History Film / IAmAFugitiveFromAChainGang

Hailed as one of the most influential films of the 20th century, ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' is a 1932 crime drama film released by Creator/WarnerBros, directed by Mervyn [=LeRoy=] and starring Paul Muni.

One of the most famous of the many "problem pictures" Warner produced in the '30s to highlight (and exploit) social and political issues, ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' was based on the true story of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Elliott_Burns Robert Elliott Burns]], and with the help of this movie, Burns -- who was still on the run at the time this was made -- was freed in 1945, and lived free until his death ten years later. (Burns would later be the subject of a 1987 made-for-TV biopic called ''The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains'', in which he's played by Creator/ValKilmer).

One of the most famous of the many "problem pictures" Warner produced in the '30s to highlight (and exploit) social and political issues, ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' was based on the true story of Robert Elliott Burns, and with the help of this movie Burns--who was still on the run at the time this was made--was freed in 1945, and lived free until his death ten years later. (Burns would later be the subject of a 1987 made-for-TV biopic called ''The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains'', in which he's played by Creator/ValKilmer).

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: Allen's landlady demands that he marry her, or [[{{Blackmail}} she'll turn him in]].

* ChekhovsGunman: Allen's buddy mentions that one of the prisoners is an expert with a sledge hammer, never missing his target. That's the guy that Allen gets to take whacks at the shackles around his legs.

* DownerEnding: Allen is left on the run, living a life of petty crime and desperation, with no hope for the future.

* LighterAndSofter: Chain gangs in the South were [[https://www.vera.org/reimagining-prison-web-report/american-history-race-and-prison far worse]] than depicted in the film, [[https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/chain-gangs/ and were mostly comprised of Black prisoners]].

* PoliceAreUseless: A police officer is once still entering a barber shop, where the recently escaped fugitive James Allen is get his hair cut. The officer perfectly describes his appearance and yet somehow doesn't recognize him, meaning he just let the culprit get away.

* SheIsAllGrownUp: James notices this about Linda when he returns to his home town.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Pete, the man who offers James to a hamburger at a diner and turns out to be a burglar, dies after less than five minutes of screentime, and yet you can thank him for James Allen getting falsely accused of murder, going to prison, and slowly turning to a fugitive and a thief.

* TwoFirstNames: James and Allen are both reasonable names for a person.

* WomanScorned: Allen's wife takes a terrible revenge.

* NiceHat: [[FridgeLogic Why the hell did they let James keep his hat, anyway?]]

Muni plays Sergeant James Allen, who on his return home from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI knows he is now a changed man, and leaves home to go work in construction. Jobs are hard to find, however, and as he travels the country looking for work Allen soon finds himself falling into poverty. Along the way, he manages to befriend the wrong man at the wrong time, and soon after getting a bite to eat becomes an unwilling participant in a robbery: He is forced at gunpoint to help steal $5 [[note]]equivalent to about $85 today[[/note]] from the diner, and when the man holding the gun on him is shot by police, he panics and tries to flee, barely making it through the door before getting captured. He is sentenced to serve ten years of hard labor on the chain gang at a DeepSouth prison camp.

The (unnamed) Southern state that convicted Allen offers him a deal: if he turns himself in and serves a token term of 90 days (which, he's promised, will consist of light clerical work), he will be given a full pardon. Wanting to clear his name, Allen agrees. Upon his return, however, he learns the "deal" was just a ruse to get him back behind bars, and he's not only put right back to work on the chain gang but told he must serve out the remaining nine years of his sentence. Bitterly disillusioned, Allen manages to escape once more. Some time later Helen encounters him on a darkened street, where he tells her that he can never see her again and will be on the run for the rest of his life, before disappearing back into the shadows. (Director [=LeRoy=] claimed that this final scene was an idea that came to him after a light bulb blew out on the set, plunging it into darkness, but in fact that was always part of the script.)

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Allen is staying the same amount of time, doing the same labor, and living in the same conditions as hardened murderers. Most notably mentioned is a man who killed his wife, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, which makes Allen reasonably unwilling to say he's only in for stealing five dollars at gunpoint.

