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Poster for They Live by Night

They Live by Night

Cops or no cops I'm going through!

1949 · 1h 36m · Passed Crime, Drama, Romance
Directed by Nicholas Ray

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Overview

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.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
96%
Tomatometer
Fresh

There's no attempt at sugarcoating a happy ending, and yarn moves towards its inevitable, tragic climax without compromise.

Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh

Passionate, lyrical, and imaginative, it's a remarkably assured debut, from the astonishing opening helicopter shot that follows the escaped convicts' car to freedom, to the final, inexorably tragic climax.

Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh

Although it -- like others -- is misguided in its sympathies for a youthful crook, this crime-and-compassion melodrama has the virtues of vigor and restraint.

Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Fresh

A key film noir of the 40s, this was Nicholas Ray's first film as a director (1949), and the freshness of his expressionist-documentary style is still apparent and gripping.

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

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