They Live by Night
Granger returned to civilian life and was pleased to discover his parents had curbed their drinking and were treating each other more civilly. Goldwyn increased his weekly salary to $200 and presented him with a 1940 Ford Coupe. The actor was introduced to Saul Chaplin and his wife Ethel, who became his lifelong mentor, confidante and best friend. Through the couple, Granger met Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Gene Kelly, who invited him to join his open house gatherings that included Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and Stanley Donen. Most influential among his new acquaintances was director Nicholas Ray, who cast Granger in his film noir "Thieves Like Us". The film was nearing completion in October 1947 when Howard Hughes acquired RKO Radio Pictures, and the new studio head shelved it for two years before releasing it under the title "They Live by Night" in a single theater in London. Enthusiastic reviews led RKO to finally release the film in the States in late 1949. During the two years it had remained in limbo, it had been screened numerous times in private screening rooms, and one of the people who saw it during this period was Alfred Hitchcock, who was preparing "Rope".