The film tells the story of one James Allen, the fugitive in the title. But long before that, Allen returns home from war with dreams of becoming an engineer, work he has trained in in the military. But his mother wants him to take a secure desk job that was lined up for him and enlists the back-up of the parish priest to help talk him into the boring life. But it is no good, he simply must follow his - rather modest - dream.
Then he ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets mistaken for an accomplice in a robbery. For this he is sentenced to 10 years of hard labor. Allen escapes not once, but twice, from this ordeal. After the first time he manages to work his way up in society before being turned in by his mean wife, who blackmailed him into marrying her in the first place by dangling his past over him.
The second escape is much more spectacular, involving guns, an accomplice who dies and dynamite. Following this he descends into paranoia and spends his days running from law enforcement.
Even though the film was made in the days before subtlety become a common acting trade (the faces they all pull!) and everyone involved is easily recognized as either good or bad, it is quite an entertaining watch. It does have occasional spells of dragging on, but is diverting, nonetheless.
6/10
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