spoiler even though the movie they make me a criminal be nowhere as good a the late john garfield anti hero classic like body and soul in 1947 force of evil in 1948 and his last and very underrated he run all the way in 1951 it the film that define his career from that point onward until his untimely death on may 21 and 1952 at the young age of 39. garfiled play the part of light weight champion johnnie bradfield and later the fugitive from the law jack dorney who innocent of the murder that he charge with and even though he be declare officially dead . jonnie manager doc ward and robert doc gleckler and who during a drunken victory party kill reporter charles mcgee and john ridgely and who be go to expose to the public his fighter johnnie bradfield lie about him be a one woman guy as well a non drink momma boy . doc gleckler smash a bottle over mcgee head kill him a jonnie be almost dead drunk with a number of woman party in his hotel suite . doc be later kill in a car crash with johnnie girlfriend goldie and ann sheridan and but doc burn to a crisp and with johnnie watch on him be mistake for johnnie . tell to stay dead and bury by his lawyer malvin and robert strange and who take $ 9 and 750 . 00 of the $ 10 and 000 . 00 of johnnie money that he have for this great piece of advice . malvin tell johnnie to take on a new identity and call himself from now on jack dorney and get the hell out of the state of new york while talk about sleazy shyster . johnnie now jack dorney travel the rail from new york down to arizona end up at the rancho rafferty date farm where most of the film take place . if it wasn not for john garfield in the lead role a both jonnie bradfield and jack dorney the movie would have long be lose and forget . garfield who be only 26 at the time bring the best out of everyone in the movie . even the transport dead end kid and i guess we can call them the arizona kid here and act be notch above what you would have expect from them and they come across a real and sensitive person not a bunch of slap stick clown like in almost all of their movie . all that due to be on the same stage and or film location and with john garfield . they make me a criminal be a good story that have the undercover champ act like anything but not to draw any attention on himself and end up not only behind bar but in the electric chair . in the end jack show just what kind of man he be by not fight the big fight and against all the odds dramatically win at the last moment but by go four brutal round to get the money for his new find family at the date farm include his girl peggy and gloria dickson and to open up a gas station with it . give the european champ gaspar rutchek and frank riggi and the fight of his life and get $ 2 and 000 . 00 and thats $ 500 . 00 a round and for do it jack show everyone who look up to him like the arizona kid that sometimes take a punch be far braver and more courageous then throw one . the fact that jack could have easily clobber rutched but do not in order not to expose himself to the police and a on the loose killer johnnie bradfield . but instead go as far a he could take everything that rutchek could throw at him to help out his friend show more then all the fight that he win in the boxing ring put together . i for one do not find the end of the movie contrive at all but fit right in with the story . the cop morty phelam and claude rain and who come to arizona from new york to arrest jack have to live with for year the fact that he once send an innocent man to the electric chair . we be tell all this right at the start of the movie . why know that jack or johnnie be innocent of the murder that he charge with and not know for sure if he will be find innocent of it in a court of law would he want to make the same terrible mistake again . i can easily see this happen in real life why not then in the movie .