* ChekhovsGunman: Allen's buddy mentions that one of the prisoners is an expert with a sledgehammer, never missing his target. That's the guy that Allen gets to take whacks at the shackles around his legs.

The (unnamed) Southern state that convicted Allen offers him a deal: if he turns himself in and serves a token term of 90 days (which, he's promised, will consist of light clerical work), he will be given a full pardon. Wanting to clear his name, Allen agrees. Upon his return, however, he learns the "deal" was just a ruse to get him back behind bars, and he's not only put right back to work on the chain gang but told he must serve out the remaining nine years of his sentence. Bitterly upset, he manages to escape again, and some time later encounters Helen on a darkened street, telling her that he can never see her again and will be on the run for the rest of his life, before disappearing into the shadows. (Director [=LeRoy=] claimed that the final scene was an idea that came to him after a lightbulb blew out on the set, plunging it into darkness, but in fact that was always part of the script.)

Muni plays Sergeant James Allen, who on his return home from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI knows he is now a changed man, and leaves home to go work in construction. Jobs are hard to find, however, and he soon finds himself falling into poverty. Along the way, he manages to talk to the wrong man at the wrong time, and on a trip to go get a bite to eat he is caught up in a robbery. Held at gunpoint, Allen is forced to help steal $5 [[note]]equivalent to about $85 today[[/note]] from a restaurant, and when the man holding the gun on him is shot by police, he panics and tries to flee, barely getting out the door before he is caught. He is sentenced to serve ten years of hard labor on a DeepSouth chain gang.

After finally enduring enough of the back-breaking work and the sadistic treatment of the guards, Allen escapes with the help of two other inmates, and travels to UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}. He gradually works his way up to become a success in the construction business under the name Allen James, but when femme fatale Marie Woods discovers he is an escapee, she blackmails him into marriage for his money. However, it's clear that they are not in love in the slightest; after discovering that she is unfaithful, Allen cheats on her with the beautiful and kind Helen. When Allen asks Marie for a divorce, she is so outraged she tells the authorities that Allen James is James Allen, and he is caught once more. But when the press hears of the brutality he endured on the chain gang, and the successful and respected member of the community he's become since his escape, public pressure leads to the governor of Illinois refusing to extradite him.

The (unnamed) Southern state that convicted Allen offers him a deal: if he turns himself in and serves a token term of 90 days (which, he's promised, will consist of light clerical work), he will be given a full pardon. Wanting to clear his name, Allen agrees. Upon his return, however, he learns the "deal" was just a ruse to get him back behind bars, and he's not only put right back to work on the chain gang but told he must serve out the rest of his nine-year sentence. Bitterly upset, he manages to escape again, and some time later encounters Helen once more, telling her that he can never see her again and will be on the run for the rest of his life, before disappearing into the shadows. (Director [=LeRoy=] claimed that the final scene was an idea that came to him after a lightbulb blew out on the set, plunging it into darkness, but in fact that was always part of the script.)

Muni plays Sergeant James Allen, who on his return home from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI knows he is now a changed man, and leaves home to go work in construction. Jobs are hard to find, however, and he soon finds himself falling into poverty. Along the way, he manages to talk to the wrong man at the wrong time, and on a trip to go get a bite to eat he is caught up in a robbery. Held at gunpoint, Allen is forced to help steal $5[[note]]equivalent to about $85 today[[/note]] from a restaurant, and when the man holding the gun on him is shot by police, he panics and tries to flee, barely getting out the door before he is caught. He is sentenced to serve ten years of hard labor on a DeepSouth chain gang.

Based on the true story of Robert Elliott Burns, and with the help of this movie Burns--who was still on the run at the time this was made--was freed in 1945, and lived free until his death ten years later. (Burns would later be the subject of a 1987 made-for-TV biopic called ''The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains'', in which he's played by Creator/ValKilmer).

Hailed as one of the most influential films of the 20th century, ''I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'' is a 1932 drama/crime film released by Creator/WarnerBros, directed by Mervyn [=LeRoy=] and starring Paul Muni.

