They Made Me a Criminal: Or, How I Got Lost in a 1939 Haystack

So, I sat up last Tuesday, rainy night – you know, like one of those dirty November evenings in Stockholm – and put on “They Made Me a Criminal.” The name alone, jag måste säga, sounds a bit like something I’d hear on TV4 after midnight. But it’s this old slice from 1939, and that’s already upp my alley.

First thing, they got John Garfield in the lead, looking like he’s just rolled out of a fight with himself and the world. Man, that guy smoulders in every scene – it’s almost funny. And then you spot Claude Rains, the chameleon, shifting faces like a kid changes mittens in Västergötland. Plus the directing, Busby Berkeley, who normally filled screens with chorus girls but, well, here just went all in on sweaty boxing rings and dusty farms.

It’s a bit like if you mashed together Swedish fika with knytnävsslag i magen, all sweet and a punch at the same time.

I remember, honestly, watching it as a kid with my uncle Kent. He’d always root for the “bad guy,” or at least for anyone accused of stuff they didn’t do. “Domstolen är sällan rättvis”, he used to mumble, and watching Garfield on the run – in rags and with those dirt stains – kinda took me right back.

But not all of it lands. The plot jumps a bit awkward, and sometimes you feel like you forgot to flip the pancake. Still, that moment when Garfield helps the farm kids? Heartstrings, grab your serviette… I actually got a bit teary, men säg det inte till nån.

So if you ever felt misunderstood, or just fancy a box of knäckebröd and an oldie, this one will hit home. Next time, bring your uncle too.

watch the full movie on Mavshack Movies on YouTube

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