This is undoubtedly one of the finest directorial debuts in American cinema, with its ground-breaking use of helicopter shots to depict the escaping convicts instantly alerting one to a film-maker to watch even if, as it turned out, some of his next assignments were not as rewarding.
Most of the cast members have arguably career-best roles here: O'Donnell who died of cancer at age 46 and got married to William Wyler's producer brother Robert some months before this film's release is a beguiling presence as the vulnerable, slightly tomboyish garage attendant who has never had a boyfriend and doesn't know how to kiss but, after a false start, she instinctively hitches up with doomed runaway convict Granger. The latter, then, had a great run of pictures during the early stages of his career including leading roles for Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Mann and Luchino Visconti but his career petered out after the mid-50s; still, his brooding, sensitive portrayal of a rebellious youngster here would soon prove very influential, particularly on the likes of James Dean (who, of course, would essay his most iconic role in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE [1955] for Nicholas Ray himself).
However, the supporting players are equally impressive: Howard Da Silva as the boozing, trigger-happy and one-eyed leader of the gang; Jay C. Flippen as the more level-headed of the two hardened bandits who make up the rest of Bowie's gang, a characterization far removed from the happy-go-lucky sidekick he often played in John Wayne movies; Helen Craig as Flippen's two-timing sister-in-law who is more concerned with springing her own hubby out of jail, even if it means betraying Bowie to the authorities; Will Wright as O'Donnell's alcoholic weakling of a father; and, especially, reptilian Ian Wolfe as a 24-hour service Justice of the Peace who has all the right "connections" for the perfect wedding ceremony and honeymoon, so long as the customers are able to pay for the comforts provided.
While there is perhaps an excess of romanticism and verbosity in the script itself (the expected action is largely downplayed and the unsuccessful second robbery is not even shown), the tender portrayal of the two lovers on the run is what gives this film its heart and sets it apart from other noirs of the era compare, for example, Joseph H. Lewis' slightly superior GUN CRAZY (1950) for a different (i.e. more nihilistic) approach to similar material. In this context, therefore, I found the use of hard-boiled dialogue in THEY LIVE BY NIGHT a bit surprising. Incidentally, the film was remade by none other than Robert Altman in 1974 as THIEVES LIKE US, the name of Edward Anderson's original novel; the latter is a pretty good effort in its own right, but hardly one of the director's major works and, in retrospect, a lesser achievement than Ray's version.
Most of the cast members have arguably career-best roles here: O'Donnell who died of cancer at age 46 and got married to William Wyler's producer brother Robert some months before this film's release is a beguiling presence as the vulnerable, slightly tomboyish garage attendant who has never had a boyfriend and doesn't know how to kiss but, after a false start, she instinctively hitches up with doomed runaway convict Granger. The latter, then, had a great run of pictures during the early stages of his career including leading roles for Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Mann and Luchino Visconti but his career petered out after the mid-50s; still, his brooding, sensitive portrayal of a rebellious youngster here would soon prove very influential, particularly on the likes of James Dean (who, of course, would essay his most iconic role in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE [1955] for Nicholas Ray himself).
However, the supporting players are equally impressive: Howard Da Silva as the boozing, trigger-happy and one-eyed leader of the gang; Jay C. Flippen as the more level-headed of the two hardened bandits who make up the rest of Bowie's gang, a characterization far removed from the happy-go-lucky sidekick he often played in John Wayne movies; Helen Craig as Flippen's two-timing sister-in-law who is more concerned with springing her own hubby out of jail, even if it means betraying Bowie to the authorities; Will Wright as O'Donnell's alcoholic weakling of a father; and, especially, reptilian Ian Wolfe as a 24-hour service Justice of the Peace who has all the right "connections" for the perfect wedding ceremony and honeymoon, so long as the customers are able to pay for the comforts provided.
While there is perhaps an excess of romanticism and verbosity in the script itself (the expected action is largely downplayed and the unsuccessful second robbery is not even shown), the tender portrayal of the two lovers on the run is what gives this film its heart and sets it apart from other noirs of the era compare, for example, Joseph H. Lewis' slightly superior GUN CRAZY (1950) for a different (i.e. more nihilistic) approach to similar material. In this context, therefore, I found the use of hard-boiled dialogue in THEY LIVE BY NIGHT a bit surprising. Incidentally, the film was remade by none other than Robert Altman in 1974 as THIEVES LIKE US, the name of Edward Anderson's original novel; the latter is a pretty good effort in its own right, but hardly one of the director's major works and, in retrospect, a lesser achievement than Ray's version.