I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Robert E. Burns (writer)
Howard J. Green (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

Six sticks of dynamite that blasted his way to freedom... and awoke America's conscience!

Plot:

Wrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.

Plot Keywords:

Chain Gang | Prison | Blackmail | Hamburger | Letter

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Paul Muni	...	James Allen
Glenda Farrell	...	Marie Woods
Helen Vinson	...	Helen
Noel Francis	...	Linda
Preston Foster	...	Pete
Allen Jenkins	...	Convict Barney Sykes
Berton Churchill	...	The Judge
Edward Ellis	...	Convict Bomber Wells
David Landau	...	The Warden
Hale Hamilton	...	Reverend Robert Allen
Sally Blane	...	Alice
Louise Carter	...	Mother Allen
Willard Robertson	...	Prison Board Chairman
Robert McWade	...	Attorney F.E. Ramsey
Robert Warwick	...	Fuller

Also Known As:

I Am a Fugitive
I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Vitaphone

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate number not assigned at release) | Australia:PG | Norway:16 (1933) | Finland:K-16 (1946) | Finland:(Banned) (1933)

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The final fade came as an accident. Director Mervyn LeRoy had planned to go to a blackout after the final line. During rehearsals, a light blew, taking the fuse with it. The resultant slow fade, starting just before the final line, was so powerful that Leroy decided to shoot the film exactly that way.

Goofs:

Continuity: After James Allen's second escape from the chain gang, the last newspaper article shown onscreen states that he escaped "A little more than a year ago...". In the (final) scene that follows, Helen says to him, "It's been almost a year since you escaped."

Quotes:

[last lines]
Helen: How do you live?
James Allen: I steal.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Warner at War (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Smiles

Still powerful

Paul Muni comes back from the war (WWI) a hero. He's offered his old job back but declines it--he wants to make it on his own. He inadvetantly gets involved in a stickup and is (unjustly) sent to a chain gang for 9 years. The prisoners there are treated horribly--beaten by sadistic guards and forced to eat wretched food. After a few months Muni has had it. He escapes, changes his name, makes a living for himself and is very successful. But his past begins to catch up on him...

A very early Warner Bros. social drama--and one of their best. It's pretty strong stuff. I remember originally seeing this on TV back in the 1970s and really being shocked by it. It's not graphic but what you hear is even worse then being shown it (the whippings in particular). It also shows a law system that doesn't give a damn about how they treat their prisoners. They should be treated like dirt--and are! The story moves quickly and Muni is just superb. This movie made him and you can see why. Also it has one of the most depressing endings I've ever seen in a motion picture. It hit me hard back in the 1970s and still works today. Muni's haunted face and the final line are harrowing. A true classic--a must-see.

Be warned--some non-cable TV prints cut out the final line!