They Live by Night
Now recognized as a major talent, Altman notched critical successes with "McCabe &amp; Mrs. Miller" (1971), a Revisionist Western in which the mordant songs of Leonard Cohen underscore a gritty vision of the American frontier; "The Long Goodbye" (1973), a controversial adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel (scripted by Leigh Brackett) now ranked as a seminal influence on the neo-noir subgenre; "Thieves Like Us" (1974), an adaptation of the Edward Anderson novel previously filmed by Nicholas Ray as "They Live by Night" (1949); "California Split" (1974), a gambling comedy-drama shot partially on location in Reno, Nevada; and "Nashville" (1975), which had a strong political theme set against the world of country music. The stars of the film wrote their own songs; Keith Carradine won an Academy Award for the song "I'm Easy". Although his films were often met with divisive notices, many of the prominent film critics of the era (including Pauline Kael, Vincent Canby and Roger Ebert) remained steadfastly loyal to his directorial style throughout the decade.