They’re young. They’re in love. And they’re running out of time.

On Sunday, August 30, the Ojai Art Center Film Branch presents They Live by Night (1948), a hauntingly romantic film noir about two young lovers trying to escape a world that seems determined to pull them back in.

After escaping from prison, Bowie dreams of starting over. Then he meets Keechie, and for a brief moment, a different life seems possible. But with the law closing in and the past never far behind, their chance at happiness becomes increasingly fragile.

Directed by Nicholas Ray in his feature-film debut and starring Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell, They Live by Night brings tenderness and vulnerability to the dark world of film noir. Its influence is felt in generations of lovers-on-the-run movies that followed.