They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

Director:

Busby Berkeley

Writers:

Bertram Millhauser (novel) and
Beulah Marie Dix (novel) ...

Release Date:

28 January 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sport

Tagline:

I am a fugitive! I am hunted by the mob! I am wanted by the cops! I am forgotten by decent women! (re-release print ad)

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Ranch | Detective | Arizona | Police | Reporter

Cast

John Garfield	...	Johnnie Bradfield, aka Jack Dorney
The Dead End Kids	...	Tommy's Gang
Claude Rains	...	Det. Monty Phelan
Ann Sheridan	...	Goldie West
May Robson	...	Grandma Rafferty
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 (Johnnie's manager)
John Ridgely	...	Charles 'Charlie' Magee (reporter)
Barbara Pepper	...	Budgie Massey

Also Known As:

I Became a Criminal
They Made Me a Fugitive

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4701)

Filming Locations:

Palm Desert, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The play opened off-broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 4 April 1933.

Quotes:

Ringside Radio Fight Announcer: A right to the jaw. A left to the face. Boy, is he a killer. Is he murderous. The Bull lands a terrific right to Smith's jaw, and Smith is down! It'll be best for Smith if he stays down, because this is downright murder. Smith's face is red pulp; red, red pulp. 8, 9, 10! And Smith's out. Phew! And I'm glad that's over.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Projectionist (1971)

Soundtrack:

Cowboy from Brooklyn

Busby Berkeley smoothly shifts gears from geometric dancing girls to neat little crime drama

Known for his wonderfully cinematic dance sequences, Busby Berkeley went for a different genre in this fine 1939 crime drama. A youthful John Garfield plays Johnnie, a tough NYC boxer who scores a big break in the ring. He attends a drunken private party where a news reporter is murdered. The killer himself dies in a flaming auto wreck, but not before he successfully shifts the blame to Johnny. Johnny flees the city and hides out at a small boy's camp out west, populated by everyone's favorite wayward street gang, The Dead End Kids. All seems fine in this hide-out until a NYC detective (Claude Rains) who was on the murder case, happens by. Berkeley keeps the film going at a terrific pace. Berkeley would never settle for a point-and-shoot look to his film. His camera is all over the place, even underwater when the kids take over a water tank. There's all the stock characters of old cinema her e- the nice girl who softens Garfield's heart, the spry old grannie, the tough NYC cops and reporters. Fun movie.