Dillinger

Like his predecessor in this role (Lawrence Tierney), this John Dillinger - Warren Oates - also looks the part. Oates is a rough-looking ugly mug and convincing in the lead role. Speaking of mugs, also included in this gangster flick are a few other criminals of the era: Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Ben Johnson, meanwhile, is interesting as Melvin Purvis, the FBI who tracks down the famous Public Enemy Number One. Johnson also narrates in part of the film.

Oates does a fine job of playing Dillinger. Unfortunately - remember this is the '70s, a decade in which the "anti-hero" was a full bloom - the film tends to make this crook into a sympathetic figure. The screenwriters tell us, "Hey, folks, see this criminal really wasn't a bad guy! Gve him some slack!" Yeah, right.

A few minor acting notes: Cloris Leachman gets third billing, but only has a small role at the end as the famous "Lady In Red." Michelle Phillips, who made a name for herself as a member of the Mamas and Papas singing group, did a nice job of acting, better than I would have expected.

I have seen three versions of "Dillinger" and all of them are good, including this one.

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.

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.

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.