They Live by Night

They Live by Night is a 1948 American film noir notable for his directorial debut of Nicholas Ray and starring Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger. Based on Edward Anderson's Depression-era novel Thieves Like Us, the film follows a young fugitive who falls in love with a woman and attempts to begin a life with her.

The film opened theatrically in London in August 1948 under the title The Twisted Road and was released in the United States by RKO Radio Pictures as They Live by Night in November 1949. Although the film received favorable reviews from film critics, it was a box-office failure, losing the studio $445,000 (equivalent to $6.02 million in 2025).

Although the film is widely considered as the prototype for the "couple on the run" genre and the forerunner to Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the story was first depicted in Fritz Lang's 1937 film You Only Live Once, starring Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney. Director Jim Jarmusch cites the film as one of the influences on no wave cinema and his work in general. Robert Altman directed another adaptation of the novel in 1974 using the original title of the novel, Thieves Like Us.

Arthur "Bowie" Bowers, a 23-year-old serving a prison sentence for a murder he committed at the age of 16, escapes from prison with two older bank robbers, Chicamaw and T-Dub. The men take shelter with Chicamaw's brother, who operates a service station, and niece Catherine "Keechie" Mobley, who works there. Hoping to also free his incarcerated brother Robert, T-Dub concocts a plan to rob a bank and use the funds to hire a lawyer to prove a wrongful conviction.

The robbery goes smoothly. However, shortly after Bowie crashes his car, Chicamaw kills a police officer who had arrived at the scene. Chicamaw leaves an injured Bowie in the care of Keechie and joins T-Dub in another town. The sheepish Keechie swiftly grows fond of Bowie, who is also shy. They bond over their lack of experience in the world and soon develop a romance. Meanwhile, the press reports heavily on Bowie, wrongly pinning him as the ringleader of the robbery. Bowie and Keechie leave town by bus. Late one night, they find a chapel that performs quick marriages for $20. Bowie asks Keechie to marry him, and she agrees. Hawkins, the local justice of the peace, performs the ceremony and sells the couple a convertible car.

Bowie and Keechie travel to a remote mountain resort where Keechie once stayed during her childhood and rent a cabin there, dreaming of living openly together. Chicamaw arrives at the resort after tracking the couple there. He has gambled away his money and wants Bowie to help him and T-Dub commit another robbery. Bowie reluctantly agrees, but Keechie, fearing that Bowie will be killed, gives him his Christmas gift early, a wristwatch. The three men commit another robbery, but T-Dub is killed. Bowie and Chicamaw flee the scene by car. While driving, Bowie learns from a drunken Chicamaw that he is jealous of all the press attention that Bowie and Keechie have received. Bowie eventually forces Chicamaw out of the car at gunpoint.

When Bowie returns to the resort, he learns that Chicamaw was killed in a liquor-store robbery. In radio broadcasts, Bowie is again described as the ringleader of the robbery. Keechie reveals that she is pregnant. The couple depart the resort and head east, traveling mainly at night to not be seen. However, they spend a leisurely time in public, visiting a park and then a nightclub. In the club, Bowie is recognized by a gangster who orders him to leave town. Bowie suggests escaping to Mexico, and Keechie agrees.

Keechie becomes very ill, and they seek refuge at a motel owned by Mattie, T-Dub's sister-in-law. Mattie reluctantly allows them to stay. Bowie visits Hawkins, seeking help to cross the border, but Mattie reluctantly strikes a deal with police to identify Bowie's location in exchange for the release of her convicted husband Robert. Hawkins tells Bowie that he is unable to help him, and Bowie returns to the motel and informs Mattie that he will leave by himself to ensure the safety of Keechie and their unborn child. Mattie is wracked with guilt over her deal with the police but urges that Bowie say a final goodbye to Keechie, hoping to delay him long enough for the police to arrive. He agrees and writes a farewell letter to bring to Keechie. As he is about to enter the cabin, police descend on the scene, provoking Bowie to draw a gun. In response, the police fire, killing Bowie. Keechie, kneeling over Bowie's dead body, reads the farewell letter.