They Made Me a Fugitive

They Made Me a Fugitive

Year: 1947

Runtime: 99 mins

Language: English

Director: Alberto Cavalcanti

ThrillerCrimeDramaCrime

Gangway for Gangland’s Blazing Guns! After being framed for a policeman’s murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen They Made Me a Fugitive yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – They Made Me a Fugitive (1947)

Explore the full timeline and setting of They Made Me a Fugitive (1947). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

late 1940s, postwar Britain

Set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when many veterans struggle to rejoin civilian life. Rationing and economic strain push ex-soldiers into black-market schemes. The era’s uncertainty shapes distrust, loyalty, and the pace of crime.

Location

London, Dartmoor Prison, Valhalla funeral parlour, remote farmhouse, rundown hotel

The action unfolds across urban London and a network of criminal hideouts. The central hub is the Valhalla funeral parlour, where coffins conceal smuggling. Clem moves through a remote farmhouse and a dilapidated hotel, highlighting the harsh contrast between the city streets and clandestine lairs.

🗺️ Crime-ridden postwar city 🏚️ Funeral parlour setting 🏞️ Rural hideouts

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:00

Main Characters – They Made Me a Fugitive (1947)

Meet the key characters of They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard)

A demobilised Royal Air Force member drawn into black-market crime after the war. He is stubborn and morally aware, determined to quit after one last job, yet pulled deeper into danger as events unfold. His pursuit of exoneration drives the plot as he faces betrayal and systemic mistrust.

🕵️‍♂️ Protagonist 🔎 Investigation 💬 Moral conflict

Narcy (Narcissus) (Griffith Jones)

The ruthless crime boss who deceives Clem and manipulates others for personal gain. Charismatic yet merciless, he blocks the truth with lies and maintains control through fear and violence.

💣 Villain 🧭 Manipulation ⚖️ Self-interest

Soapy (Jack McNaughton)

A loyal member of Narcy’s gang who carries out violent orders. His actions contribute to the escalating harm around Clem and the gang, and his fate intertwines with the protagonists’ pursuit of truth.

🔪 Gang member 🗡️ Violence ⚖️ Fateful consequence

Sally Connor (Sally Gray)

Clem’s girlfriend who seeks to uncover the truth and aid his defense. Resourceful and persistent, she becomes entwined in the danger surrounding Clem and fights for his innocence.

👁️ Witness 💪 Determination 👩‍💼 Ally

Inspector Rockliffe (Ballard Berkeley)

A pragmatic police officer who suspects Clem’s innocence and uses him as bait to expose Narcy’s gang. He maintains a steady, procedural approach to pursue justice.

👮‍♂️ Law enforcement 🧭 Investigation 🕰️ Procedural

Mrs. Fenshaw (Vida Hope)

A morally ambiguous farmhouse resident who helps Clem but becomes entangled in a killing. Her actions have far-reaching consequences, complicating the case and Clem’s supposed guilt.

🏚️ Motive 🗡️ Crime 🪪 Moral ambiguity

Mr. Fenshaw (Maurice Denham)

A drunken, largely unaware husband whose murder becomes a pivotal plot point. His death propels the investigation and adds to the film’s moral ambiguity.

🍷 Drunk 🪦 Murder 🕯️ Misfortune

Cora (Rene Ray)

Soapy’s girlfriend who provides information that could exonerate Clem. She becomes a crucial link in the web of truth versus deception and plays a key role in the unraveling plot.

💬 Informant 🧩 Puzzle piece 🧭 Deception

Jim (Michael Brennan)

A member of Narcy’s gang who participates in violent acts and murder. His role helps sustain the gang’s fear and complicates Clem’s fight for truth.

👤 Gang member 🗡️ Violence 🧭 Deceit

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:00

Major Themes – They Made Me a Fugitive (1947)

Explore the central themes of They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕵️‍♂️ Crime and consequence

The story follows a spiral from small-time theft to deadly violence, showing how crimes ripple outward and entangle innocent people. The pursuit of quick gains leads to tragedy and a police investigation that tests the system.

🤝 Betrayal and trust

Loyalty fractures as Narcy’s manipulation undermines friendships and blinds characters to the truth. Trust is fragile, and competing agendas blur who is really on whose side.

🏛️ Justice under strain

The police and legal process are tested by misleading evidence and personal histories. The narrative questions whether truth can prevail when individuals fight to control the narrative.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:00

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Wrongly Accused Fugitive Thrillers like They Made Me a Fugitive

Stories of innocent men forced outside the law to clear their names.If you liked the tense journey of a framed man on the run in 'They Made Me a Fugitive,' explore these movies featuring protagonists forced outside the law. These films share a similar feel of high-stakes paranoia, desperate chases, and the fight for justice from the shadows.

paranoiddesperatetensegrittycynicalnerve-wrackingrelentless

Narrative Summary

These narratives typically begin with a devastating false accusation that upends the protagonist's life, propelling them into a world of danger and deception. The journey is a frenetic scramble for survival and evidence, involving narrow escapes, shifting alliances, and a climactic confrontation to expose the real culprits and reclaim their life.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on the core narrative pattern of an innocent fugitive. They share a specific mood of desperate paranoia, a fast-paced plot driven by survival, and the central theme of a lone individual battling a seemingly insurmountable and corrupt establishment.

Gritty Post-War Noir Descents like They Made Me a Fugitive

Cynical journeys into the corruption and moral decay of a fractured society.For viewers who enjoyed the grim atmosphere and cynical worldview of 'They Made Me a Fugitive,' this section highlights similar movies. Discover other gritty crime dramas and film noirs set in morally ambiguous post-war landscapes, filled with betrayal and a pervasive sense of despair.

grittycynicalbleakatmosphericclaustrophobicanxiousdesperatedisillusioned

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread often follow a protagonist, sometimes an anti-hero, who gets entangled with or is victimized by a deeply corrupt underworld. The narrative arc is less about triumphant victory and more about survival or a pyrrhic revelation of truth, set against a backdrop of shadowy streets, black markets, and characters with compromised morals.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared atmospheric and thematic DNA: a specific historical context of post-war disillusionment, a visually and tonally dark and gritty style, and a focus on themes of systemic corruption, betrayal, and the loss of innocence.

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They Made Me a Fugitive Summary

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They Made Me a Fugitive Summary

They Made Me a Fugitive Timeline

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They Made Me a Fugitive Timeline

They Made Me a Fugitive Spoiler-Free Summary

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They Made Me a Fugitive Spoiler-Free Summary

More About They Made Me a Fugitive

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