After finally enduring enough of the back-breaking work and the sadistic treatment of the guards, Allen escapes with the help of two other inmates and travels to UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}. He gradually works his way up to become a success in the construction business under the name Allen James, but when femme fatale Marie Woods discovers he is an escapee, she blackmails him into marriage for his money. However, it's clear that they are not in love in the slightest; after discovering that she is unfaithful, Allen cheats on her with the beautiful and kind Helen. When Allen asks Marie for a divorce, she is so outraged she tells the authorities that Allen James is James Allen, and he is caught once more. But when the press hears of the brutality he endured on the chain gang, and the successful and respected member of the community he's become since his escape, public pressure leads to the governor of Illinois refusing to extradite him.

The (unnamed) Southern state that convicted Allen offers him a deal: if he turns himself in and serves a token term of 90 days (which, he's promised, will consist of light clerical work), he will be given a full pardon. Wanting to clear his name, Allen agrees. Upon his return, however, he learns the "deal" was just a ruse to get him back behind bars, and he's not only put right back to work on the chain gang but told he must now serve out all of the nine years he missed while a fugitive. Bitterly upset, he manages to escape again, and some time later encounters Helen once more, telling her that he can never see her again and will be on the run for the rest of his life, before disappearing into the shadows. (Director Mervyn [=LeRoy=] claimed that the final scene was an idea that came to him after a fuse blew on the set, plunging it into darkness, but in fact that was always part of the script.)

Muni plays Sergeant James Allen, who on his return home from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI knows he is now a changed man, and leaves home to go work in construction. However, along the way, he manages to talk to the wrong man at the wrong time, and on a trip to go get a bite to eat he is caught up in a robbery. Held at gunpoint, Allen is forced to steal 5 dollars from the restaurant (that's about $85 today), and when the man holding the gun on him is shot by police, he flees in a panic, but barely gets out the door before he is caught. He is sentenced to serve ten years on a DeepSouth chain gang.

Allen decides he's had enough, and with the help of two other men he is able to escape to UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}. He becomes a success in the construction business under the name Allen James, but when femme fatale Marie Woods discovers he is an escapee, she blackmails him into marriage for his money. However, it's clear that they are not in love in the slightest; after discovering that she is unfaithful, Allen cheats on her with the beautiful and kind Helen. When Allen asks Marie for a divorce, she is so outraged she tells the authorities that Allen James is James Allen, and he is caught once more.

Allen is told that if he turns himself in, he will be out of the chain gang in 90 days, but after the 90 days he learns this was just a ruse to get him behind bars, and he must now serve the 9 years he missed. Brutally upset, he manages to escape again, and is able to find Helen once more, telling her he can never see her again, and will be on the run for the rest of his life, before disappearing into the shadows. (Director Mervyn [=LeRoy=] claimed that the final scene was an idea that came to him after a fuse blew on the set, plunging it into darkness, but in fact that was always part of the script.)

* CaperRationalization: Unlike the book's author, the protagonist in this adaptation is coerced at gunpoint into stealing the money, so as to not lose any sympathy with the audience through MoralDissonance.

* DownerEnding: Allen is left living a life of petty crime and desperation, with no hope for the future.

* LighterAndSofter: Chain gangs in the South were [[https://www.vera.org/reimagining-prison-web-report/american-history-race-and-prison far worse]] than depicted in the film, and were mostly comprised of Black prisoners.

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: If the campaign that's mounted to save James Allen from being sent back to prison, and the newspaper headlines and articles are anything to go by, Chicago respects James Allen very much for his hard work, dedication to his job at the Tri-State Engineering Company, and general honor among the citizens.

* OneHundredPercentApprovalRating: If the campaign that's mounted to save James Allen from being sent back to prison, and the newspaper headlines and articles are anything to go by, Chicago respects James Allen very much for his hard work, dedication to his job at the Tri-State Engineering Company, and general honor among the citizens.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Pete, the man who offers James to a hamburger at a diner and turns out to be a burglar, dies after less than five minutes of screentime, and yet you can thank him for James Allen getting falsely accused of murder and going to prison.