They Made Me A Fugitive [DVD] [1947]

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Customer reviews

review by: satwalker99 Kent UK date: 2008-12-23 rating:
NO MORE MR NICE GUY
From J Sheehan Chatham Kent br / br /There was a lot of critical fuss over what was then considered excessive violence in this excellent.gritty,uncompromising post-war thriller. That nice,shy young man of BRIEF ENCOUNTER WAY TO THE STARS had suddenly turned sour,bitter and tough as that endemic character an escaped con "sold up the river" hell-bent on revenge on the black-market gang and particularly its homo leader that caused such grief. br /The final confrontation had only been seen before in WATERLOO ROAD between John Mills ex-boxer war service shirker,Stewart Granger and spared few punches along the rooftop,the dark and studio rain-soaked streets. The characters were of the time - the ex RAF officer v the detested cowardly,narcotics trading spiv show-off. It's all action precious little love lost here. A close relation to BRIGHTON ROCK and true to Warner's pre 39 Cagney/Bogart style. Sulky beauty of many a British crime blaster/ DANGEROUS MOONLIGHT, Sally Gray,showgirl,does get badly beaten up Howard does get conned into killing a total stranger - a "bargain" by a sleazy creature who assists him on the lam. br /Think of IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY with John McCallum on the run seeking refuge with his real wife Googie Withers. Also "THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT" also from prewar Warners-British at Teddington(not to be confused with the later US/Bogart/Raft drama) another excellent murder thriller with Emlyn Williams as an innocent trucker on the run seeking the weirdo Ernest Thesiger as an homicidal,silk-stocking strangler in a dark seedy London.... br /Tragically,this Teddington studio suffered its share of destruction during WW11 with consequent losses to a lot of its stock. THEY MADE ME..lay unseen for many years until "discovered" by a minor satellite channel and its worth has been happily reappraised. It's a well acted and directed film noir with outstanding noir photography which can be seen periodically on satellite channels. Also worth chasing from that post-war era with a young R Attenborough = DANCING WITH CRIME LONDON BELONGS TO ME.

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review by: A reader date: 2008-10-13 rating:
excellent surreal crime thriller
Not many films coming out of Britain in the late 40s portrayed English life as corrupt, seedy and excessively violent. If you have never seen this film, it is a real eye-opener. Visually, it is almost surreal--closer to German expressionism than to film noir. And the final fight between the anti-hero (Trevor Howard) and the thoroughly nasty crime boss (how many films would have a villian called "Narcissus"?) on top of the undertaker's office is a climax Hitchcock would be proud of. br / br /Violence, corruption and flashes of creepy black humour. Fabulous! br /


review by: johne23 date: 2008-08-12 rating:
Great London gangster/thriller/noir
Well, what have we got here? br / br /We've got a 1946/7 London - rainy, smog- and fog-ridden - swarming with sweaty, sadistic small-time black marketeers, hag-faced toothless harridan prostitutes, rat faced squealers, slimy grasses, heart-of-gold cashmere-wearing Judys, squalid, smoky dockside boozers, and bobbies in mackintoshes and capes (told you it was raining) getting run over and bashed over the coconut. br / br /Enter ex-RAF Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard). He wants a bit of action with a gang led by sharp, smoothie, sadistic, snooker-playing knuckle-duster wielding Narcy (Narcissus)(Griffith Jones) - but he baulks at their drug (sherbert!) dealing side. So he's framed into a cop murder - very heavy stuff in immediate post-war England. But this isn't The Blue Lamp - it's nearer Jules Dassin's famous Night and the City and precedes both. br / br /As well as a crackling script by Noel Langley we've got a runaway fugitive we know is innocent, more bobbies, more rain, and a head-butting, knife-throwing, rooftop-climbing finale. br / br /A great British noir sadly often overlooked. See it!

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Similar categories

Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Classics . Drama
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Drama
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Crime, Thrillers Mystery . All Crime, Thrillers Mystery
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . PG
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1940 - 1949

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