You want to talk noir? I think this film is a fine example or being noir before noir was cool. Paul Muni plays a man who's asked by a friend to go for a hamburger. The next thing he knows, he's working on the chain gang. (Cue Sam Cooke.) He escapes, goes to Chicago, gets work, and marries. Badly. For reasons I won't go into here. The rest is best left undiscussed. Except that I'll mention that this one has an unforgettable last scene and final line. Check it out.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Forgotten Films: I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
You want to talk noir? I think this film is a fine example or being noir before noir was cool. Paul Muni plays a man who's asked by a friend to go for a hamburger. The next thing he knows, he's working on the chain gang. (Cue Sam Cooke.) He escapes, goes to Chicago, gets work, and marries. Badly. For reasons I won't go into here. The rest is best left undiscussed. Except that I'll mention that this one has an unforgettable last scene and final line. Check it out.
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4 comments:
A very good film and I agree about the ending. Tops.
It's Muni day! (There are Much worse possibilities than Paul Muni day.)
This one helped in all kinds of ways, and not just Muni's career. Even if the prison reforms it helped spark were, shall we say, insufficient.
In my wild youth,I used to spend an hour or so each afternoon going through microfiche of old newspapers at the library (mostly to read the old comics!)Anyway, while scrolling through I chanced upon a series of articles about the real-life person this movie was based on. It made great reading, years before I saw the film.
The final line of that movie sent chills through me the first time I heard it. On minor correction: the guy who invited him to have a hamburger was a stranger.
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