They Live by Night

"Cops or no cops I'm going through!"

Nov 5 1949 Passed 1h 35m
Crime, Film-Noir, Romance

An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.

Plot

Chickamaw, T-Dub and Bowie have just escaped from prison. While Chickamaw and T-Dub are hardened criminals - bank robbers - twenty-three year old Bowie, who has been in prison since he was sixteen, was wrongly convicted of murder. As he felt he was rotting behind bars, Bowie, when given this opportunity by his two older colleagues, believed his best path forward was to help Chickamaw and T-Dub in their upcoming heists, in a case of knowing there was a payback in they choosing him, to make enough money to hire a lawyer to clear his name of the murder conviction. The plan is to hide out with Chickamaw's alcoholic brother, Mobley, until they have enough money to make other arrangements. Also with them is Mobley's daughter, Keechie, who doesn't much like her life with her father or that of her uncle. In their time together, Bowie and Keechie form a bond, both emotional and romantic, they who begin to dream of a life together where Bowie would not always have to look behind his back for the authorities to haul him away. Bowie escaping from the obligations to Chickamaw and T-Dub may not be as easy, which if he will be forever attached to them will factor into how much of a life he could have with Keechie.

Written by

Charles Schnee, Nicholas Ray, Edward Anderson

Directed by

Nicholas Ray

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

RKO Radio Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

3 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
9,829
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
82
Popularity
NA