John Garfield

Claude Rains

Ann Sheridan

May Robson

Gloria Dickson

Billy Halop

Bobby Jordan

Leo Gorcey

Huntz Hall

Gabriel Dell

Bernard Punsly

Robert Gleckler

John Ridgely

Barbara Pepper

William B. Davidson

Ward Bond

Robert Strange

Louis Jean Heydt

Frank Riggi

Cliff Clark

Dick Wessel

Sam Hayes

Jack Austin

Irving Bacon

Clem Bevans

Richard Bond

Edwin Brian

Raymond Brown

Mushy Callahan

Nat Carr

Eddy Chandler

Georgie Cooper

Hal Craig

Joe Cunningham

John Dilson

Mike Donovan

Tom Dugan

John Harron

Leyland Hodgson

Stuart Holmes

Arthur Housman

Donald Kerr

Reid Kilpatrick

Harry Leroy

Al Lloyd

Doris Lloyd

Frank Mayo

Sam McDaniel

Larry McGrath

Frank Meredith

Jack Mower

Jimmy O'Gatty

Paul Panzer

Bob Perry

Charles Randolph

John J. Richardson

Cyril Ring

Bert Roach

Dave Roberts

Sally Sage

Cliff Saum

Janet Shaw

John Sheehan

Ronald Sinclair

Charles Sullivan

Elliott Sullivan

Dorothy Varden

Tom Wilson

Jack Wise

Busby Berkeley

Sig Herzig

Hal B. Wallis

Benjamin Glazer

James Wong Howe

Jack Killifer

Anton Grot

Milo Anderson

Jack L. Warner

Oliver S. Garretson

Max Steiner

Bertram Millhauser

Beulah Marie Dix

Crime

Drama

They Made Me a Criminal

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

This is one of these films that you need to allow quite a bit of latitude, else you will rule it just too implausible and stop watching. John Garfield ("Johnnie") is a world champion boxer who finds himself embroiled in the death of a journalist. His problem is, he was totally sozzled after his victory so cannot recall what he did, or didn't, do - so absconds to a remote Arizona ranch where he helps the elderly May Robson who runs a refuge for wayward teenagers. That's where he meets, and falls for "Peggy" (Gloria Dickson) and settles down to a respectable life helping teach the boys how to focus their energies on boxing. Thing is, New York plod "Whelan" (Claude Rains) is on his case, and soon this newly found utopia is at risk... Garfield does a fitting job here, he is eminently plausible as the flawed prizefighter and his character's evolution as the story develops is engaging too. Rains features sparingly for much of the film, and I found his efforts a little disappointingly constrained when he did appear. The film really, for me anyway, belonged to the "Dead End Kids" - playing the best game of strip poker I think I've ever seen in a family movie. It's a bit too long, but has good pace, plenty of action, decent dialogue and the romance is kept to a minimum - well worth a watch.

English