Hunt for James A.

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Movie
German title Hunt for James A.,
also: I'm an escaped chain convict
Original title I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1932
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Mervyn LeRoy
script Brown Holmes ,
Howard J. Green
production Hal B. Wallis for
Warner Brothers
music Bernhard Kaun
camera Sol Polito
cut William Holmes
occupation

Hunt for James A. (Original title: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang , alternative title: I am an escaped chain convict ) is a black and white film produced in the United States from 1932 with Paul Muni in the lead role. The film addresses the brutal prison system of the southern states.

action

After the end of the First World War , James Allen returns to the United States as a hero. He was with the pioneers and he now sees his future in the building of bridges and roads. Urged by his family, he resumes his old life, including the job of an accountant in the shoe factory. But he can no longer concentrate on this work. With his mother's consent, he quits.

He travels all over the country looking for a new job, but without any success. Allen is innocently involved in a robbery through a casual acquaintance and sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp. As a chain convict, Allen experiences the inhuman conditions of detention in a "chain gang" firsthand: endless working days, terrible food to eat and, above all, the constant abuse by the guards. With the help of two fellow prisoners, James Allen manages to escape.

He found a job in Chicago and thanks to his commitment and skills he rose quickly. He starts an affair with his pretty landlady Marie. When he tries to leave her, she threatens to reveal his background and forces him to marry her. James cannot stand the forced marriage with his unfaithful wife any longer. When he falls in love with Helen, Marie betrays him to the police.

While in custody, James met a few journalists and gave them detailed information about the conditions in the "chain gang". These reports arouse national outrage.

Since James is now a respected citizen, Chicago does not want to extradite him. Disputes arise between the state of Illinois , which is demanding his pardon, and the southern state, which is demanding his extradition and serving the sentence. As a compromise, it is negotiated that James will return to a prison camp for 90 days, but will be pardoned after this period has expired.

When he arrives at the penal camp, he meets bombers, one of the helpers who helped him escape. From him he learns that he has ended up in the worst of all camps. The compromise over the 90 days is extended to 9 months by a commission. This is done out of revenge against the scandal caused by the press about the conditions in the camps. James wants to get through these 9 months as well. But then this discharge date will also be postponed indefinitely.

He plans to break out of the camp with a bomber. During the rapid escape with a truck, bomber is shot by the guards. James can escape.

After a year he shows up at Helen's one night. Despite their love there is no future for them as he has to live illegally underground. When asked what he lives off of, he replies: “I steal!” And disappears into the darkness. Now he's really become a criminal.

Reviews

“Classic American gangster film from the early 30's; at the same time a harrowing socially critical document. "

- Lexicon of international film

“Mervyn LeRoy succeeded in creating a famous classic of the gangster film: the sober images are at the same time a moving indictment of the inhuman penal system. The relentless criticism had actually brought about an alleviation of the situation at the time. Particularly good: exceptional actor Paul Muni (Scarface, Die gute Erde) in the title role. "

- prism

After the German premiere on April 22, 1968 on the Second German Television ( ZDF ), the Protestant Film Observer judged : “A socially critical strip from the early days of American gangster films. Using the example of a man who was wrongly imprisoned, Mervyn LeRoy castigates the conditions under which the chain convicts had to live, and also gives a precise description of the time and the milieu in which gangsterism flourished. The mixture of tension and social criticism as well as the impressive play of the main actor Paul Muni recommend the film for adult viewers. "

Awards

Academy Awards 1934

The film was classified as particularly worth preserving in 1991 and entered the National Film Registry .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hunt for James A. In: Lexicon of international films . Film service , accessed October 24, 2015 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ criticism. In: prisma.de . Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 211/1968.