They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

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

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Sig Herzig (screen play), Bertram Millhauser (from a novel by),

Stars:

John Garfield, The 'Dead End' Kids, Claude Rains

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Garfield	...	Johnnie
The 'Dead End' Kids
Claude Rains	...	Detective Phelan
Ann Sheridan	...	Goldie
May Robson	...	Grandma
Gloria Dickson	...	Peggy
Billy Halop	...	Tommy
Bobby Jordan	...	Angel
Leo Gorcey	...	Spit
Huntz Hall	...	Dippy
Gabriel Dell	...	T.B.
Bernard Punsly	...	Milt (as Bernard Punsley)
Robert Gleckler	...	Doc Ward
John Ridgely	...	Magee
Barbara Pepper	...	Budgie

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.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | detective | arizona | boxing | police | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Became a Criminal

Filming Locations:

Palm Desert, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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.

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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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Effortlessly entertaining.

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.