IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5.3K
YOUR RATING
When two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.When two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.When two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.
- Awards
- 1 win
Rodney Lee
- James Mattingly
- (as Rodney Lee Jr.)
Arch Hall Sr.
- Alvin
- (as William Watters)
Joan Tewkesbury
- Lady in Train Station
- (as Joan Maguire)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Robert Altman decided to adapt Edward Anderson's book, Altman was not at all aware that Nicholas Ray had previously adapted the book as the cult classic They Live by Night (1948).
- GoofsIn one of the old radio clips early in the film, the announcer talks about Seabiscuit winning the $25,000 Butler Handicap at Empire City Race Track. The actual date of Seabiscuit winning that race is July 10, 1937, which would place it after the end of the movie which concludes in the Spring of 1937. (Also, later in the film, we hear a radio broadcast of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inaugural address, which occurred on January 20, 1937. Although the Seabiscuit race took place six months *after* Roosevelt's second inauguration, the film places the race broadcast *before* the inauguration speech.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in Robert Altman: Giggle and Give In (1996)
Featured review
This film may have been a box office disappointment when it was first released, but that's no reason why it should be so completely forgotten today.
"Thieves Like Us" was Altman's second major period piece (after "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"), and he gets the details just right. From the cars to the clothing to the ubiquitous Coca-Cola bottles, everything adds to the feeling that these events could have taken place. It, of course, also helps that he has actors who look like they fit the time period. Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck and Bert Remsen were born to play these roles, and they get able support from Tom Skerritt and Louise Fletcher.
Instead of a typical soundtrack, Altman uses vintage radio programs to underscore the action (crime dramas during robberies, "Romeo and Juliet" during a love scene). It's a brilliant gamble that pays off and takes the film to a whole new level.
In short, this is one of Altman's most fully realized films. For it to remain unseen is a crime.
"Thieves Like Us" was Altman's second major period piece (after "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"), and he gets the details just right. From the cars to the clothing to the ubiquitous Coca-Cola bottles, everything adds to the feeling that these events could have taken place. It, of course, also helps that he has actors who look like they fit the time period. Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck and Bert Remsen were born to play these roles, and they get able support from Tom Skerritt and Louise Fletcher.
Instead of a typical soundtrack, Altman uses vintage radio programs to underscore the action (crime dramas during robberies, "Romeo and Juliet" during a love scene). It's a brilliant gamble that pays off and takes the film to a whole new level.
In short, this is one of Altman's most fully realized films. For it to remain unseen is a crime.
- craigjclark
- Jul 20, 2002
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,125,000 (estimated)
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