While Donald Woods doesn't end up a fugitive from a chain gang in this similar "B" follow-up to the classic 1932 Paul Muni drama, he does fight injustice with the same fervor, in this case a powerful man who happens to be the stepfather of the woman he loves. Going against the grain of Henry Neill's desire for political power, Woods ends up being accused of grand larceny, and just as he is being put into prison, an escape attempt erupts and Woods and pal Carlyle Moore Jr. are forced into it against their will. This couldn't please O'Neill more and fake defense by the attorney he hires for them puts them on a chain gang, first on the rock pile, and later for Woods the darkened confinement of a mine which he is warned means certain death. Supportive prisoners and the determination of girlfriend Kay Linaker to get him off results in a confrontation between the prison officials under O'Neill's thumb and the men trapped in the mines with teargas surrounding them.
Certainly not in the class of the earlier "A" film which was considered by some to be one of the first film noir, "Road Gang" is still pretty gripping considering its low budget and lack of "A" list stars. Woods never looks like he's been working on a chain gang, always with hair perfectly shaped and certainly no dirt on his face. There's a frightening scene of an escape attempt that results in a horrific death, and a funeral sequence of the victim repeats "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", earlier heard being sung by unseen black members of the gang, obviously segregated from the white prisoners. So while this might not be as gripping as the film that obviously inspired it and the string of other Warner Brothers films bemoaning the fate of those forgotten men during the depression, it has some moments that are still pretty intriguing. Other than O'Neill, the villains seem pretty black and white, however, without the shades of gray that make them seem more human and thus much more realistic.
Certainly not in the class of the earlier "A" film which was considered by some to be one of the first film noir, "Road Gang" is still pretty gripping considering its low budget and lack of "A" list stars. Woods never looks like he's been working on a chain gang, always with hair perfectly shaped and certainly no dirt on his face. There's a frightening scene of an escape attempt that results in a horrific death, and a funeral sequence of the victim repeats "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", earlier heard being sung by unseen black members of the gang, obviously segregated from the white prisoners. So while this might not be as gripping as the film that obviously inspired it and the string of other Warner Brothers films bemoaning the fate of those forgotten men during the depression, it has some moments that are still pretty intriguing. Other than O'Neill, the villains seem pretty black and white, however, without the shades of gray that make them seem more human and thus much more realistic.