I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932 Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Synopsis
Warner Bros.' hard-hitting chain-gang movie was a faithful adaptation of the similarly titled autobiography of Robert Elliot Burns. Paul Muni plays World War I veteran James Allen, whose plans of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Times get really tough when he's falsely convicted of a crime and forced to work on a chain gang.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Paul Muni had such a tremendously expressive face. The weight of the world is communicated entirely through it in this excellent proto-noir, a marvellous depiction of the hardship of life for soldiers returned from the Great War. The First Blood of its time, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang has a lot to say about contemporary society, and an impressive visual style with which to say it. Mervyn LeRoy brings an accomplished eye to the story, the many shadows and bars which fill his frames an omnipresent reminder of the entrapment Allen feels within a society that refuses to accept him as he now is. This is a damn important movie in the history of American film, a great story not afraid to condemn aspects of its surrounding culture, and one of the best exemplars of the Pre-Code era I've seen.
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Adapted from the true story of Robert E. Burns, this movie wears its social consciousness on its sleeves as much as lead Paul Muni--as James Allen--wears the weight of the world on his face.
It is all the better for it, and not only taking on one issue also helps the overall feel of it all. Yes, it'll always be closely linked to the inhumanity of chain gangs of the south, but I found the smoother touches upon the treatment of veterans of war almost as important.
This movie isn't perfect, and I was picturing it landing at four stars because of its flaws, but the more I think about as I write these lines... While it's somewhat flawed and…
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The original prison escape film (I think??). The early chain gang scenes are pure cinema, in essence, the best way to tell a story: images upon images upon images in a fluid montage cut to perfection. No filler. Paul Muni is brilliant, as usual.
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As with any addiction, there are times when I just don't feel like I'm getting the same high from cinema as I once did. Sometimes I think watching more will get me there - maybe three films in a day. Or experimenting with some weird shit - Ernie Gehr, Bruce Conner. Or taking a nostalgic hit of a gateway drug - huffing some DIE HARD say. But many days I just feel like maybe I've grown away from my habit. That its time to face the fact that my beloved obsession is turning into a normal hobby. Then I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG comes along, and reminds me how great injecting 24 frames a second can feel.…
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Film #30 of The December Project.
Hard-hitting pre-code drama with a powerful performance by Paul Muni. There's an impressive political scope to the film, not just questioning the chain gang system, but also touching on issues of the economy, veterans rights, and the judicial system, asking us if a man can ever truly be free. The uncompromising approach to the subject matter is its greatest strength and gives the film a forcefulness that might have been absent in the hands of a lesser director.
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A pretty damn good indictment of the penal system. At what point does the pursuit of justice cross the line into revenge and sadism?
Muni is great. In the scene where he hears about his appeal denial, the heartbreak on his face is so damn believable. Also the last, intense, scene where Muni appears out of the shadows like a tormented ghost and fades back into his ongoing nightmare is a genuinely haunting scene.
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Adapted from the true story of Robert E. Burns, this movie wears its social consciousness on its sleeves as much as lead Paul Muni--as James Allen--wears the weight of the world on his face.
It is all the better for it, and not only taking on one issue also helps the overall feel of it all. Yes, it'll always be closely linked to the inhumanity of chain gangs of the south, but I found the smoother touches upon the treatment of veterans of war almost as important.
This movie isn't perfect, and I was picturing it landing at four stars because of its flaws, but the more I think about as I write these lines... While it's somewhat flawed and…
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Why It’s Essential — For its impact on the chain gang system, and for introducing a number of familiar tropes within prison escape films.
Why You’ll Want to Skip It — If you’re put off by manipulative storytelling.
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How many trees had to die to supply the calendars for the numerous passing-of-time montages?
An instance where ignorance truly was bliss: I was not aware of its famous last line/shot. Also, the DVR recording was for a half hour more than the duration of the film, so when things started going bad for Muni a second time, I was anticipating another upturn. Unexpected bleakness from that time period is just about always rewarding.
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Another golden age Hollywood flick that brought nothing new to the table and is just another film in the shuffle. Paul Muni is of course great, expressing so much in his face. With his eyes, mouth, chin etc. Muni plays a respectable solider who gets caught up in a robbery he didn't want any part of, lands himself in a brutal chain gang prison, escapes makes a new life for himself, but is ultimalty drawn back to the gang because he cant get over his suspicious ways.
The film has a great supporting cast, probably brought together by the edgy story. The film really is ahead of its time though, I'll give it that, it has some sad moments brought…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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As with any addiction, there are times when I just don't feel like I'm getting the same high from cinema as I once did. Sometimes I think watching more will get me there - maybe three films in a day. Or experimenting with some weird shit - Ernie Gehr, Bruce Conner. Or taking a nostalgic hit of a gateway drug - huffing some DIE HARD say. But many days I just feel like maybe I've grown away from my habit. That its time to face the fact that my beloved obsession is turning into a normal hobby. Then I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG comes along, and reminds me how great injecting 24 frames a second can feel.…
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It seems incredible that Mervyn LeRoy, one of a triumvirate of directors behind Wizard of Oz, was also behind this very bleak crime thriller. It’s also fitting that this creator of one of the greatest gangster films of all time, Little Caesar, should come together with the star of another, Scarface, for this completely brilliant movie, which is a lot less black and white than any traditional gangster flick.
In consideration of pre-code movies, I frequently swing between preference of the constraints placed upon directors because of the code, and the lack of such restraint displayed before the code came into place. Films like I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang very much propel me towards preferring the latter,…
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The fact that I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is based on a true story only helps make the story even more devastating. It's really a provocative and heartbreaking film about law and punishment. Mervyn LeRoy really directs an amazing piece of work here and Paul Muni does an equal great job in the lead as he did in Scarface the same year. What a year he had starring in two of the most important movies to come out of 1932!