Review of They Live by Night (1949) by Noel V — 14 May 2011
Nicholas Ray's debut feature is in many ways as impressive a debut as Welles' with Citizen Kane (and in fact some of the same people, most notably John Houseman, worked on this). Ray like Welles didn't have an idea how a Hollywood movie was made, and you could tell--it's full of striking sequences (the wedding with the look and sense of dread of a Jacques Tourneur horror scene, the numerous helicopter shots, the bank robbery shot almost entirely from inside a car).
It's a crime film but what probably made it a hit and made everyone remember it was the doomed romance between Keechie and Bowie (Catherine O'Donnell and Farley Granger, both terrific)--about as simple and beautifully detailed a love story as anything I've seen (the changes on O'Donnell's face when a doorbell rings just about breaks one's heart).
A great film, one of many Ray will turn out.
This review of They Live by Night (1949) was written by Noel V on 14 May 2011.
They Live by Night has generally received positive reviews.
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