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It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

****SPOILERS*** Crusading investigating reported Jim Larrabie, Donald Wood, and his friend Bob Gordon,Carayle Moore Jr, are railroaded into prison by corrupt politician J.W Moett, Joe King, who for some strange reason his name-Mollet-is bleeped out everything it's mentioned in the movie? That in the end leads to a prison revolt by the inmates whom Moett ordered to be gassed to keep them from talking in what he'd been doing to them in the inhuman treatment his prison guards subject them too. That's when the incorruptible attorney general William Davidson shows up at the prison to see what's going on there.It was Jim's girlfriend Barbara Winston, Kay Linaker, who informed Davidson about the inhuman conditions and practices at the prison, especially the coal mine connected to it, that the unmentionable J.W Moett was running. In an attempt to cover up his crimes Moett orders the prison warden Grayson, Charles Middelton, to seal the mine and tear gas the inmates to death and make it look like a tragic accident. This has Jim lead a prison or mine revolt that has the "doomed" inmates break out of the mine and confront Grayson who after acting tough pi**ed his pants and spills the beans on his boss Moett as well as his #1 henchman paid off-by Moett- attorney as well as Barbara's dad George Winston! It was Jim's undercover reporting that brought Moett's reign of terror to an end. But he paid a steep price for doing it with his good friend Bob Gordon losing his life when he was electrocuted with 11,000 volts of electricity trying to escape over an, like in a Nazi concentration camp, electrified fence. That doesn't even count the dozen of inmates that ended up killed working in the coal mine that was as bad as any Soviet Gulag. What that trio of criminals Geroge Winston J.W Mott & Wardon Grayson got in being put behind bars was a lot less then what they did in their inhuman treatment of those they abused in the prison system that they ran.

This film was made by the B-movie unit at First National/Warner Brothers. Because it's a B, it only lasts about an hour and stars a relative unknown, Donald Woods. However, although many folks normally assume that a B-movie is synonymous with a 'bad movie', this is DEFINITELY not the case with this movie. Thanks to exceptional writing and direction, the film sure satisfies.This film is from the social reform era in Hollywood. Many films were made by this studio which questioned the penal system--such as "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang", "Mayor of Hell", "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" and "Angels With Dirty Faces". In this same tradition is "Road Gang"--a film not just about government corruption but corruption in the chain gang system.A crusading reporter has gotten on the wrong side of a bunch of crooked politicians. They try to bribe him to keep his mouth shut but he vows to bring down the corrupt officials. So, shortly after this meeting with the crooks, this reporter (Woods) is convicted on trumped up charges along with his friend. They are sent to a brutal chain gang--one that is run by people working for the same crooked machine. The plan is to work the two to death so that they never can have a chance to publish anything. And, when the newspaper man tries to smuggle out a story about the brutality, he's sent to an even worse place--a place where they have no intention of allowing anyone to see him again. What's next? See the film.This film works on so many levels. The dialog is great, the plot works very well and the film really gets its point across. On top of that, it has a really good ending. This film has it all--and is better than you'd ever expect from a tiny-budgeted movie.

Road Gang (1936) ** 1/2 (out of 4) "B" picture from Warner about a reporter (Donald Woods) trying to bring down a dirty politician but before he can he along with a friend and set-up and thrown into a corrupt prison system. Once there the reporter sees the abuse that prisoners are receiving so he sets out to do something about it. This here is obviously just a low-budget rip on I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG and while it's nowhere nearly as great as that film, on its own this here remains mildly entertaining. The best thing is that it barely clocks in at a hour, which means were just given a bunch of fast-paced action. The film really doesn't have too much to say as it just goes through the motions and delivers the action. A lot of credit has to go to Woods who manages to keep the viewer interested in his character and this here helps keeps us entertained in the film. The supporting cast also features Kay Linaker as the girlfriend, Carlyle Moore, Jr. as the best friend and small roles from Henry O'Neill, Joe King and Edward Van Sloan. At just over a hour there's really not too much "story" here but that's pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this. It's main purpose was to entertain and it does a good job at that. One strange thing is that there's some editing to the soundtrack because one character is being addressed by a certain name (Moett) and this character is listen in the credits under this name. However, it's clear that the other characters are calling him by a different name (Metcalf) so why the edited soundtrack appears to be a mystery.

This is one of those "B" films that doesn't get much airplay but show up periodically to my delight as an avid aficionado of "B" movies. A solid cast of second leads and character actors....Donald Woods, Henry O'Neil, Charles Middleton and a very young Marc Lawrence. It mirrors "I Was A Fugitive From a Chain Gang", the Paul Muni "A" list movie of that time in that it deals with the conditions of southern prisons in the 20's and 30's An interesting sidelight to this movie which was mentioned by the preceding reviewer....the post-dubbing of the character Moett's name. In the film,it is obviously "Metcalf" but has been post-dubbed to "Moett". I have searched extensively for the reason but can't find out why this was done. I would recommend it to anyone who loves the "B" movies....low budget, hackneyed dialogue and last minute reprieves....it's the stuff "B"'s were made of!