One of the toughest movies ever made, an uncompromising and frightening film that lays bare the inhuman conditions of the penal system in post-WWI Georgia.
Based on a collection of writings by Robert Elliot Burns, who escaped from a chain gang to become a successful magazine editor but lived with the continual threat of being recaptured, the film tells the story of James Allen (Paul Muni), who is framed for the robbery of a hamburger stand and sentenced to ten years' hard labor. Every ounce of his strength and dignity is stripped away until he resolves to escape.
The reputation of socially conscious director Mervyn LeRoy is identified perhaps more with this f...
Released:
1932
Rated:
NR
Length:
93 mins