Review of They Live by Night (1949) by Philip T — 25 Jul 2008
Well made, intelligent and disturbing. We know from the very start that our hero (a baby-faced, young Farley Granger), whom we see as basically sympathetic guy, is doomed. About halfway through, we see Granger's nameless pursuers, detectives who state loud and clear that he has no chance--the law will eventually catch up to him.
Ray shows surveillance, punishment, and maintenance of order as a faceless, inexorable process, and contrasts it with soft images of Granger and Cathy O'Donnell as a naive young couple. If this isn't subversive, I don't know what is.
The black and white photography is quite beautiful, too.
This review of They Live by Night (1949) was written by Philip T on 25 Jul 2008.
They Live by Night has generally received positive reviews.
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