Dillinger and Capone

On July 22, 1934, FBI agents shot and killed John Dillinger outside the Biograph movie theater in Chicago. This movie says they shot his brother, while Dillinger, in the person of Martin Sheehan, moved hundreds of miles away, married, and became a farmer. Five and a half years later, Al Capone was released from prison because of dementia due to syphilis. He moved to his Florida house, kidnapped Dillinger's wife and stepson and forced Dillinger to go to Chicago and steal the $15,000,000 in cash he had stashed in a vault.

All complete nonsense, of course. Sheen's Dillinger is a decent family man who regrets his lawless past, in a philosophical, shrugging way, while F. Murray Abraham's Capone is a delusional monster with a butler, Stephen Davies, who gets seconded to Sheen for the big bank robbery. There are also a,lot,of,shots,in sepia monochrome that lead into set shots, and a soundtrack that is based on the Carnegie Hall version of "Swing, Swing, Swing." Catherine Hicks, as Sheen's wife, delivers her lines in a manner that emphasizes how badly they are written.

Short of the real-life people which this movie hangs its hat on, this might have made a decent movie. With them, it becomes nonsense.

It's kind of interesting to watch Martin Sheen in a really stupid movie.

I guess my first mistake was to pick this up at Blockbuster without ever having heard of anything about it(including title) before. Luckily, this was also my last, as I didn't make the common mistake of expecting equal talent and entertainment value from all films I watch. I quickly recognized this as the turkey it is, and as soon as I lowered my expectations considerably, I found it to be more enjoyable than I had first anticipated when I saw the rating(here on IMDb) and the first couple of scenes. It's not a good film, but it's not the worst one out there. The basic idea behind it is not half bad, and I found my search for inconsistencies and anachronisms to come up with (almost) nothing. Martin Sheen does pretty good as Dillinger, the former gangster turned farmer who wants to stay out of the gangster "business". F. Murray Abraham does OK as Capone, but having seen Robert DeNiro himself portray the character, he comes off a little flat by comparison. Jeffrey Combs is highly entertaining as a former FBI agent that survives quite a lot. The plot has some gaping holes(mainly dealing with how little police response there seems to be throughout the whole thing, and some typical action-film good-guys-aiming-much-better-than-bad-guys stuff) and the writing leaves a bit to be desired. The effects are obviously cheap, and several points during the film, an explosion or a Molotov cocktail is thrown in(pun intended) to raise the production value. Despite these low points, the film stays relatively true to historical events and does manage to entertain you and somewhat keep your interest. For an action film, there's relatively little action. For a crime movie, there's relatively little real crime. For a drama, there's little real drama. In the end, it's just another one of those "could have been better" films. But it's one of the less disappointing of the sort, and not completely devoid of talent. I suggest you check it out, if you're very much into gangster films. It's a fairly entertaining little piece; just don't expect any depth or a message. I recommend this only to the biggest fans of gangster films, and only those who can sit through what would commonly be referred to as a 'bad' film. 5/10

Far fetched and disappointing for a Martin Sheen film. Having seen Capone portrayed by Robert De Niro and others, F. Murray Abraham's rendition lacks believability. The concept behind the film offers much potential but not much was done with it. Sheen does his best with limited material.

Verdict - one to miss

If you dig historical accuracy, this one will drive you crazy. The plot has John Dillinger (Martin Sheen) not being killed in 1934 because the FBI actually shot his brother (Joe Estevez getting a quick paycheck). Years later he is living as "John Dalton" with his wife and son on a farm. But, wouldn't you know it, just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in. They being Al Capone (F. Murray Abraham), who kidnaps Dalton's family in order to force him to do a job for him in Chicago. The job? Get back the millions he had hidden in a hotel basement. Yup, this plotline is pure fantasy, but the Roger Corman-produced picture is a fine 90 minutes. Not great, not terrible. If anything, it is worth it for Abraham's unhinged Capone, playing up his syphilitic madness as he boozes, talks to imaginary people, and shoots hookers. There is also a fun supporting cast including Don Stroud, Stephen Davies, Catherine Hicks, Michael Oliver (yes, the PROBLEM CHILD himself), Sasha Jenson, and Jeffrey Combs and Michael C. Gwynne as two bumbling FBI agents. And as hard as I found the plot to swallow, nothing is more outlandish than Concorde-New Horizons staple Maria Ford showing up in a few scenes and lusting over Sheen.