I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1933)

engrossing biopic

i purchased this film in the first part of January this year. i remembered seeing this film many years ago on tv. when it was first released i was hesitant to buy it due to the inflated pricing of Amazon. i finally conceded, however, and bought it. it was well worth the price. i am an avid conisseur of classic films, but only a few are engrossing enough to warrant multiple viewings. this is one of those. from the opening credits to the final chilling climax it seizes your attention and never ceases to keep it.

the film conveys the true events depicting the life of Robert E. Burns (though the names are changed in the film). Burns was apprehended, wrongly convicted and sentenced to 10 years of incarceration on a chain gang. that premise alone should warrant interest in this landmark film. i won't divulge any details of he film, that would only ruin it for someone who hasn't seen it.

as for the DVD. good transfer and sound. no real extras. a biography of the real man would have been great, but the studios seem to be getting lazier by the year in respect to spcial features. still highly recommended. February 18, 2008

Paul Muni, an independent mortal.

What an insightful film from mid-film to the end. It is hazy and quite controversial, which resonates today about the classes and the power within the jail system. Like Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, all films mentioned have an elastic irritability that you can't turn away from. Down on his luck, Paul Muni is accused of a crime he did not commit and placed in a chain gang where he escapes to be captured with some stipulations that are not granted. He then pursues to escape again with a cheering section from within. Yet, although the scenes are slow and sometimes irritating, the intensity of the performers are spectacular especially the final scene. October 7, 2007

Socially Relevant but Entertaining

This film really surprised me by holding my attention despite its age.

Paul Muni gives a tremendous performance as a slight above average kind of guy that ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He fills the character with a lot of emotion and when he is in his "fugitive" stage the tension is visible in him at all times.

The movie is based in the 1920s but yet it very much has Depression era themes that fit more with when it was filmed. The 1920s are normally portrayed as a go-go financial decade rather than the desolate job environment seen here.

The other performances do not match the intensity of Muni although the character of his wife is believably evil if rather one dimensional.

The jail scenes are suitably horrible but any documentary about conditions in today's jails shows a much harsher scene. Also, the social criticism is somewhat muted because the audience is led to feel sorry for a man we know to be innocent. The point about the harshness of the system is still strong but it seems that the only plight that matters is that of Muni's character.

All in all, this is a film worth watching for its quality and its pre-Code script that includes plenty of bad behavior. April 4, 2007

Good Classic

Almost perfect classic by Mervyn LeRoy. A man returned from fighting WWII decides not to go back to his routine job at the factory. His experience doing some engineering work in the Army inspires him to look into the construction business, study and maybe become an engineer. But society has other plans for him. One little mistake will start him in the opposite direction he had planned.

Social realism, without being preachy or melodramatic, is the best description for this film's style. High quality direction, great photography. The story is well developed and interesting all the way. The flaws are some characterizations: the mother and the older brother in the first scenes are too clichéd and poorly played. Luckily we don't see them much. The film goes increscendo in intensity and quality. One cannot help comparing it to "Cool Hand Luke". Muni was no Paul Newman but he manages it.

It's not just a criticism of the justice system in some States of the Union. It has a lot more meat, which saves it from the mediocrity of so many films on fugitives and prison life. There's a good study on female stereotypes; the disadvantages of individualism & the entrepreneural spirit in a totalitarian state; and, of course, the quiet resignation and resilience of blacks to injustice.

I loved this line said by a woman: "There're no musts in my life. I'm free, white, and twenty-one." Being neither of them could be pretty tough indeed.

A great film that has past the test of time fairly well.
March 17, 2007

some history surrounding a timeless classic

I'd avoided this film for decades, since I was generally unimpressed with Muni's stuffy biopic films--George Arliss he ain't. But Muni absolutely delivers the goods in CHAIN GANG, forcing me to re-view and possibly reassess his other film efforts. This movie is HBO quality, without the gratuitous profanity.

A word about the ending. Late in life, Mervin LeRoy fessed up that the blackout BEFORE delivery of the last line was a fluke. Previous scripts ended the movie with James Allen graphically depicted as a fugitive beast desperately escaping over a state border...as well as implied borders of societal humanity. But, in rehearsal, klieg lights blew a fuse just before the final line was delivered, and the impact of this accident made the intended coda superfluous.

Also note that the real-life subject of this story, Robert E. Burns, was still a fugitive when he served as technical advisor on the film. When the movie proved to be a tremendous success, he made public appearances on its behalf before being captured again by the authorities. He did receive a pardon this time, thanks in no small part to the riveting content of CHAIN GANG. January 5, 2007

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