At the dawn of the talkies, Warner Brothers quickly established itself as the studio with a social conscience, specializing in uncompromising, realistic films about contemporary ills. The success of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1930) and James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931) not only created iconic stars but made the gangster genre essential to the studio’s signature. Since the strictures of the Production Code were not yet being enforced, Warners’ early-30s crime output retains a ruthlessness that can still stun us, especially people who think of old movies as merely escapist merriment. The studio took their interest in national conditions beyond the realm of mobsters, tackling tabloid journalism (Five Star Final – 1931), homeless youth (Wild Boys of the Road – 1933), and labor (Black Fury – 1935). Warners’ I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a blistering exposé of the brutality of chain-gang punishment and a pointed criticism of America’s forgetful treatment of its war veterans. Enormously profitable and highly praised in its day, I Am a Fugitive is still a sensational, startlingly powerful movie, directed by Mervyn LeRoy (who made Little Caesar) and anchored by a performance from nearly forgotten Paul Muni that gives credence to his once-hallowed reputation.

excerpted from John DiLeo’s
Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery
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