Review of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) by Alex M — 12 Feb 2004

[size=3]Paul Muni is brilliant and moving in this heartbreaking tale of a wrongly convicted felon who manages to escape from a chain gang and live a good life as an upright citizen. [i]I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang[/i] is a movie that, despite being more than seventy years old, has not dated thematically and is still as relevant today as it ever was. It is extremely resonant because at every stage we sympathize with Muni's character, and so we share his tension that at any moment his identity might be discovered. The film unfolds with a relentless pessimism...even the scenes that depict Muni rebuilding his life are tainted by our knowledge that his accomplishments could come tumbling down. [i]I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang [/i]is not only a harsh critique of the injustices of the prison system, it is also a commentary on the class divisions that were developing in America during the 1920s (divisions that were only emphasized after the Great Depression). Muni's character is able to achieve the American Dream after he escapes from his imprisonment...but the movie perceptively suggests that it is extraordinarily difficult to cast aside one's previous identity and start fresh. Director Mervyn LeRoy tells this story with an eye toward gritty realism, and perhaps that is one of the reasons the film seems fresher and more contemporary than many other "social dramas" of the 1930s. Apparently, the film was based on the true life of a writer named Burns, and perhaps that is why it is surprisingly resonant and feels so authentic. It is brutally poignant to realize that at the time this film was being released and stirring so many emotions in its viewers, Burns was back on the chain gang...unable to escape his past.[/size].

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