Review of They Made Me a Criminal

I enjoy watching John Garfield. He plays a good leading man, with a rough edge, and an underlying danger. I don't know how much the era differed from the current one, but my guess is that there were people all over for whom boxing was a real passion. I'd be surprised that the kids didn't recognize the Garfield character. After all, he is the world champion, not just an unknown contender. He runs, is cheated by those he trusts (this part is believable in the fight game), and those that know him turn their backs on him. He hides under an assumed name and makes his way to the South. One part that bothers me is that he has a hard time keeping a low profile. If he doesn't want attention, he doesn't go about it very well. One might say it's the girl, but he has already strung himself up before she seriously comes into the picture. The Dead End Kids are more believable in these movies. They don't have the silly Three Stooges kind of persona that the Bowery Boys later had (of course, those were formula films). They are the real starts here, but still have too much schtick to be that appealing. The final scene is nice, but it really is contrived.