night' has the failing of waxing sentimental over crime, but it manages to generate interest with its crisp dramatic movement and clear-cut types.