(Review originally written at 14 May 2008)

What an incredibly great and powerful movie this is about a common man who becomes a victim of the prison system.

It's a social critical movie that's right in the alley with movies from the same period such as "All Quiet on the Western Front" and other pre-code movies that weren't afraid to show the ugly side of society and show its imperfections and flaws.

The movie shows a WW I veteran who wasn't a criminal in the beginning but had to become one after his escape in order to survive, after being wrongly convicted and was forced to serve in a brutal chain gang system. So you can say that prison turned him into a criminal. This especially perfectly shows in the end of the movie, which is quite a legendary and effective ending and certainly something you wouldn't expect from a 1932 movie. I like how this movie subtly picks to social critical approach without ever getting preachy or anything about it.

It's an early '30's movie, so it's not just a movie for a tastes though. Some sequences and style of acting could today be described as being laughable but once your familiar with some different early '30's movies and its style of film-making this obviously shouldn't bother you.

Paul Muni does a great and powerful job with his performance of James Allen. He's not heroic, he's no angel, he just is who he is, which really makes the character such a compelling one. Muni also received an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie, which was his first and also wouldn't be his last and he would eventually also win one in 1935 for his role in "The Story of Louis Pasteur".

A great powerful movie. And yes, I consider this to be a better prison movie that "The Shawshank Redemption", which always is being considered to be the ultimate prison movie.

9/10

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(Review originally written at 18 December 2006)

This movie is a well made and entertaining early gangster movie about the rise and fall of an ambitious criminal played by Edward G. Robinson.

OK so this movie may not be "The Godfather" or "Scarface" but its a good gangster movie on its own nevertheless. The movie has a solid story even though the storytelling itself is lacking at times. The movie often takes jumps in the time-line and some moments feel rather hasted. But this is sort of fitting for '30's cinema standards.

It's a movie that is mostly carried by its characters and actors rather than its events. The movie has many characters in it, which does make the movie seem well constructed and written. Most of the actors go extremely over-the-top in their roles, it's perhaps the only reason why the movie does feel quite dated. The only one who seems to play his character in the right way was Edward G. Robinson. He really was superb. He also went over-the-top but in a good and positive fitting way for its character and story. He carried the movie mostly on his own and makes the movie worth seeing for his performance alone. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. also plays a good role but his role is limited down a bit too much to really leave a lasting impression.

The movie features most of the typical gangster clichés. The movie is filled with a whole bunch of tough backstabbing wise-guys, who each want to profit from another and go up the criminal ladder. The movie follows one of those characters. It provides a good and entertaining look into the organized crime of the 20's/30's, during the infamous prohibition. The movie has some good and typical violent gangster moments, complete with shootouts and tough talking and looking gangsters.

It all in all makes the movie a really good early gangster movie that obviously inspired many other later genre movies. For that reason alone it's already a bit of a must-see.

8/10

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