I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

"It's not the kind of work I want to do...It's too monotonous...No one seems to realize that I've changed, that I'm different now. I've been through hell. Folks here are concerned with my uniform, how I dance. I'm out of step with everybody. I was hoping to come home and start a new life - to be free, and again, I find myself under orders, a drab routine, cramped, mechanically even worse than the Army. And you, all of you, trying your darndest to map out my future, to harness me and lead me around to do what you think is best for me. Doesn't it occur to you that I've grown? That I've learned that life is more important than a medal on my chest or a stupid, insignificant job."

"What would I say to a hamburger? Oh, boy. I'd shake Mr. Hamburger by the hand and say, 'Pal, I haven't seen you in a long, long time.'"

"The state's promise didn't mean anything. It was all lies! They just wanted to get me back so they can have their revenge, to keep me here nine more years. Why, their crimes are worse than mine, worse than anybody's here. They're the ones that should be in chains, not we!"

"[about the convicts' food] Grease, fried dough, pig fat, and sorghum. And you'd better get to like it, 'cause you're gonna get the same thing every morning, every year."

"You gotta ask their permission to wipe the sweat off...And in the first place, you got to get their permission to sweat."

"Well, there's just two ways to get outta here. Work out and die out."

"Marie Woods: I told you I was satisfied with the way things are...I'm happy. I'm taking no chances of letting you go. Hey, listen. You're gonna be a big-shot some day with plenty of sugar, and I'm gonna ride right along. Get that? I'm no fool. I'd be a sucker to let you go now."

"Newspaper Editorial: Shall we stand by while a man who has become a respected citizen of the community has the shadow of medieval torture again creeping over him? Must James Allen be sent back again to a living Hell? This is the question that Chicago officials must decide within the next few days."

"Rev. Allen: ...the story of James Allen as a human being - a man of essential fineness and integrity of character. A man who was decorated for bravery in the world war. A man who committed a crime, but only when forced to at the point of a gun. His first and only offense. A man who showed his true character by rising from less than nothing to become a prominent and honored citizen."

"Prison Board Chairman: The life of a convict in a chain gang is one of hard labor. The discipline is strict but there is no brutality. The purpose of prison is not only to punish crime but to discourage it. And there is less crime in this state in proportion to her population than into 40 other states in this Union. Finally, as evidence of the chain gang's value as a character builder, I have but to present to you the very case that has been presented to us today, the case of James Allen, who entered the chain gang as a worthless tramp, and who left it to become one of a great city's most worthy and respected citizens."

"Paul Muni - James Allen"

"Glenda Farrell - Marie Woods"

"Helen Vinson - Helen"

"Noel Francis - Linda"

"Preston Foster - Pete"

"Allen Jenkins - Convict Barney Sykes"

"Berton Churchill - The Judge"

"Edward Ellis - Convict Bomber Wells"

"David Landau - The Warden"

"Hale Hamilton - Reverend Robert Allen"

"Sally Blane - Alice"

"Louise Carter - Mother Allen"

"Willard Robertson - Prison Board Chairman"

"Robert McWade - Attorney F.E. Ramsey"

"Robert Warwick - Fuller"

"William Le Maire - The Texan"