User reviews

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.

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.

Director John Milius also takes writing credit for this very colorful look at the most famous bank robber John Dillinger(Warren Oates). This story begins in the middle of his criminal career ending in his death at the Biograph Theater. This is a very romanticized tale complete with Baby Face Nelson(Richard Dreyfuss) and Pretty Boy Floyd(Steve Kanaly). Ben Johnson plays FBI agent Melvin Purvis who has an ego to match Dillinger's. Cloris Leachman plays Anna Sage, the infamous Woman in Red. Throw in Michelle Phillips as a girlfriend and Harry Dean Stanton as minion Homer Van Meter and you have the key players in this very colorful and violent movie. Liberty is taken with history for entertainment sake and besides the profanity filled script is not the selling point...the manic gun battles get most of the attention. The gun play is bloody and frequent; some of the roughest ever filmed. For a less colorful, but very interesting version check out DILLINGER(1945)starring Lawrence Tierney.

My review might be a little biased because I love Warren Oates and will watch anything he appears in (including obscure movies like 92 In the Shade). However, I'd like to say that this is a very well-made gangster flick that rivals Bonnie & Clyde in entertainment value. I actually prefer the action sequences in Dillinger to the famous ones from Bonnie & Clyde because they seem rougher, more natural and less self-conscious. The shooting sequences in Bonnie & Clyde seem too choreographed and slightly pretentious in comparison. Another selling point for Dillinger is that it contains wonderful performances by Oates and Ben Johnson. Actually, Ben Johnson almost steals the show as "G Man" Melvin Purvis. Even though they only have 1.5 scenes together, Oates and Johnson complement each other nicely here.

"Dillinger" is one of the best films from Warren Oates. He is better known as a character actor, supporting player and a fine one at that. Occasionally, he was given the lead. The film has great action and Warren Oates bears a striking resemblance to the real life bandit, John Dillinger. Ben Johnson is terrific as the F.B.I agent who is on Dillinger's trail. A minor classic.

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.

Based on the violent career of John Dillinger and his gang , this is a Dillinger biography who roamed US , terrifying the Midwest, robbing banks and killing . It is brought to life in this story about the most colorful period of criminality in America. It's set during the Depression era, when any job , even illegal one, was cherished, greed , money and power originated an interminable cycle of fury and violence. John Dillinger is magnetically played by Warren Oates stars who became public enemy number one and Melvin Purvis,Ben Johnson, as tough G-Man under direct orders of Edward Hoover. Oates and the support cast turn a fine performance in this enjoyable account of the criminal life. It receives an extremely strong and thrilling fast-paced treatment , almost too violent and intense at the time, but remains impressive and brilliant and not easily forgotten.

The film starts on half his criminal career, Dillinger didn't stop criminal rampage until a single FBI agent worked to chase the crime boss. After the spectacular escape from Lima (Ohio) prison , Dillinger and his band along with his girlfriend Evelyn Billie Trechette(Michelle Phillips)hold up bank in Racine(Wisconsin), and rob the First National Bank of Chicago East, Indiana. But Dillinger is trapped in Tucson and moved to Crown Point(Indiana). He's sent prison and in spite of security taken by 50 policemen and the National Guardsmen , he breaks out with a gun of wood . Then, he created a new band formed by Hamilton , Pierpont( Geoffrey Lewis) , Homer Van Meeter(Harry Dean Stanton), Eddie Green , McKeley (John Ryan) , Tommy Carroll , Pretty Boy Floyd(Steve Kanaly) and Lester Gilles , alias Baby Face Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) . They going on robbing banks , such as the Security National Bank and Trust of Sioux falls in Dakota South and the Merchant's National Bank of South Bend , Indiana . Other starring in the final chase of Dillinger , is Anna Sage 'The lady in red' (Cloris Leachman) a Romanian immigrant submitted possible deportation and she double-crossed him and informed to Melvin Purvis about the outlet from Biograph theatre where found Dillinger . Finally 'The lady in red' was deported to Romania in 1935 and never returned America . Evelyn Trechette and John Dillinger Sr toured the country in 1935 with a show called 'Crime does not pay', she died , a spinster on an Indian reservation in 1969 . Harry Pierpont was jailed and condemned electric chair , Van Meeter , Mckley , Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson surrounded by policemen were shot to death . Marvin Purvis quited the FBI after Dillinger case and went into private business . He shot himself in 1961 with the same gun he used to kill Dillinger . Dillinger new address the combat silhouette targets used by the FBI .

