Sadly, Leslie Howard Adams seems to know more about the history of the appearance of 'dope' in films than he actually does about the context of this post-war noir of 1947. In actual fact, it isn't marijuana which makes a brief (and arguably not that important) appearance in this film, but what appears to be 'snow' - cocaine. Furthermore, the gang which the protagonist Clem Morgan joins is involved in more than just peddling drugs, yet their activities are more mundane than Adams suggests: these are not London drug barons, but black marketeers, engaged in supplying what were then, in the post-war days of continued shortages and rationing, luxury goods: cigarettes (boxes of Gold Flake make a conspicuous appearance), alcohol, and even prime cuts of meat.
In addition, the significance of Clem Morgan's behaviour is more complex than Adams suggests. Many people in Britain at the time felt that the war, though the outcome was of course to be celebrated, had somehow changed society - the country was not as it was in the twenties and thirties (indeed, this is a sentiment expressed at some point during this film). The petty criminality of an ex-serviceman such as Morgan could then be interpreted both as surprising, in one who fought to defend his country, yet permissible: in the present day, with cross-Channel 'booze-cruisers', smuggling is still seen as a harmless crime which doesn't hurt anyone, and one could argue (as people invariably did and do) that he was merely aiming to reduce the shortages while making a tidy profit. Even the lorry driver with whom Morgan hitches a lift following his escape from prison offers to sell him some petrol coupons (coupons had to be presented at the point of sale in order to make the transaction legal - an effective way of rationing, which created an alternative market in ration allowances, with coupons being exchanged for other coupons (e.g. coupons for bread, butter, sugar, sweets, petrol, milk, etc) or money). However, the fine line is crossed when Morgan sees drugs being handled; he represents very much the old-fashioned petty criminal who refused to become involved in the drugs trade, before gangs of foreign criminals (from, for example, the Caribbean, and parts of America and Asia) moved in during the sixties and seventies.
**Warning: I'm going to discuss some details of the film which may spoil the plot if you haven't seen it already**
They Made Me A Fugitive is a fine example of post-war noir, very much continuing the trends and styles started in the thirties. However, there is much which might strike a modern-day audience as clichéd. At the start of the film, the gang is seen using an undertakers as a front for their activities, carrying the goods in coffins. There is the archetypal gangland matriarch, who sits around playing cards (it seems unlikely that she is intended as a metaphor for the Fates) and dispensing one-liners which would be cutting if they weren't so hackneyed. The gang is led by the egocentric Narcy (short for Narcissus), whose photos appear on numerous mantelpieces, and comes complete with dapper dress (admittedly, itself not a crime), as well as monogrammed handkerchief, cigarette holder, nail file, etc, etc. There are even the diametrically opposed gang members: the nervous, weak and temperamental Soapy, and the silent, bull-like murderer, Jim. The incident where Clem Morgan seeks sanctuary at a house while still on the run is so surreal as to be almost comic, especially because of the murderous wife played by Vida Hope, who speaks in a monotone with a vacant expression on her face, and demands (in a halting voice) that Clem must 'mur - der - my - hus - band!' Even the rooftop chase and struggle at the end between Clem and Narcy is on the verge of being ridiculous, as both men totter around, clinging onto the 'RIP' sign above the undertakers in an attempt to push the other to his death. As if the proximity of so many signs of death wasn't enough to tell the viewer what was about to happen, the audience is treated to several close up shots of a sign hanging inside the undertakers': 'It's later than you think'.
Yet perhaps I should not be so critical. For a film made in 1947, this is very exciting. Certain elements may only seem clichéd because they have been overused by many films since, and a chase of one kind or another (often, as here, between the guilty man and the man seeking revenge) has almost become a stock part of just about every film across the spectrum, whether horror, thriller or even comedy. There are parts of this film which indeed were probably quite daring. Although the audience does not witness it in graphic detail, there are several instances of violence committed against women in the film: both Sally and Cora (the latter being Soapy's wife, the former, Narcy's ex-girlfriend who falls for Clem) are beaten up and abused by Narcy. Soapy is stabbed, and his body thrown off a quayside. One policeman is viciously attacked, while another is run down in the street. These are moments in the film which would provoke shock in a 1940s audience; no matter the disruption caused to society by the war, there was still a great feeling of horror at violent crime, something to which people today have become desensitized, and it cannot be denied that this film is a gripping portrayal (whether accurate or not) of underworld criminal activities in post-war Britain.