MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Up 4,678 this week

They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

6.9
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.9/10 from 1,053 users  
Reviews: 30 user | 23 critic

A boxer flees believing he has comitted a murder while he was drunk.

Director:

Writers:

(screen play), (from a novel by), 3 more credits »
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 1284 titles created 12 Nov 2011
 
a list of 1490 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 76 titles created 5 months ago
 
a list of 2925 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 50 titles created 28 Apr 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

They Made Me a Criminal (1939) on IMDb 6.9/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of They Made Me a Criminal.
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Johnnie
The 'Dead End' Kids
...
Detective Phelan
...
Goldie
...
Grandma
Gloria Dickson ...
Peggy
Billy Halop ...
Tommy
Bobby Jordan ...
Leo Gorcey ...
Huntz Hall ...
Gabriel Dell ...
Bernard Punsly ...
Milt (as Bernard Punsley)
Robert Gleckler ...
Doc Ward
John Ridgely ...
Magee
Barbara Pepper ...
Budgie
Edit

Storyline

Johnnie is a boxer. The same evening he won the world championship, he is charged for the murder of a reporter and is taken for dead. Running away from New York, he ends up in a ranch in Arizona, run by an old lady as a work farm for delinquent teenagers. He falls in love with Peggy and became the teenagers' hero. But there is that New York Detective, Phelan, that does not believe he is dead and is chasing him... An unlikely scenario, but not a so bad film. Written by Yepok

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

ranch | detective | arizona | boxing | police | See more »

Taglines:

YOU'D GIVE A DOG A BETTER CHANCE! (re-release print ad - all caps) See more »


Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

28 January 1939 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

I Became a Criminal  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(RCA Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was a remake of The Life of Jimmy Dolan. To conform with the Hays Office--the industry's censorship board, first imposed in 1934--the reporter in this film is killed by the fighter's manager. In 1933 the prizefighter, Jimmy Dolan, the central character and hero, was the killer. See more »

Goofs

At 38minutes into the film Gloria Dickson's "Peggy" calls John Garfield's character "Johnnie" when he in fact is still under the guise & alias persona of "Jack Dorney"! She could not know that since he has not told anyone at that point of the film. See more »

Quotes

Speed: She took eight gallons. That's a dollar twenty-eight.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: John Garfield (1962) See more »

Soundtracks

"The Whip"
(1908) (uncredited)
Music by Abe Holzmann
Played at Legion Stadium before the fights
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Effortlessly entertaining.
17 July 1999 | by (Canberra, Australia) – See all my reviews

This is breezy highly entertaining drama with an excellent cast. Garfield is fine as a boxer hiding from the police with that motley crew the Dead End Kids. Most notable of these is the beautiful Billy Halop who has some very moving moments. Gloria Dickson, who in real life died very young in a house fire, is strong and very attractive as Halop's sister, and in the early scenes Ann Sheridan, on the brink of stardom, is a knock-out. May Robson is very funny as a crusty old granny, but Claude Rains proves here that even a great actor can flounder if mis-cast (whoever thought of casting him as a tough New York cop?).

Busby Berkeley proves here that he was a fine director with or without musical numbers. The film moves at a terrific pace and the water tower sequence is very suspenseful and well photographed. The ending is contrived, and the plot nothing startling or original, but I still found this a highly enjoyable experience.


13 of 13 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Does anyone know.... pmoon-2
Discuss They Made Me a Criminal (1939) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?