I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

 Mervyn LeRoy's "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang"


In 1932, Warner Brothers wanted to adapt the autobiography of Robert E. Burns into a feature length film. Robert E. Burns' "I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!" was about his wrongful conviction and sentencing of 10 years to a Georgia chain gang. The autobiography details the harsh treatment of the prisoners of this chain gang, imploring that their punishments far outweighed their crimes. Many directors with Warner Brothers were unwilling to make such a harsh and bleak film, especially the ill-timed realities of the Great Depression. Warner Brothers tasked director Mervyn LeRoy to direct the film, after just having a huge success with his ganger flick, "Little Caesar." 

There are many things I found interesting about "I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang." When watching, I felt as though the film took many genres and shapes at various stages throughout its story. The first part was a prison drama in the vein of "The Shawshank Redemption," then a Hitchockian escape thriller, then a romantic drama, then a courtroom drama, followed finally by a bleak tragedy. Suffice to say, I was thoroughly engaged with the film. That being said, I fully recognized it as a commercial affair. Its artistic merits can be found in it linings, but for the most part this film was a studio production for the purposes of entertainment and excitement (as well as heartbreak and despair). Even so, it was one of the better commercial films I've seen out of the early 1930s from the US. It really pulls you in and hooks you, as you sympathize with the protagonist every step of the excruciating and frustrating journey. 



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