Dillinger

This is still the definitive biography of John Dillinger on film. I just saw Mann's Public Enemies - this film blows that one away. Forgive me for quoting my own review of Mann's film:

"Milius, taking his cue from "Bonnie And Clyde," from the earlier Lawrence Tierney film "Dillinger," and from the gaudy gangster films of Roger Corman, fashioned a film that was both flashy yet homespun, part unabashed B-movie, part evocation of American Gothic. Even his occasional tinkering with historical accuracy could be forgiven, since it was clear he had a firm grasp on what the Dillinger phenomenon was really all about - 'farm boy makes good by turning bad' is an undeniable folk-theme of American life. And the brilliance of Warren Oates' performance in the Milius film is that Oates plays Dillinger like a runaway farm-boy with a sense of humor and a quick temper, who just happened to rob banks for a living. That's as much as you can give any professional criminal without lying about the nature of crime namely, it's about stealing other peoples' money and hurting many of them in the process."

Other reviewers have remarked this as a B-movie - but it is intentionally so, it never makes any pretense otherwise; and that's important: having decided to make a B-movie leaves Milius with considerable leeway as to how far he wants to push any aspect of the material. So while it's hard to think of any particular dramatic high-point of the film (perhaps the scene where Dillinger and Purvis go to the same restaurant, or the death of Pretty Boy Floyd?), it's much harder to find any moment that really drags the film down - the pacing of the film is that of a B-movie, it moves! There's nothing exceptional about the cinematography or music, or production design; what we're left with are memorable performances by some of the greatest character actors in cinema at the time, and an exciting story with enough savvy to trigger our emotions.

Milius watched the Lawrence Tierney "Dillinger" and learned from it before starting this film; Mann should have watched Milius' film over and over before starting "Public Enemies." In any event, this is still THE Dillinger story, and and an entertaining action film as well.

I watched this for the first time in years after picking up the Widescreen DVD in the bargain bin. As a youngster, I remember many of these films for the bloodletting. How we used to talk them up afterwards. Often I'm disappointed after watching it many years later. 'Hey, that's not how I remember it. Well, 'Dillinger' isn't one of those films. This is a fine film, in fact, it's probably the number 2 film, behind 'Bonnie And Clyde' from that time that portrayed the Depression Era robbers. Warren Oates is excellent. He didn't get the chance very often to play the lead, but this was an excellent chance for him to bust out a little. And there are lots of recognizable actors in smaller roles. But this is Warren nearing his peak. It's as exciting as I remember, actually better then I remember. Well paced with a couple of slower interludes, that towards the end are kind of framed together. If you get a chance watch this film. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Oh and this DVD has the original 'We're In The Money' opening credits, plus it has the diclaimer at the end after the feature is over. I gave it a 7 out of 10.

Underrated gangster film. No Bonnie & Clyde here but solid cast in good looking fast paced action packed machine gun blazing shoot-em up. Oates is perfect as John Dillinger and Johnson plays a ruthless tough as nails Pervus on his trail. Richard Dreyfuss highlights the supporting cast as the punk Baby Face Nelson. Milius direction style is a combination of Penn and Peckinpah with his fast moving exciting bloody gun battles.

One of my all time fave actors played the gun toting thug to the hilt. Also, Ben Johnson was excellent as the obsessive detective dedicated to bringing the hellraising criminal to justice. He did cheat a tad but got the job done with no tears being shed for the hoodlum. Very good action film: I'll never forget the huge cringe I gave when the getaway car ran over a woman and dragged her beneath it for a ways. This was Oates doing some of his best work.

John Dillinger (Warren Oates) and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the Midwest, but one G-Man (Ben Johnson) is determined to bring him down.

Following "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Wild Bunch", American International Pictures wanted their own violent gangster film. Producer Sam Arkoff hired the then-unknown writer John Milius to construct the script. An earlier, very rough version of the script had come in to producer Lawrence Gordon, and Gordon thought Milius – his former assistant -- would be right for the job.

A little research and a solid script would make this an excellent story, but those involved went one step better. Retired FBI Agent Clarence O. Hurt (1897-1975), one of the agents involved in the final shootout with Dillinger, was the film's technical adviser. Hurt had a distinguished career in the gangster era, also being one of the men who brought in Alvin "Creepy" Karpis. Interestingly, Hurt's house was burgled during his funeral – the newspapers liked to say this was the underworld's belated revenge.

In order to save money (Arkoff was always cutting corners), Milius was also offered the director's chair so that AIP would only have to pay one man rather than two. Gordon says this was his idea, but either way the reason was the same. Milius used John Ford as his inspiration, and if you pay close attention you will see homages to Ford's "My Darling Clementine".

The casting of Oates was pure perfection. Although many actors have portrayed John Dillinger before and since, Oates actually resembles the man for the most part. Singer Michelle Phillips as Billie Frechette, Dillinger's girlfriend, came about by an old Hollywood trick: lying. Phillips had told the producers she was half Indian to land her first acting gig.

Arkoff wrote in his autobiography of the ways they saved money on this one; besides the use of Milius, AIP was also selling off the cars after the shoot. So any money they may have spent during filming was in some way regained, even before the first frame hit the movie screens! The script's attention to facts is impressive. Sure, there are some liberties with Melvin Purvis, having him personally strike down more gangsters than he did. And the Little Bohemia Lodge has a few more casualties than it should have, not to mention some guests who weren't really there. By and large, the changes are minor and can easily be dismissed as a way to make the story simpler and more exciting. Having one FBI agent as the hero rather than a dozen is easily to plot out. At least the plot was not a complete fabrication like "Bonnie and Clyde" was; and still, that film is the one that gets more credit.

Upon release, it was inevitable that "Dillinger" would be compared to other gangster films, especially the identically-named "Dillinger" (1945). Dejan Ognjanovic calls Milius' film "the definitive version of the Dillinger story", and he is right. Ognjanovic also rightly notes that Milius paints his characters as mythical beings, larger than life, though the line between good and evil is often blurry. Carlos Clarens wrote that Milius' version "was considerably more romantic" than the 1945 film, despite the "carefully rigged bullet wounds and spurting blood." If nothing else, "Dillinger" deserves some recognition for its role in history: giving John Milius his directorial debut. AIP, especially through Sam Arkoff and Roger Corman, had given rise to numerous filmmakers from Jonathan Demme to Jack Nicholson to James Cameron. Milius may be lesser-known outside of cinephile circles, but his movies are larger than life: "Apocalypse Now", "Red Dawn" and the under-appreciated "Big Wednesday". Lawrence Gordon's career also took off at this point; his cost-cutting measures landed him a gig at 20th Century Fox, where hewent on to specialize in action films such as "Die Hard" and "Predator".

Arrow Video's 2016 blu-ray release gives this film the royal treatment. We have audio commentary by Stephen Prince, the author of "Savage Cinema" and "Screening Violence" (among others), who is an expert on both the violent film genres and gangster history. We also have brand new interviews with producer Lawrence Gordon, director of photography Jules Brenner, and composer Barry De Vorzon. Not enough? There is also a collector s booklet containing new writing by Kim Newman on fictional portrayals of John Dillinger, plus an on-set report containing interviews with writer-director John Milius, illustrated with original production stills.