FeedI Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
March 20 2009, 8:00pm
I'd seen at least the first half of this before, but didn't remember the entire second half, where he rises to be a "prominent citizen of Chicago" and then strikes a deal to go back to the chain gang for 90 days in order to clean his slate . . . only to have the deal reneged upon, of course, by the Evil Southern Prison Board. The last scene, with Paul Muni stepping away into blackness while answering the question of how he eats with "I steal . . .," is just phenomenal. And of course the chain-gang sequences are just blistering in their brutality.
Yes, some of the acting is cornball, especially in the non-prison sequences (although Muni is excellent throughout), but overall this still packs a huge wallop.
Yes, some of the acting is cornball, especially in the non-prison sequences (although Muni is excellent throughout), but overall this still packs a huge wallop.
