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I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang |  | Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Roy Mack
Actors: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Noel Francis, Preston Foster
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $4.31
as of 11/25/2009 03:00 CST details
You Save: $15.67 (78%)
New (9) Used (9) from $4.00
Rating:  35 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D67010D
ISBN: 0790796627
UPC: 012569701021
EAN: 9780790796628
Theatrical Release Date: August 12, 1933
Release Date: May 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Classic fact-based drama about an innocent man brutally victimized by the Depression-era criminal justice system.Running Time: 93 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569701021
Amazon.com
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is one of the toughest and most uncompromising movies to ever come out of Hollywood. Paul Muni stars as a regular Joe, just back from World War I, who is unjustly convicted of a crime and sentenced to 10 years of bruisingly unfair treatment on a chain gang. Even a successful escape can't shake the spectre of the chains, nor the amazingly fatalistic twists the screenplay has in store. This picture could only have been made at Warner Bros., where social-justice movies flourished in the 1930s and criticism of judicial systems and prisons was sanctioned. Muni's weird acting style (he was recently off Scarface) somehow fits the film's furious tone, and director Mervyn LeRoy--as in his earlier Little Caesar--was dexterous enough to build the action to an unforgettable ending. It's a film that filters the American Dream through Depression realities and noirish pessimism (with a streak of pre-Code sexual frankness--note the one-night "friend" Muni makes the night of his escape). This one holds up, folks; it's a stunner. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Transcendant "social conscience" film October 11, 2009
One-Line Film Reviews (Easton, MD)
The Bottom Line:
One of the first of Warner Brothers' social issues movies, I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang refuses to be buttonholed with lesser efforts in the same genre due to its consistently interesting situations (I have a theory that movies set in prisons and schools are never boring), likable performance by Paul Muni in the lead, and final line to rival all others; the shrill treatment of the women in the picture do mar the final result a bit, but on the whole it's an exceptional film that stands up very well today.
3.5/4
Uncompromising honesty, no matter how difficult to take... September 29, 2009
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
One of the most earnest and brutally honest films of the 30's; `I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang' is a nearly flawless depiction at injustice and corruption within the judicial system.
James Allen, freshly returning from World War I, finds himself unjustly accused of a crime and sentenced to ten years on a chain gang. Treated with no respect and basically emotionally and physically tormented each day, James dreams of escape. Then he does just that; escapes. For years he lives his life under another identity, keeping very minimal contact with family so as not to be found by the men in hot pursuit of him. He is a productive man who proves by his actions that he is not the type of man to commit the crimes he was sentenced for, but once he is found his fate seems to be sealed yet again.
Is there escape for him this time?
The film, based on a true story, I'm sure takes some liberties; but it is a brutally honest and uncompromising tale of the brazen hypocrisy within the legal system at the time. I had seen on TCM where they discussed the real James Allen being present (actually `hidden' because he was still being hunted) on set during the shot to give insight into what he actually went through and so the representation of the harsh atmosphere is apparently accurate; so accurate that it caused an outrage in Georgia, where the real James Allen was imprisoned. It within the films authentic delivery that it really soars as a brilliant depiction of humanity and the struggle to survive in a world seemingly determined to destroy us. James Allen was a very strong man who rose above repeatedly; but as the harrowing finale shows, there is only so much one can do.
I have not seen a lot of Muni's films, but I heard a lot of his character; which was apparently hard to get along with and very hard to work with. The arrogant Muni has failed to really impress me in other films that I have seen, but here is a revelation to say the least. He is so human, so natural, SO GIFTED that it is almost understandable why he became so full of himself. I don't justify his behavior, but I can't help but rave his commanding performance, so full of heart, soul and rich development.
In the end I highly, highly recommend this film. It challenges our faith in a system set up for our benefit, and raises concern as to the treatment of individuals we consider `criminal'. It is an unforgettable story that is delivered in an unforgettable way; thus providing a MUST-SEE film!
Depressing, Realistic, and Still Relevant March 4, 2009
Jay Young (Austin, TX USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Since we're in the midst of a crisis that is looking like the Great Depression in some ways, "I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang," released in 1932, is more relevant than ever. It's incumbent on people to understand how a social/economic crisis can affect individual lives.
The plot is simple enough. It's about James Allen, a WWI veteran who one day goes with his friend Pete to a restaurant in an unnamed Southern state. Pete coaxes the owner into giving the two men a free meal, but then he pulls a gun and demands the owner's money, and that Allen himself get the money from the cash drawer. At that moment, the police burst in and shoot Pete, and since Allen is caught with the cash in his hand, he is arrested as an accessory. He is sent to a work in a chain-gang, that slave labor punishment that is once again becoming popular in the South, but manages to escape and flee to Chicago. Allen takes on an alternate identity and makes a good living as an engineer, and gets romantically involved with someone in the process. Eventually, his identity is discovered, and his extradition is demanded. Illinois refuses, but Allen agrees to go back to the chain gang, on condition that he be released in 90 days. He soon discovers that that was an empty promise, and has no choice but to escape again. I will say no more about the plot here, but the ending is one of the most effective and devastating in Hollywood history.
Many movies in the 1930s were cloying and sentimental, but there was a large social protest genre during the same time period which sought to alert people to the problems going on around them, and "I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang" is arguably the best example of it. Of course, the film's main target is the chain-gang system, and the vengeful attitude of punishment that spawned it, which has not entirely gone away. But it also gives a glimpse of how the Great Depression affected individual people. The socio-economic situation now is very different from what it was in the 30s, but the kinds of problems people are facing now are very similar. You owe it to yourself to watch this movie, and hope that we don't have a repeat of the history depicted therein.
Fantastic February 26, 2009
Sidney Carton (Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
In my all-time top ten. Put it up there with Wages of Fear, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and They Drive by Night. Just fantastic. What an ending.
engrossing biopic February 18, 2008
Alan W. Armes (Mountain Home, Arkansas USA)
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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