This film is a bit heavy handed with social criticism; it seems as if the central message goes from being a warning to young people to stay away from the life of crime, to a critique of how harsh the system and many people in society can be to convicts who got some "bad breaks." It is a bit over the top when Eddie explains to his new wife how he got sent to reform school for beating up a kid who was torturing frogs. He gets punished for doing the good deed of fighting for the defenseless creatures, something that would get the sympathy of any audience, and establishes him as a "good guy." The authorities and straight society (including his sister-in-law) are all portrayed as a grim, loveless sort, but not quite as villains. The message here seems to be a critique of the conservative approach to dealing with criminals. The highest critique of the police is when the police put him in the gun-sight of a high powered rifle to shoot him in the back as he is trying to carry his dying wife to freedom across the boarder. Society is also critiqued as gas station attendants who are robbed of only gasoline then decide to rob the till and report the loss cash as being from the robbers (they are so nice they only rob what they need). But the film is balanced enough so that it is not just a critique of the heartless conservative society. It also shows how bad real criminals are in the prison, and the other message is that once you go down that road, you are in a sense "making your own bad luck" in the future ("that's what they all say" when Eddie proclaims his innocence). Once you make those kinds of friends and acquaintances, you are setting yourself up for other problems (like being used as a patsy and getting framed for a crime you didn't commit) and not being able to find employment, other embarrassing situations, like being kicked out of a hotel on your honeymoon, when the proprietor recognizes you from a crime magazine. Even though some of the situations and portrayals are way over the top by today's standards, this film is still worth viewing! I wouldn't say that it is an entirely accurate reflection of exactly "how things used to be," but you can extrapolate a lot about 1930s society by seeing what they were presenting as realistic fiction of that era.
Review of You Only Live Once
