Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine -- THIEVES LIKE US -- Altman

Although I don't consider THIEVES LIKE US to be a great movie, it is one of the few that I enjoy revisiting time after time. I think it succeeds on the strengths of its parts rather than on the impact of the piece as a whole. Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall have always been intriguing to me in whatever they do, and this little scene exemplifies that.

Writer/director Robert Altman is more interested in character and setting than in story, and thus his plots are not always satisfying in a traditional sense. Critic Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, wrote: "Altman's comment on the people and time is carried out through the way he observes them; if you try to understand his intention by analyzing the story, you won't get far. Audiences have always been so plot-oriented that it's possible they'll just go ahead and think this is a bad movie, without pausing to reflect on its scene after scene of poignant observation. Altman may not tell a story better than any one, but he sees one with great clarity and tenderness."

The film was based on the novel by Edward Anderson, which was also the source material for the 1949 film THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, directed by Nicholas Ray.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Gangster
• thirties
• 1930s
• 1970s
• movie
• Altman
• Carradine
• Duvall
• seventies
• depression

[mixwell1983]

Damn Keith is soo young here.. I first recognized him in dexter and in history channel's wild west tech as an older fellow but man I had not idea who Keith was... I am humbled.. great guy... crazy to see him soo young around my current age of 27.

[timboytx]

@mixwell1983 If you haven't seen his performance in "Nashville", check it out. Also, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller".

[timboytx]

Were you living there at the time it was being filmed?

[mixwell1983]

@mixwell1983 -- Ya that was like his 1st or 2nd movie ?? I like Keith as an actor from Dex and I wouldn't mind checking out this flick.. i will see if i can download this and check it out..

[brooksie19]

does any one have the whole movie posted?

[marlenaramey]

I love it.

[tippymugs]

I was in college in nearby Raymond, MS. I worked at the local drive in, so we were excited about it.

[tippymugs]

Most of this movie was filmed in my hometown of Port Gibson, Mississippi, and environs.