"Nobody Lives Forever": John Garfield and Geraldine Fitzgerald (script by W.R. Burnett)

"Nobody Lives Forever" is a 1946 black-and-white crime film based on the novel I Wasn't Born Yesterday by W.R. Burnett. It starred John Garfield and Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Former conman Nick Blake (John Garfield), a soldier returning to New York City after World War II, looks up his old girlfriend Toni Blackburn (Faye Emerson) to get the money she has been holding for him while he was in the army. She claims that she lost the money investing in a nightclub before selling it to her boyfriend, Chet King (Robert Shayne). Unconvinced, Nick extorts the money from his ex-girlfriend's new beau and leaves town.

The plan is to have Nick, a lady's man, romance rich recent widow Gladys Halvorsen (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and persuade her to invest in a phony tugboat business. Nick agrees on condition that he get two thirds of the proceeds, increasing Doc's bitter resentment of the younger, more successful man.

The plan hits a snag when Nick falls in love with the intended victim and attempts to back out of the "big con". When Charles Manning (Richard Gaines), Gladys's business manager, finds out about Nick's criminal past, Nick admits the truth to Gladys. However, she believes he can change and refuses to let him go.

Toni shows up and learns of the aborted scheme. When she tells Doc that she is sure Nick intends to marry Gladys (and her $2,000,000), the gang kidnaps the widow for a larger share of her money. Luckily, Pop is able to follow them to their hideout. In the ensuing gunfight, Nick rescues Gladys, but both Doc and Pop are killed.

Cast: John Garfield as Nick Blake. The role was first offered to Humphrey Bogart. Geraldine Fitzgerald as Gladys Halvorsen in "Nobody Lives Forever" (script by W.R. Burnett)

Geraldine Fitzgerald plays Gladys Halvorsen

Faye Emerson plays Toni Blackburn


-Nick: "People like me don't change"

-Gladys: "What does it matter what you were ...we love each other"

-Charles Manning: "Don't you adore Bach?"

-Al Doyle: "Bock? Yeah, cold, with a nice big head on it."

-Pop Gruber: "See the moon ..see the stars.. all for one dime"

-Nick: "He would have wanted it this way.... Nobody Lives Forever".


A video featuring scenes from "Nobody Lives Forever" starring John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Faye Emerson directed by Jean Negulesco in 1946.

Song "Flowers of Memory" by Lambchop