They Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American crime-drama film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the film The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933). The film later was featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia. Portions of the film were shot in the Coachella Valley, California.
Theatrical poster
Berkeley William Enos, known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.
Busby Berkeley c. 1935
The "By a Waterfall" production number from Footlight Parade (1933) made use of one of the largest soundstages ever built, specially constructed by Warner Bros. to film Berkeley's creations.
Carmen Miranda in The Gang's All Here (1943)
Berkeley being carried into his trial on a stretcher, September 1935