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:

reference to arizona | bank | gang | g man | mobster | 

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Taglines:

The private life of a public enemy.

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 November 1973 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Dillinger - Gangsterler krali

Filming Locations:

Tucson Warehouse and Transfer, downtown Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Warren Oates confessed that he did not make full researches on Dillinger during the preparation of the film.

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Goofs

John Dillinger like many Chicagoans in July went to the movies as much to escape the heat as to see the feature. The heavy overcoats worn by the FBI are out of season.

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Quotes

Melvin Purvis: On June 17,1933, five of my finest men were ambushed escorting convicted bank robber Frank Nash to the Federal penitentiary. My men died like dogs in the gutter, and I swore personal vengeance. Mister Hoover told me he wanted these rats that did it exterminated, and that was my only job. Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd. George "Machine Gun" Kelly". Lester "Baby Face" Nelson. Wilbur Underhill, "The Tri-state Terror". "Handsome Jack" Klutas. And, of course John Dillinger.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits a verbal renouncing of gangster films written by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover is heard: he was scheduled to read it for the film, but died before it started production. Hoover's text is read at the film's close by voice actor (Paul Frees) decrying the film and calling it a source of corruption for children.

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Connections

Spoofed in Charlie's Angels (2000)

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Soundtracks

Honey
(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics by Seymour Simons and Haven Gillespie
Sung by Warren Oates and played at various times throughout the picture

User Reviews

John Milius scores with a great gangster flick

This is one of the best gangster movies of the 70's, if not all time. Great action sequences abound with guns blazing and blood-splattering detail.

Warren Oates is the titular villain, who won both public support and revulsion with his daring bank robberies as well as the lengths he took to escape justice. Ben Johnson also gives a stellar performance as Mel Purvis, the dedicated FBI agent determined to kill him and the rest of his murderous gang.

But one of the biggest surprises in the movie is the performance of a very young Richard Dreyfuss as notorious robber/killer Lester "Baby Face" Nelson. Dreyfuss's usually lovable charm only further compounds the nature of Nelson's seemingly innocent yet deadly as the plague persona.

Director John Milius, best known for directing the cult classics CONAN THE BARBARIAN and RED DAWN has excellent cinematography and crisp dialogue, which he himself wrote. His real-life conservative politics shine through from time to time, especially concerning G-Man Purvis, but he tries to show both sides of the story, and he does a fairly reasonable job.

This is definitely a movie to watch one night when nothing is on. Its got action, suspense, humor, and good use of scenery. A class act all the way.