James Allen (Paul Muni), a decorated American Sergeant in the First World War, decides he does not want to return to his pre-war job as a shipping clerk. From a window above his desk he can see a bridge being built, which fires his imagination as he had formerly served in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He decides to leave his small New Jersey town to explore a position in engineering.
But if there were a post-war economic boom, it doesn't find Allen, who cannot hit upon permanent employ despite moving throughout the Northeast and Midwest. The situation is so bleak that the veteran cannot even sell his war medal to a pawn shop, which has many. Allen ends up in the Deep South. In a flophouse he meets Pete (Preston S. Foster), who tells him he knows a diner where he can freeload a hamburger. After the meal and without Allen's knowledge, Pete pulls out a pistol and sticks up the counter man and forces Allen to pick up the five dollar "take." Nearby cops rush in and shoot Pete to death and arrest the bewildered Allen. The hapless man gets ten years hard labor in a chain gang (Georgia), where he is harshly treated and poorly fed. Like other prisoners, he works long hours and is even shackled to his meager bed at night. After a year Allen, helped by another prisoner, engineers an exciting escape through the woods with bloodhounds in close pursuit. He changes his name to Allen James and heads north to Chicago, where he finds meaningful employment as an engineer in a construction firm. Building roads and bridges, he rises up the corporate ladder.
Unfortunately for Allen, he meets wicked woman Marie Woods (Glenda Farrell), who recognizes his ability to earn a good salary. Reading his mail, Marie discovers Allen's past as a convict. Although they marry, the two are not a good match, and Marie is even promiscuous. Later Allen tells Marie he wishes to leave her for Helen (Helen Vinson), a society lady who is a good match. Of course Marie squeals to the authorities. But as Allen is a good citizen, the state of Illinois does not want to extradite him to Georgia. Besides as he has already been "rehabilitated," why send him back him to prison? After a federal controversy, a southern representative arrives at Chicago and convinces Allen to volunteer to be extradited to Georgia where he will supposedly be paroled after serving just 90 days on easy duty. If this settlement looks too good to be true, well it is. The Georgia authorities renege on their promise, and Allen is back in a chain gang.
Allen again escapes dramatically, this time driving a dump truck (with the body in the up position), and ironically dynamiting a bridge. This last action destroys Allen's chance of returning to respectability, however. He is free, but is also on the run. At the end Helen asks him, "How do you live?" Allen replies, "I steal!"
This powerful drama exposes the brutalities of the chain gang system. It features crisp dialog, realistic scenes, and such tight pacing that over a dozen years of Allen's life is covered in 92 minutes. As the perplexed Allen, Muni was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, losing out to Charles Laughton ("The Private Life of Henry VIII"). Muni, born at Lemberg in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, did win the Oscar in 1936 ("The Story of Louis Pasteur"). "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" was based on a true story and subsequent book by Robert Elliott Burns, who in real life did receive a pardon of sorts in Georgia: a commuted sentence and restored civil rights. Note that Burns did really steal the $5.29 in order to eat; he died at age 63 in 1955. Because of the book and film, many Southern chain gangs were abolished. In 1987, another similar movie was made with Val Kilmer, "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains."
But if there were a post-war economic boom, it doesn't find Allen, who cannot hit upon permanent employ despite moving throughout the Northeast and Midwest. The situation is so bleak that the veteran cannot even sell his war medal to a pawn shop, which has many. Allen ends up in the Deep South. In a flophouse he meets Pete (Preston S. Foster), who tells him he knows a diner where he can freeload a hamburger. After the meal and without Allen's knowledge, Pete pulls out a pistol and sticks up the counter man and forces Allen to pick up the five dollar "take." Nearby cops rush in and shoot Pete to death and arrest the bewildered Allen. The hapless man gets ten years hard labor in a chain gang (Georgia), where he is harshly treated and poorly fed. Like other prisoners, he works long hours and is even shackled to his meager bed at night. After a year Allen, helped by another prisoner, engineers an exciting escape through the woods with bloodhounds in close pursuit. He changes his name to Allen James and heads north to Chicago, where he finds meaningful employment as an engineer in a construction firm. Building roads and bridges, he rises up the corporate ladder.
Unfortunately for Allen, he meets wicked woman Marie Woods (Glenda Farrell), who recognizes his ability to earn a good salary. Reading his mail, Marie discovers Allen's past as a convict. Although they marry, the two are not a good match, and Marie is even promiscuous. Later Allen tells Marie he wishes to leave her for Helen (Helen Vinson), a society lady who is a good match. Of course Marie squeals to the authorities. But as Allen is a good citizen, the state of Illinois does not want to extradite him to Georgia. Besides as he has already been "rehabilitated," why send him back him to prison? After a federal controversy, a southern representative arrives at Chicago and convinces Allen to volunteer to be extradited to Georgia where he will supposedly be paroled after serving just 90 days on easy duty. If this settlement looks too good to be true, well it is. The Georgia authorities renege on their promise, and Allen is back in a chain gang.
Allen again escapes dramatically, this time driving a dump truck (with the body in the up position), and ironically dynamiting a bridge. This last action destroys Allen's chance of returning to respectability, however. He is free, but is also on the run. At the end Helen asks him, "How do you live?" Allen replies, "I steal!"
This powerful drama exposes the brutalities of the chain gang system. It features crisp dialog, realistic scenes, and such tight pacing that over a dozen years of Allen's life is covered in 92 minutes. As the perplexed Allen, Muni was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, losing out to Charles Laughton ("The Private Life of Henry VIII"). Muni, born at Lemberg in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, did win the Oscar in 1936 ("The Story of Louis Pasteur"). "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" was based on a true story and subsequent book by Robert Elliott Burns, who in real life did receive a pardon of sorts in Georgia: a commuted sentence and restored civil rights. Note that Burns did really steal the $5.29 in order to eat; he died at age 63 in 1955. Because of the book and film, many Southern chain gangs were abolished. In 1987, another similar movie was made with Val Kilmer, "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains."