THEY LIVE BY NIGHT and THE HITCH-HIKER
Love, Death, and Robbing Banks in the Shadows plus the Trip to Hell and Back.
The last in a series of posts about the humor in the movies I feature in NOIR CRAZY 001—THE NOIR HIGHWAY is THEY LIVE BY NIGHT and THE HITCH-HIKER. I’ve combined these two into a final post as frankly, there’s not much to find humorous in either movie. Both are dead earnest in their portrayals and feature leads pursued or ensnared by dangerous forces beyond their control, characteristics which don't lend themselves to charm or are to be taken lightly.
In THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, the 24-hour wedding chapel scene provides us with the strangely skeptical owner Hawkins, an admitted thief who scams naive elopers out of their money and seems to have connections in low places in Mexico. It’s a funny little bit (his sister and brother-in-law providing some mild levity as joyless employees in a supposedly joyful occupation) with a side of danger, as Hawkins could clearly make or break Bowie and Keechie’s escape from T-Dub and Chickamaw or the law.
As far as THE HITCH-HIKER is concerned (besides the somewhat stereotypically depicted Mexican police and populace), the prosthetic rubber eyelid on William Talman’s right eye is about it for humorous notes. It’s passable at night, but on a baked desert landscape in bright sunlight, the limitations are almost distractingly obvious. But for a movie with little to complain about in any department, it’s more charming than awful.
And that’s it for my lighter reviews of all five noirs in NOIR CRAZY 001—THE NOIR HIGHWAY, I hope you enjoyed them these last few months. I’m officially wrapping up Issue 001 on this Substack page, and will begin in my next post the lead up to launching Issue 002 this summer!
If you’re new here, NOIR CRAZY Issue 002—THE BLONDE BAD GIRLS is next, and will be featuring DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, THE BIG HEAT, THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, and TOO LATE FOR TEARS. Since publishing Issue 001 last summer, I’ve worked towards expanding my reviews in succeeding issues, as well as writing two new flash fiction stories, and illustrating all new and additional artwork for the five noirs in Issue 002. I’m excited to share the new zine and the work is almost complete.
If you’ve enjoyed my Substack and don’t have Issue 001, the NOIR CRAZY shop is available here, where I also have NCZ merch:
jauntworks.com/noircrazyzine001storepage
Thanks for enjoying NOIR CRAZY!