I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a Pre-Code crime drama that is a gritty and uncompromising look at the barbaric treatment of criminals in the South’s prison system after the end of the First World War. It was released by Warner Bros in 1932 and was directed by the legendary Mervyn LeRoy.
After returning home from fighting in the war, James Allen struggles to adjust to normal life again. He had been awarded for bravery as a soldier, but his mother and brother encourage him to take a boring job as an office clerk. He wants to work in a construction company and feels that he has more to contribute to society as an engineer. His family does not react well to his decision.
Allen leaves home to follow his destiny but all he can find is unskilled labor. He wanders around the country, looking for a job but with little success. Allen sinks into poverty and decides to sell his war medals in a pawn shop but the owner shows him a drawer full of medals from other veterans.
Allen visits a diner with Pete, whom he had just met at a flophouse and had promised him a hamburger, but surprisingly forces him at gunpoint to participate in an armed robbery. The police arrive and kill Pete. Allen panics and tries to run but is quickly caught.
The authorities do not believe Allen’s story and he was sentenced in court to ten years of hard labor.
Allen is immediately exposed to the brutal conditions on the chain gang where the work is painful, and the guards are cruel. He makes friends with other prisoners, especially Bomber Wells, and they plan to break free.
Whilst working on the railroad, Allen gets his chance to escape.
Despite the passing years, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang has lost none of its power and excitement. Although set in the 1920s, the film resonated with the audiences from the 1930s because of the hardships they were going through due to the Great Depression. The film is a harsh indictment of the chain gang and highlighted the terrible conditions that prisoners had to endure. It was one of the first movies to garner sympathy for the plight of imprisoned convicts and American audiences began to question the U.S. legal system.
Brilliantly directed by Mervyn LeRoy and with a powerful screenplay by Howard J. Green, Brown Holmes, and Sheridan Gibney (adapted from the autobiography I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! By Robert Elliott Burns in 1932), I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang convinces by portraying the terrible treatment of war veterans and that any innocent person can be imprisoned.
The acclaimed Paul Muni (Scarface, The Story of Louis Pasteur, The Life of Emile Zola) is simply magnificent as James Allen, a proud war hero who is down on his luck and is punished for a crime he did not commit. Muni prepared meticulously for the part, conducting meetings with Robert E. Burns (who wrote the autobiography) and consulting with several prison guards including one who worked on a chain gang.
The supporting cast, such as Glenda Farrell (as Marie), Helen Vinson as Linda, Allen Jenkins (as Barney Sykes), Sally Blane (as Alice), Louise Carter (as Mrs. Allen), Hale Hamilton (as Rev. Allen), and Everett Brown (as Sebastian) produce memorable performances.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is the finest example of the socially conscious films produced by the Warner Bros studio in its heyday. There have been other prison classics, such as Cool Hand Luke and The Shawshank Redemption, but I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is easily the best and ranks as one of the greatest Hollywood movies ever made.
CLASSIC FILM JOURNAL 