I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

This article is about the 1932 film. For the book, see I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMervyn LeRoy
Screenplay byHoward J. Green
Brown Holmes
Based onI Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!
1932 book
by Robert E. Burns
Produced byHal B. Wallis
StarringPaul Muni
Glenda Farrell
Helen Vinson
Noel Francis
CinematographySol Polito
Edited byWilliam Holmes
Music byBernhard Kaun
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 10, 1932 (1932-11-10)
[1]
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$228,000[2]
Box office$1,599,000[2]

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a 1932 American pre-Code crime tragedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni as a convicted man on a chain gang who escapes to Chicago. It was released on November 10, 1932. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Muni.

The film was written by Howard J. Green and Brown Holmes from Robert Elliott Burns's 1932 autobiography of a similar name I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! originally serialized in the True Detective magazine.[3] The true life story was later the basis for the television movie The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987) starring Val Kilmer.[4]

In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[5][6]

  1. ^ "Screen Notes". New York Times. November 10, 1932.
  2. ^ a b Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 13 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  3. ^ Marr, John. "True Detective, R.I.P." Stim.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  4. ^ McGee, Scott (2014). "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Kehr, Dave (September 26, 1991). "U.S. FILM REGISTRY ADDS 25 'SIGNIFICANT' MOVIES". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.