I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from a book by Robert Burns
1932/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

James Allen: The army changes a fellow. It kinda makes you think different. I don’t want to be spending the rest of my life answering a – factory whistle instead of a bugle call. Or, being cooped up in a – shipping room all day. I want to do something worthwhile.

This is an excellent social conscience film in every respect.

James Allen (Paul Muni) returns home from WWI as a decorated veteran.  He is expected to go back to his old shipping clerk job.  But James wants more.  He is interested in construction and civil engineering.  So he takes a trip around the US unsuccessfully looking for work.  He ends up having to spend the night in a flop house.  A shady roommate suggests going out to beg a couple of hamburgers from a diner owner.  After they get their hamburger, the roommate takes out a gun and goes after the cash register. He tells James to empty out the cash.  A policeman appears and shoots the roommate dead.  James has the cash in his hand and is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to ten years hard labor in a prison farm.

The inmates are subjected to grueling labor in the hot sun, long days, short nights, bad food, abuse, and cruel punishment.  Finally, James makes a run for it.

This sets James off on another trek to find work, which at last he does in Chicago.  He also finds an apartment at a very affordable price thanks to the landlady Marie (Glenda Farrell) attracted by him.  He marries her when she threatens to expose him.  He so impresses his bosses that he is in management before too long.  Then everything falls apart.  Marie turns him in.

The authorities in Chicago are not willing to send him back to the chain gang.  But Georgia officials have been embarrassed by his expose of the system and lie to get him back to the state where he is offered an office job and parole after 90 days.  By this time, James has fallen in love with Helen (Helen Vinson) and voluntarily goes back only to find he is once again behind the eight ball.

This is such a good movie.  Muni plays the honorable, gullible hero to perfection.  The story is interesting and moves ahead at a good clip. If I recall correctly, this was cited by Hitchcock as one of his favorite films when he first arrived in America. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it certainly does make compelling watching . Recommended.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Sound, Recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Spwq-tkJjk