i wasn not expect they live by night . i wasn not even expect rebel without a cause . but consider ( or perhaps not even consider ) the fact that the subject matter ( juvenile delinquent and rebel and anti conformity ) be close to nicholas ray heart and this be an unfortunately stale effort by one of the best and most important american film director of the 20th century . pretty boy ( a. k. a. nick romano and play by the perpetually puppy dog eye john derek ) grow up harden and tough in a bad neighborhood on the columbia studio backlot . after year of jail term and a stretch in a reform school and he return home and fall for pretty girl ( a. k. a. emma and play to almost intoxicate sweetness by allene robert ) . when he can not quit the life of crime and his pregnant wife commits suicide and romano be put on trial for kill ( or perhaps not kill ) a cop . most of his hardship be overseen by attorney andrew morton ( humphrey bogart and the only lead actor who give his role at least some intrigue and be therefore the only one who doesn not get the nickname treatment from yours truly ) and also from the wrong side of the track . he doesn not always quite believe that romano be tell the truth and doesn not approve of his self pity way ( neither do i ) and but nonetheless he take romano case and the battle be fight in the courtroom . i believe that film should stand on their own two foot and not be compare to previous work and but since nicholas ray be so clearly try to recapture the magic of his astonish debut they live by night and it hard not to compare the two while after all the love story between pretty boy and pretty girl directly parallel bowie and keechie relationship . both story involve two young adult from the wrong side of the track and a criminal harden by his tough life and the angelic girl who he marry and briefly find inner peace with . i never think that anyone could give a bad performance under ray direction and but while farley granger be no montgomery clift and john derek be a dime store version of granger while at least granger be able to give a sensitive and genuinely compelling performance under ray fatherly direction . derek go through the motion but not the emotion that granger do so effortlessly . and even the ethereal cathy odonnell be smart enough to allude to the toughness earn from year of living in the wrong place while allenne robert capture none of that and only the unbelievable angelic nature . these character do not echo the complexity of ray debut while they be whiny caricature of people be suppose to feel sorry for . it admirable that humphrey bogart would want to make a film about social injustice for his first project a a producer ( this film be finance by his independent production company santana ) and and he even let most of the light shine on pretty boy . however and give derek poor performance and bogart coy cynicism and his golden integrity just hide beneath the surface and and his brooding on screen presence ( as preachy a his closing argument be and it be well act by bogart ) and i wish the movie have be more about him and i wish the script not be a black and white a burnett guffey cinematography . in try to cry out for justice and the film just annoy me with it condescend attitude and simplified message my six year old cousin could have catch . i recommend two nicholas ray film that be a much more stimulating and thought provoke experience represent the first be they live by night for reason already state . the second be his masterful in a lonely place and his second film with humphrey bogart and in this one he be in the center stage and featuring probably the most complex and dark role of his career . i guess one good thing come out of knock on any door represent bogart and ray and who come from different way of approach their job and need one film to get to know each other and how the other one work . ray once say that during this film he take the gun away from bogart hand and and by the time they re team for the second and last time and their professional relationship have ripen to friendship . bogart trust ray enough to give a nakedly vulnerable performance in a film which you should look into .