Dillinger

"Dillinger" was made by poverty row studio Monogram Pictures as a "B" picture programmer however, it turned out to be much better than everyone had anticipated. Although it takes liberties with actual facts, it is nonetheless a dark and brooding little film noire.

The producers lucked in when Lawrence Tierney was cast in the lead role. He plays John Dillinger as a cold blooded non-repentant killer. The real Dillinger was apparently nothing like Tierney's interpretation but was more of a Robin Hood type character who was only a bank robber and not the cold blooded killer depicted in this film.

The story follows Dillinger from a small time hood to his first prison term where he meets future members of his gang. Specs Green (Edmund Lowe) is the planner and three of the most recognizable faces in gangster pictures round out the gang. First there is Marco (Eduardo Ciannelli), then Doc (Marc Lawrence) and finally Kirk Otto (Elisha Cook Jr.).

Along the way Dillinger meets his "femme fatale", Helen Rogers (Anne Jeffreys). After Dillinger springs the gang from prison they go on a bank robbing spree. Dillinger takes over the gang from Specs and runs things his way. Eventually the gang members are either caught or killed and Dillinger goes to hide out in Chicago. After several months in hiding he and Helen go to a movie at the Biograph theater. Helen is dressed in red and well you know the rest.

Tierney should have risen to major stardom after this film but due to his personal problems, he never really did. He reportedly had a hair trigger temper and often got into bar room brawls, Naturally producers began to shy away from. His career is not unlike another actor who almost made it, Tom Neal.

After starring roles in a few films, notably "Born To Kill" (1947), he drifted into smaller and smaller roles. He did find work well into the 1990s but never did achieve stardom. But his work in this film is what has elevated it to the cult status it enjoys today. The gunning down of the elderly Ottos (Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stessel) and the maiming of a bar waiter are particularly chilling.

Edmund Lowe had been a star in silent films. By this time his career was winding down. Ciannelli, Lawrence and Cook were staples in gangster roles for decades thereafter.

John Milius who made the 1973 "Dillinger" (closer to the facts) provides some interesting insights and commentary on the DVD release.

Although it would have been much more appropriate as part of a subsequent Gangster DVD Collection from Warners (rather than the Film Noir in which it was included), DILLINGER is a solid B flick buoyed by a fast pace, a bevy of familiar character actors (Edmund Lowe, Eduardo Cianelli, Marc Lawrence, Elisha Cook Jr.) and a terrific turn by Lawrence Tierney in the title role. Although John Milius' 1973 remake is much more factual and despite an over-reliance on stock footage from bigger-budgeted films - like Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937) - the film is also notable for an unusual narrative structure for this type of film in that the events are "told" to a theater audience by John Dillinger's father as a warning against the perils of living life on the wrong side of the tracks! This film also proved to be Monogram's most prestigious production as Philip Yordan received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay!

This lean, mean cheapo has all the virtues of economy. Lawrence Tierney is great in his impressive debut, ideally cast as the cold, humourless psychopath. In a little over an hour we get the complete biography, with the bad guy hero gunned down with seven dollars and twenty cents in his pocket, the exact amount with which he began his criminal spree.

The scene transitions are tight and efficient, and the story-telling terse and elliptical, giving us only the significant moments in this brief, violent life. No words are wasted when Pa Otto meets his end.

Dmitri Tiomkin provides his customarily excellent music. The lone wailing horn in the prison scenes captures superbly the despair of the inmates, as indeed does the unyielding regularity of the jail architecture.

Verdict - Less is more in this commendably spare gangster flick.

This taut little crime noir is worth watching a couple of times. It has a short running time which was typical of "B" films and it packs a lot of action into a little over 60 minutes.

What a cast this film boasts!!......Edmund Lowe, a former screen idol of the silents and early talkies; Marc Lawrence and Eduardo Cianelli who could never shake their bad guy images; the greatest of all character actors, Elisha Cook Jr. whose career spanned in excess of 50 years; and Lawrence Tierney, born to portray a criminal. Tierney, who was a bad boy in real life (which sank his career for many years before he made a comeback in the 1980s)is the epitome of a cold eyed, hardened gangster who lives for today and the hell with tomorrow. Tierney, whose brother Scott Brady was a recurring presence in films of the 50s, will always be recognized for this part alone and it could have shot him to stardom but his personal life got in the way.......too bad. This film is a standout in the realm of "B" movies and is worthy of it's reputation.

When Dillinger is sent to prison as a young man for a small scale robbery he winds up sharing a cell with Specs. Specs introduces Dillinger to his gang and he joins them. On his release Dillinger breaks the gang out of jail and they set out on a spree of well planned robberies. With tensions rising between the clinical Specs and the violent risk-taking Dillinger the mood in the gang become tense. Dillinger eventually takes over the gang leading them into increasingly dangerous jobs risking capture and death.

One of the many filmed versions of this gangster's life and death. It may also be one of the shortest, but by having a tight basic plot and good script it doesn't feel too short. The story is stripped down to key moments and events in Dillinger's life as told by his father, however this makes the film more urgent and tense compared to more rambling versions. However I suppose as a life story that's not really what you want, but here it works because it's a crime thriller rather than a biopic.

Lawrence Tierney was a bit of a hellraiser in his day and he brings a menacing streak to the role. Of those who don't watch films made before 1990 it may be a surprise to realise that this young man is the same as played Joe in Reservoir Dogs. The whole gang gives strong support especially Edmund Lowe as the harassed Specs, it's also always good to see Elisha Cook Jr, here playing Kirk.

Overall a taught little crime thriller that benefits from a tough cast and a short tense running time.