The greatest movie ever made..!

Overrated and overhyped

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A Brilliant Conflict

Early on while watching 'I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang', you feel it will have real substance and a meaning not often seen in movies from this time period. It starts with a vet returning from WWI disillusioned with the prospect of being a factory worker for the rest of his life, and his mother supporting him in his vision to become an engineer (quipping he needs to 'find himself', which I found to be about 30 years ahead of its time). The movie transitions into a harsh prison film after the man unwittingly becomes an accomplice to a holdup, and in exposing the cruelty of the chain gang system, it gained great notoriety. Director Mervyn LeRoy tells the story with a perfect sense of pace, as well as balance – the film is tough and gritty, but never gratuitous. When the man escapes prison, it's clear he has physical relations with a couple of women, but in what must have shocked conservatives at the time, appears honorable in being honest and telling one of them that they both know "it wasn't love". And in the larger sense, this is what the film turns on its head – conventional notions of honor, and justice. The main point made is that those who run a prison system which metes out cruel and unusual punishment are indeed as bad as those they imprison (or worse!). We hear the age-old argument for harsh punishment from a prison official at a parole hearing – that it not only serves justice, but deters crime and also helps reform prisoners – and this argument is not challenged, at least verbally, by any other character – and yet while watching, we feel and know it to be wrong. Modern studies have shown it to be wrong, and yet the argument persists. LeRoy doesn't hit us over the head with this though, he just shows us the truth – and it was very interesting to find out afterwards that the film was quite true to a real-life story, and banned in the state of Georgia. I also found it refreshing that the African-American convicts are shown as strong and dignified, at one point segregated and looking into the camera with somber, intelligent eyes.I have to also say that Paul Muni is fantastic in the lead role, and more than worthy of his Academy Award nomination. He seems to me to be an early form of James Dean or Marlon Brando, and delivers a great performance. His last line in the film is haunting, and reminds us that we should be asking, what are the ultimate goals of the prison system? Pretty impressive for 1932, and without a doubt, a landmark film.

I am a fugitive from a chain gang is a classic and not just in the sense that its old. this film follows a charismatic man come home from war and slowly loss his mind. when it starts of hes a perfectly fine adult, and that is saying something since his first scene is literally on a returning war ship. soon enough what change the military had on him takes its toll. it really doesn't take long to see where countless nights in a trench and a shine chunk of metal gets our main character. one could say that the following events save him. his following arrest and escape, as the title gives away, reinvigorate is once crushed dreams. it is only when thirsty tart stirs trouble for the escape does his mind take a swan dive below the bedrock. this movie isn't just a commentary on the issues of its time but a timeless reminder of the human condition.

Overall I enjoyed this movie. From the important message it portrayed to the plot twists throughout the movie. I liked the portrayal of James throughout the movie from showing his struggles and triumphs. From James being sentenced to 10 years on the chain gang for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and the conditions that he was kept in caused him to break the law again and escape from his captivity. The irony of this is that he ends up living a successful and honest life and ends up being tricked by the justice system and then re sentenced to the chain gang for the rest of his life. I enjoyed the aspects of how sound is used throughout the film from the dogs barking during his first escape to the calender and hammer strikes corresponding.

These older movies continue to surprise me. I really didn't think this movie would be able to capture my attention but I was proved wrong. "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" had a great plot that was able to make the viewer see what the director wanted them to see. This really showed the harsh reality of the chain gang and made me wince at the horrors of the time. I was really invested in the plot with great effects like the loud cracks of whips and the excitement and panic if being chased by hounds. I also enjoyed how at the end of the movie he blew up a bridge, something he enjoyed building, in order to try and escape towards freedom. This movie did exactly what its intentions were by making me, the viewer, hate the chain gang punishment.