Escape!

In this early talkie, Capt. Matt Denant (Gerald du Maurier) is a former war hero who intervenes when he sees a crooked detective threatening a woman on the street. Denant and the detective soon fall into a brawl, and the detective is accidentally killed. Sentenced to five years in prison at hard labor, Denant finds that he cannot stand the indignities of life behind bars and escapes. (allmovie.com)