Dillinger (1973)

John Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.

Director:

John Milius

Writer:

John Milius

Stars:

Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Michelle Phillips

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warren Oates	...	John Dillinger
Ben Johnson	...	Melvin Purvis
Michelle Phillips	...	Billie Frechette
Cloris Leachman	...	Anna Sage
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Homer Van Meter
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Harry Pierpont
John P. Ryan	...	Charles Mackley (as John Ryan)
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Baby Face Nelson
Steve Kanaly	...	Pretty Boy Floyd
John Martino	...	Eddie Martin
Roy Jenson	...	Samuel Cowley
Read Morgan	...	Big Jim Wollard
Frank McRae	...	Reed Youngblood

Storyline

After a shoot-out kills five FBI agents in Kansas City the Bureau target John Dillinger as one of the men to hunt down. Waiting for him to break Federal law they sort out several other mobsters, while Dillinger's bank robbing exploits make him something of a folk hero. Escaping from jail he finds Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson have joined the gang and pretty soon he is Public Enemy Number One. Now the G-men really are after him.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | public enemy number one | jail | fbi | 1930s | 

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Taglines:

...he was the gangster's gangster.

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dillinger - Gangsterler krali

Filming Locations:

Ardmore, Oklahoma, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While drinking in the bar, Billie comments that John Dillinger looks like Douglas Fairbanks. While Dillinger looks nothing like Fairbanks, it is a reference to Dillinger's admiration of Fairbanks. In real life, Dillinger, a movie buff, loved Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro and its sequels. In the films one of Fairbanks's stunts was to leap over mesa walls. Dillinger supposedly loved the stunt so much that in early robberies, Dillinger used to vault over teller cages, imitating Fairbanks's moves from the movies.

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Goofs

In the movie, Pretty Boy Floyd is gunned down by Purvis and his men; Purvis then pursues Dillinger in Chicago and guns him down. In fact, Dillinger was shot in July 1934, and Floyd in October 1934.

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Quotes

Baby Face Nelson: If he screams like that again, the hunters downstairs are going to call the cops.
John Dillinger: What do you expect me to do about it?
Baby Face Nelson: Finish him! I wouldn't ask no different!
Billie Frechette: Oh God, you can't do that!
Pretty Boy Floyd: Leave the boy be! He deserves a chance. A man deserves a chance.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits a voice (Paul Frees) can be heard decrying the film and calling it a source of corruption for children.

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Connections

Referenced in Little Cigars (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Red River Valley"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played at the square dance

User Reviews

Warren Mania

My review might be a little biased because I love Warren Oates and will watch anything he appears in (including obscure movies like 92 In the Shade). However, I'd like to say that this is a very well-made gangster flick that rivals Bonnie & Clyde in entertainment value. I actually prefer the action sequences in Dillinger to the famous ones from Bonnie & Clyde because they seem rougher, more natural and less self-conscious. The shooting sequences in Bonnie & Clyde seem too choreographed and slightly pretentious in comparison. Another selling point for Dillinger is that it contains wonderful performances by Oates and Ben Johnson. Actually, Ben Johnson almost steals the show as "G Man" Melvin Purvis. Even though they only have 1.5 scenes together, Oates and Johnson complement each other nicely here.