Hailed as one of the most influential films of the 20th century, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a 1932 drama/crime film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Paul Muni. Muni plays Sergeant James Allen, who on his return home from World War I knows he is now a changed man, and leaves home to go work in construction. However, along the way, he manages to talk to the wrong man at the wrong time, and on a trip to go get a bite to eat he is caught up in a robbery. Held at gunpoint, Allen is forced to steal 5 dollars from the restaurant (that's about 150-200 dollars today,) and when the man holding the gun at him dies, he takes the money and runs. He is soon caught, and sentenced to serve ten years in a Deep South chain gang.