I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

World War I is over. Johnny has come marching home. But there's little fanfare and no meaningful work for one war vet. There's only the desperate life of an unjustly convicted fugitive. Twice he is sentenced to a chain gang. Twice he escapes. They can put his hands and feet in irons, but not his will to be free.

Paul Muni gives a jolting, lived-in performance in this powerhouse classic directed by Mervyn LeRoy (Little Caesar) and based on autobiographical writings by chain-gang escapee Robert E. Burns. Like many '30's crime sagas, this one thrills with brisk and gritty realities. Yet it also stands apart as a film that made a difference. It ignited protests that led to vital penal reforms. And Burns himself received a commuted sentenced. He would be a fugitive no more.