Other adaptations about this know story, are the following :

'Dillinger(1945)' directed by Noel Nosseck with Laurence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys ; 'Young Dillinger' (1965) by Terry Morse with Nick Adams; 'Lady in Red' (1979) by Lewis Teague with Robert Conrad and Pamela Sue Martin ; Dillinger(TV, 1991) with Mark Harmon and Sherilyn Fenn and 'Dillinger and Capone' by John Purdy with Martin Sheen and F. Murray Abraham.

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.

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.

The scene at the beginning of the film where the old man at the gas station treats Homer Van Meter with such contempt is hilarious.

Billie Frechette is shown firing a gun at the feds in one scene; it didn't happen. The end credits say she died a spinster; she was married twice. Harry Pierpont was wounded in an attempted escape from death row; three weeks later he was still unable to walk (he'd been shot four times), so they carried him to the electric chair, strapped him in, and threw the switch.

Pretty Boy Floyd was wounded running from the farmhouse, but the wound wasn't mortal. When Purvis asked him about Kansas City, Floyd let go such a stream of profanity that Purvis had Agent Herman Hollis shoot him with a Thompson. Hollis had fired one of the rounds that hit Dillinger (although not the fatal one), and he and another agent died while mortally wounding Baby Face Nelson in November of that year.

The scene outside the Biograph is ridiculous. It was scalding hot, which is why Dillinger and the two women went to an air-conditioned theater. The movie shows everyone in overcoats, including Dillinger. He had on an open-collared shirt and a white straw hat. Purvis didn't shoot Dillinger at all; the fatal round was fired by an agent brought up from Texas.

I do, however, love the line about Handsome Jack Klutas (who, by the way, attended college, but had no "college degree"): "I knew I'd never take him alive. I didn't try too hard, neither." That scene, of course, never happened. Purvis wasn't even there when Klutas was killed.

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.

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.

Just watched this movie again after a number of years. Good entertainment and well done action sequences with top flight performances by Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and, Harry Dean Stanton (as usual). The influence of Peckinpah is obvious. As with most Hollywood interpretations of history, there are some historical liberties taken (the firefight's at Little Bohemia Lodge and in Mason City, Iowa for example). The performances of Michelle Phillips (amateurish) and Richard Dreyfess ("Baby Face" Nelson should have been portrayed as more of a 'lunatic' rather than 'obnoxious') detract a little from the film. However, overall a good movie with popcorn and a soda on Friday night.

Although Warren Oates makes one charismatic Dillinger in the title role of this film, the story concentrates as much on Melvin Purvis the G-Man that got him, played here by Ben Johnson.

We meet Dillinger as a full blown criminal whose exploits and daring captured the public fancy in Depression Era America. With banks failing all over the country and people losing their life savings, bankers were not among the most popular people in the USA in the Thirties. No matter that these robberies didn't help the situation any, a lot of people were glad someone besides the rich was just going in and taking the money.

Ben Johnson is a grim and determined Melvin Purvis, eager to the shooting down of FBI men in the Kansas City Massacre before J. Edgar Hoover's agents were allowed to carry weapons. He did not however personally bag all the criminals he's credited with in this film. Nor did Pretty Boy Floyd played by Steve Kanaly later of Dallas ever run with Dillinger's gang. However Baby Face Nelson aka Lester Gillis did and he's played as the psychotic punk he was by Richard Dreyfuss before he became a star.

There's no real character development in this Dillinger, but certainly enough action to satisfy those who want that in their movies. The film has a documentary like quality to it. The main female roles are played by Michelle Phillips as Dillinger's girl Billie who stands by her man and in the end Cloris Leachman as the infamous Lady in Red who betrays him. Neither actress is given much to work with in the script.

