Review of They Live by Night (1949) by Douglas P — 15 Jan 2008

Barely gets the three-star in my rating - mainly because the sense of dread is held in check in favor of exploring the lover's innocent mindsets of being together in a 'cruel' world. Dread is the essential ingredient of film noir, and I found director Ray wasn't interested in building that up in this tale of doomed love.

The characters seem as though they are impervious to fear and that they will always be together. It doesn't gel. The performances are fine, but the problem doesn't lie in the chemistry, but in the director's execution.

Ray perfected his dance with the genre with his next film, 'On Dangerous Ground'.