I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)

Location: Home (DVD)
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0

This recently released DVD peaked my interest with its title, excellent cover design, and--mostly--inclusion in the Controversial Classics box set. At 70-some years old, would I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang resonate as just that--controversial?

I think it does if you can understand both where cinema and America where at the time of its release. Paul Muni's honest performance never creeps into stilted territory like some of the other portrayls of the early to golden Hollywood days. Even when the film fell a little flat in the middle as it tries a bit too hard to establish James's reinvented life and then again at the end where I didn't feel it really wrapped up the story, I was completely interested and continually surprised throughout. But, that ending--how can I really complain? What a brave, shocking conclusion. Maybe it doesn't wrap it all up, but it certainly stops you in your tracks. It's on my list of favorite film conclusions.