I'm looking forward to the new Dillinger film with Johnny Depp this year. Knowing him, we'll get one interesting Dillinger. Still Warren Oates is the best we have so far.

Gangster films have always been a genre on it's own. From 1930 "Little Caesar" onward, anti-heroes were often portrayed as heroes of great proportion. In his directorial debut, John Milius a filmmaker extraordinaire, gives us characters that are "larger, funnier and fuzzier than life". In half real, half fictionalized story of the "Public enemy No.1", wonderful Warren Oates, in one of his greatest roles portrays John Dillinger with unique quirkiness, craziness and boldness giving a singular performance that lifts this movie in an epic sphere. With great performances all around this imaginary, romantic tale holds strong after almost 50 years as one of the outstanding crime dramas in the history of cinema.

The script is full of fabulous, funny dialogue delivered by some of the finest actors of the offbeat Hollywood. Harry Dean Stanton as Homer Van Meter and his observation that "things ain't workin' out" for him as he is about to be executed by a bunch of gun wielding locals, or Steve Kanaly as Pretty Boy Floyd admitting in his final moments that he "have sinned, but enjoyed it", while stating that "it's too late for no Bible", with Dillinger being against welfare because "people should work for a living" are the moments that remain with you. Dillinger's sentiment about his girl (Michelle Phillips) and his family, returning for one last look at home he grew up in, brings true emotions in a viewer. A fabulous eye for a period detail (the Depression countryside in vintage cars to vintage music), stunts and action sequences looking best that I've seen in almost five decades of film watching are things that must come hand-in-hand with good script and great acting to make a memorable picture. This is all in, and Milius deliberately makes these characters seem "one dimensional" as many critics noted, but that is what they really were. Criminal minds of that sort are often simple minds expressing themselves only in violence. It doesn't matter what kind of violence, physical, emotional or other. Their depravity is not multilayered so their characters couldn't be portrayed otherwise. Those "caricatures" should be just like they are, and their simplicity and nonchalant, reckless living with tongue-in-cheek dialogue is exactly as it should be. Movie action cross cut with period stills and newspaper headlines, with crispy noir dialogue gives the film a period, realistic look. I don't think it couldn't be any better so even if you're not a fan of John Millus films, and like a good crime picture, don't ever avoid this classic. More than recommended, a real joy!

DILLINGER (1973) is a well mounted though historically flawed film vision of his ADVENTURES in the early 1930's. The charismatic criminal 'Dillinger' (Warren Oates) with his band of merry men steal their way to a lifestyle that the unfortunate honest people of the Great Depression can only see on the Silver Screen. Director John Milius conveys a view that it is better to live a glamorous (if dishonest and violent) short life then to live like a dog in the dirt. "BETTER A DEAD LION THEN A LIVE DONKEY" is the main thrust of this film.

'Dillnger' has two (2) important people in his life. 'Billie' (Michelle Phillips) his main squeeze and 'Purvis' (Ben Johnson) the long arm of the law (F.B.I). There is fine interplay between these characters and both supply our hero with what he needs. Ms. Phillips is effective and particularly attractive. Interesting when she was with the group 'The Mamas and the Papas' we did not think much of her. Must have been those horrible 1960's costumes which passed as fashion at the time. She looks very chic in her 1930's garb. Mr. Johnson though to old for the role performs in his usual professional way and seems to really enjoy his work rubbing out the criminals.

A very competent cast of character actors portray the merry men (and their molls). Future star playing 'Nelson' (Richard Dreyfuss) is of particular interest really getting into the role of that psychotic. In one (1) scene he massacres a row of civilians to get one (1) law officer. At the Little Bohemia shoot out he challenges the F.B.I. with "Eat It G-Man" and a stream of .45 A.C.P. from his Thompson Sub-Machine Gun Model 1921. Certainly different then 'Matt Hooper' or 'Roy Neary'.

Director Milius paid careful attention to period details. Cars, Clothes, Firearms, Music with integrated period photos and clips from old films into montage scenes supported the feeling you were in that era. As for Historical accuracy, it is always best to go to the library or consult The History Station and equivalents.

