NFR Project: 'I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang' (1932)

 

NFR Project: ‘I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang’

Dir: Mervyn LeRoy

Scr: Howard J. Green, Brown Holmes

Pho: Sol Polito

Ed: William Holmes

Premiere: November 10, 1932

93 min.

It truly was a story ripped from the headlines. Its relentless depiction of a corrupt and inhumane prison industry caused a scandal, and was responsible for reforms. It was to cement Warner Brothers as the studio that made movies with a conscience, that tried to deal with real-world problems. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, no one thought a depressing slice of realism would succeed in a world of frothy musical comedies. However, it was the number-three film of the year and scored an Oscar nomination for its lead actor, the remarkable Paul Muni.

1932 was Paul Muni’s year. Earlier, he had starred as a brutal gang leader in Howard Hawks’s hard-hitting Scarface: The Shame of a Nation; now, he donned a different character – another tragic figure, but one who’s undone by an unjust society.

The story is based largely on the 1932 autobiography of Robert Elliott Burns, who was sentenced for robbery to 10 years on a Georgia chain gang, and who escaped and went on to lead a respectable life.

In the movie, Burns is James Allen, a World War I veteran who bums around the country looking for work. He is tricked into participating in a robbery, and is sentenced to the brutal chain gang. He loosens his shackles and escapes, making his way to Chicago. There, he gets involved in the construction industry, rising to a position of comfort and respectability, building roads and bridges.

Meanwhile, he has been blackmailed into marriage by the vindictive Marie. When he falls for another woman and asks for a divorce, she turns him in. He is promised that, if he returns to the chain gang for 90 days, he will receive a pardon. He goes, but soon finds that the promise was a ruse. He escapes again.

Here the true story and the scenario diverge. Burns successfully won his pardon after much effort. Here, Muni’s character disappears . . . until the brutal final scene. Bedraggled and dirty, he approaches his former love in a darkened garage. He is pursued constantly, he says. “No rest, no peace.” He backs away into the darkness. “How do you live?” she cries. He answers, vanishing, “I steal!”

Director Mervyn LeRoy sets up shots comparing chained prisoners to chained mules, emphasizing the dehumanizing treatment of the prison farm. Allen starts by building bridges, and at the end he gleefully destroys one in his escape. We are spared no details of the situation – despite the best efforts of good men, the system grinds down those caught in its meshes.

Muni is excellent as the everyday American who is lured into a life of crime and punishment. Soon the versatile actor would make a career of impersonating famous subjects, but here is magnetic and heart-rending as the hopeless Allen. He spent weeks with Burns, studying him in order to become him on screen as much as humanly possible.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang proved that movies could tackle social issues and create a positive result. People could take the movies seriously. And the downbeat ending is still a shocker. It’s a tribute to the studio that it trusted the intelligence and maturity of the viewing public – at least this time.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Love Me Tonight.