MovieChat Forums > They Live by Night (1949) Discussion > Great Nicholas Ray film noir

Great Nicholas Ray film noir

posted 15 years ago by freakyfelix
7 replies | jump to latest

Really one of his best films, very moving, plus a lot of seminal stuff you can see here that turned up later in "Rebel Without A Cause".

[–] cubanwarlord 15 years ago

I agree. I really liked the movie. A must for any film noir buff or Nicholas Ray fan.

You cheeky monkey!

[–] FilmNoirOnline 14 years ago

I have to agree 100%. This is a definitive noir title that should be on any noir lovers top 20 list. Fascinating for the early Nicholas Ray touch we saw so much of in later years. Simply a great noir film - and Granger was excellent.

[–] NJCHoBITSlvr 14 years ago

Fantastic movie! Next to Strangers on a Train, this is my favorite Granger film. It's funny, I started to watch Side Street which is on the disc and it's almost like watching a sequel ^_^.

NJprogfan

[–] sludgehound 14 years ago

Agree with reviews. Complex and well filmed. Ray is terrific at dark films.
These were bad boys from the get go. Beat up on guy who owned that car.
Shoot a cop. Broke a lot of film & social conventions that way.
Love the slang too. Archie Bunker would have been proud. Couple of his expressions worked in here.
B/W never been more graphic. Got the idea Arthur Penn influenced by this esp
in his great Bonnie and Clyde. And Badland a bit too.
Side Street is new title to me. Will check it out. Strangers certainly a wickedly cool slick film.
Oh and for some reason the tone of Night reminds me of Suddenly '54 w/ Sinatra.

[–] bad_touch_granny 12 years ago

I like how Ray takes a break from the heat of
the action to linger on the intimacy of the two lovers.
More noir films could have benefited from a strategy
like this. It makes their ultimate fate feel all the
more tragic.

[–] FANatic-10 11 years ago

I agree this is a superbly done film, hard to believe it was Ray's first, but perhaps that accounts for why it feels so fresh. Great performances from Cathy O'Donnell, Howard DaSilva, Ian Wolfe, and just about the entire cast. Its probably Farley Granger's best work too, along with "Strangers on A Train". Something about the whole tone of the film feels quite ahead of its time for 1947, when it was actually filmed, and the emphasis on the love story that coincides with the fatalistic and doomed crime saga gives it true power. Nicholas Ray's films are always worth watching, for his unique vision and the empathy he gives his characters.

[–] tlsnyder42-1 8 years ago

I agree with everyone. Introduced to Ray and this movie when a disgruntled, fired film teacher, to get back at the university, titled a fall Film Authorship class "Godard, Ray and Ozu" to make sure the school had to pay out a lot of money in film fees. The new prof, however, substituted Nicholas Ray for the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, whose movies would have cost even more than Godard and Ozu's movies. The rest is history.

BTW, the 1974 Robert Altman movie THIEVES LIKE US is a remake of THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, but I don't think it's as good as Ray's original.