We saw the film when it first came out and just recently picked up the DVD. It is still very enjoyable if you take it for what it is. Interesting it's predecessor BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) does not hold up as well and it's historical distortions are more irritating. Character Blanche (Estelle Parsons) needs to stop a bullet early in the film.

If I am looking for a tough bank robber, I could not find a better one than Warren Oates. His portrayal of John Dillinger was spot on. He has the gangster look; no baby face for him.

The question throughout was whether Dillinger was the most self-absorbed or was it Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson), the man who smoked 50 cent Montecristos while he chased Dillinger and others. 50 cents in 1933 was a lot of money for a cigar! Lots of shooting and lots of blood in this film that also featured singer Michelle Phillips, Cloris Leachman, Geoffrey Lewis, and Richard Dreyfuss.

There are a lot of laughs in the film, too. It was a good story that kept you interested until the end.

Michael Mann's massively budgeted and heavily promoted "Public Enemies" was somewhat of a disappointment, at least to me personally, and thus I went searching for other cinematic versions of the John Dillinger/Melvin Purvis saga. I quickly came across this biopic and it immediately looked a lot more like my preference. "Dillinger" is an early 70's film (the best era for cinema), with a splendid cast and an incredibly violent character. I don't know why exactly, but back in the seventies they were better at re-creating the desolate and grim 1930's Depression Era than they are nowadays. The atmosphere and scenery used in "Dillinger" feels a lot more authentic than in "Public Enemies", despite the fact this AIP-production probably didn't even cost one tenth to make. The life- story of John Dillinger is well-known. He was an eloquent but dangerous bank robber in the Midwest area during the Depression era, but became particularly immortal when he was declared public enemy number one by the FBI and idolized by the newspapers and media. Dillinger always collaborated with loyal and almost equally infamous partners (Homer Van Meter, Harry Pierpont, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd) and wasn't ashamed to make public appearances with his girlfriend Billie. Melvis Purvis, head of the Chicago bureau and right hand of FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover, devoted himself to capturing and killing Dillinger and his gang. The film is narrated in a more or less chronological order, with the emphasis lying on Dillinger's ego and Purvis' personal vendetta. Most of the criticism towards "Dillinger" comes from people claiming the script, penned down by director John Milius, isn't always fully accurate. Probably so, but this merely concerns unessential details and – besides – if all movies based on true stories would be 100% accurate, they would be called documentaries instead. I believe the facts are only slightly altered and that strictly for entertainment purposes. The bank robberies and shootouts naturally form the highlights of the movie. They are quite extended and very, VERY violent. Multiple cops and robbers are literally perforated with machine gun ammunition and John Milius blatantly depicts the bloody carnage of these battles. The soundtrack is great and very apt, with "The Gold Diggers' Song" and "Happy Days are Here Again". The casting is extraordinary. With his rough looks and almost naturally criminal charisma, Warren Oates is the best imaginable choice ever to play John Dillinger. If you look up some pictures of the real John Dillinger, you'll be stunned by the resemblance he bears with Warren Oates. I love Johnny Depp and all, but this role belongs to Oates forevermore. Ben Johnson is terrific as FBI man Melvin Purvis and Michelle Phillips (1/4th of "The Mamas and the Papas") is quite convincing in her film debut as the love-interest Billie. Furthermore there are several fantastic supportive roles for Harry Dean Stanton (one of the most underrated actors ever) as Homer Van Meter, Geoffrey Lewis as Harry Pierpont and a very young and hardly recognizable Richard Dreyfuss as the ill-tempered and nasty Baby Face Nelson.

This film looks at the final years of the infamous bank robber. Ineptly written and directed by Milius, the story has no narrative flow. It's a series of vignettes that become repetitive and tiresome. There are a lot of shootouts but the action scenes are poorly executed, with overly dramatic deaths. The acting is mostly bad. Oates seems miscast in the title role. Although Dillinger died at 31, Oates was 45 when this was filmed but looked even older. Also, he plays Dillinger as something of a goof ball rather than a tough guy. Johnson does OK as G-Man Ellison. Oates and Johnson played brothers in the classic "The Wild Bunch," but this will never be mistaken for a classic.