Weak & full of plot holes???! Seriously??!

I have just read that although the ending is great, some viewers seem to think the beginning is weak and full of plot holes.

These are NOT a plot holes. This film is based on the autobiographical book by Robert E Burns entitled "I Am A Fugitive From The Georgia Chain Gang", published in 1930 while he was still on the run. The title was changed so as not to offend anyone from the Georgia. Think of all that lost revenue...

Chain gangs were a very common practice, especially in the South. African-Americans and out-of-staters were particularly vulnerable to this almost always corrupt judicial system. It became popular soon after the Civil War when slavery was abolished. It was a great way to get free labor without being outright slavery. The story may seem outlandish to us today but chain gangs were used to extensively between 1870 and 1940(!).

Burns' story begins in Atlanta in 1922 where he was charged with the theft of $5.81 from a grocery store and sentenced to 6 to 10 years hard labor, from there his odyssey begins. Although that may seem like a ridiculously small amount to us and is little over $81 in today's money, it still should not have warranted such a harsh punishment. The conditions were very grueling, so how else could you get to those roads built so cheaply?

The film so outraged the Georgia authorities that he was still on the lam until 1945 when he was finally pardoned. He spent most of his time after is final escape in New Jersey where officials refused to have him extradited. Burns was rumored to have been an uncredited technical advisor but had to stay hidden during the shooting of the movie.

I had the pleasure of buying a 1st edition in a second hand book shop recently. Of course there are some differences for dramatic license but the film is fairly accurate to the book. It is an amazing read.

If you look up Robert E Burns online, you will be astounded by a rarely seen part of American history that shouldn't be glossed over or forgotten.