Hamburg Noir
HISTORY
Thieves Like Us
Book
Thieves Like Us (Edward Anderson, 1937)
Film
They Live by Night (Nicholas Ray, 1948)
In this noir gem from the Great Depression, Edward Anderson tells a rugged but touching love story about two Dustbowl Okies on the run from the law.
Thieves Like Us is a tragic love story that’s refreshingly innocent. The back cover gets it exactly right: “When three small-time gangsters break out of jail, they return to the only life they know -- small-town bank robbing. When Bowie, the youngest of them, falls in love with Keechie, one of the older gangster’s cousins, it becomes a classic tale of love with nowhere to hide and no hope of reprieve.”
The book’s title comes from a standard 1930s line: “Them capitalist fellows are thieves like us. They rob widows and orphans.” But the real story is the delicately awkward relationship between Bowie and Keechie, which is captured perfectly in Nicholas Ray’s 1948 cinematic version, They Live by Night.
The prequel to the opening credits shows an intimate moment (which doesn’t look acted) with the almost-too-well-cast Cathy O’Donnell and Farley Granger. As the two lovers laugh and kiss, subtext fades in and out: “This boy ... and this girl ... were never properly introduced to the world we live in....” Keechie was raised like a boy by a criminal. And Bowie spent the better part of his youth behind bars, where he was raised by wardens and inmates. The two of them end up inventing their own rules, unwittingly defining true love for the rest of us.
Their raw innocence is beautifully played out when Bowie gives Keechie a wristwatch:
Bowie: “What time is it?”
Keechie: “I don't know.”
Bowie: “There's no clock here to set it by.”
Keechie: “It's a nice watch.”
Bowie: “Well, what time do the hands say?”
Keechie: “Five minutes to 2.”
Bowie: “That's close enough.”
Keechie never sets the watch, but Bowie keeps asking her what time it is. Both know that’s his way of saying what he can’t. And Keechie keeps responding with “five minutes to 2,” meaning she feels the same. Their awkward intimacy is humbling to watch.
Bowie and Keechie’s love is put to the ultimate test as armed men on both sides of the law close in. The two overcome the impossible with remarkable dignity and calm, albeit at a very high cost. It’s their very personal form of triumph.