Film historian Scott Allen Nollen answers questions about his latest book “The Making and Influence of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.” Interview covers the film, real-life influence Robert E. Burns, and Nollen’s new book.
Robert McWade – Brief Biography of the Grouchy Character Actor
A brief look at the career of 1930s character actor Robert McWade including images of him in some of his more famous movies. Son of a stage legend, he managed to upstage his father at the very end.
RKO’s Hell’s Highway (1932) Beats Other Chain Gang Movie to Theaters
It’s tempting to call RKO’s Hell’s Highway (1932) a knockoff on I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. However the Richard Dix movie came first. A long essay looking at Hell’s Highway, Dix, the Etude Ethiopian Chorus and that other Chain Gang movie.
Edward Ellis – A Biography of The Thin Man, an Actor to Remember
A biography of actor Edward Ellis, best remembered for playing the title role in 1934’s The Thin Man. But Ellis, an acting pro since the 1870s, became a full fledged movie star with 1938’s A Man to Remember.
David Landau, the Pre-Code Era’s Own Bitter Man
A biography of gruff character actor David Landau including his background, stage career and brief movie career as Hollywood’s bitter man of the pre-code era.
Paul Muni’s 1932 – Multiple Projects Converge to Make Paul Muni a Huge Star
In 1932 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang followed Scarface at the Strand Theater in New York while Paul Muni was then starring live on Broadway in Counsellor-at-Law. A major star is realized out of a huge year of work.
