00:00In thinking about which of his films he was the proudest of, Farley Granger cited Strangers on a Train, Scenso,
00:07and our film They Live by Night.
00:09Granger was grateful for the support director Nicholas Ray had shown him, later saying,
00:14He and producer John Houseman were among the few people who fought for me in my career. When Nick believed
00:20in you, he was very loyal.
00:22Howard Hughes, on the other hand, had blocked the release of this film for a few years.
00:27But luckily, it opened in an art house in England in 1948, and the response from critics there pushed RKO
00:34to finally get it out in the US.
00:37The reviews were positive, and over the years, esteem for They Live by Night has continued to grow.
00:43It's now cited as one of the best film noirs ever made.
00:46The Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington called it the tenderest and most romantic out of all the American outlaw lovers
00:54-on-the-run movies.
00:56And French New Wave director Francois Truffaut thought it was the best film by Nicholas Ray, calling him the poet
01:03of nightfall.
01:04Quality work remained difficult for Farley Granger to find, but he kept at it,
01:09And we'll continue our celebration of his 100th birthday after this break by watching a romantic musical, Granger Made at
01:16MGM, co-starring with Jane Powell.
01:20Next on TCM, Small Town Girl, then Hollywood Without Makeup, and later Mr. Chump.
01:29TCM can spot a sucker tonight.
