Main Cast: Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Michelle Phillips, Cloris Leachman, Harry Dean Stanton
Release Year: 1973
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
John Milius's first directorial effort in its own small way set the stage in the 1970s for a subgenre of action films that depict a nostalgia for historical figures tinged with a hard-edged skepticism. Warren Oates stars as John Dillinger, whose short-lived career as Public Enemy No.1 was, at least according to Milius, promoted by Dillinger with a self-absorbed boosterism, comforting his victims by telling them, "Someday you'll tell your grandchildren about this." The film captures the highlights of Dillinger's criminal career, as seen through the eyes of Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson), the FBI agent whose obsession with capturing Dillinger led to Dillinger's death in the back alley of Chicago's Biograph Theater. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Of the rash of Depression-era gangster films that followed in the wake of Bonnie and Clyde, the best found something new to do with the genre. However accidental Arthur Penn's revival of the gangster film, John Milius' directorial debut seems like an intentional attempt to have the last word, portraying gangster life as violent, unpleasant, and brief. Memorably acted by Warren Oates, John Dillinger is portrayed as a sadistic, egomaniacal creep, and his antagonist, G-man Melvin Purvis (also well-acted by fellow Wild Bunch-er Ben Johnson), as an only slightly more sympathetic, vengeance-obsessed prig. The course of the film softens the images of both, but only after their lives descend into increasingly frequent bloodshed. Joining Dillinger after his career is well under way, Milius has no interest in examining what made him the man he is, only an interest in his actions and their wider social implications. Working within apparent budget restrictions, the director does a remarkable job of re-creating period details and manages some impressive shoot-outs. But it is Oates' portrayal of Dillinger's compulsive need for celebrity and unwillingness to surrender the gangster lifestyle, as well as colorful supporting turns by Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss, and others that make this exemplary B-movie linger in the memory. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
Richard Dreyfuss - Baby Face Nelson; Robert H. Harris - Ed Fulton; Roy Jenson - Samuel Cowley; Steve Kanaly - Pretty Boy Floyd; Geoffrey Lewis - Harry Pierpont; John Martino - Eddie Martin; Frank McRae - Reed Youngblood; Read Morgan - Big Jim Wollard; John Ryan - Charles Mackley; Jerry Summers - Tommy Carroll; Terry J. Leonard - Theodore "Handsome Jack" Klutas
Credit
Trevor Williams - Art Director, James George - Costume Designer, Barbara Siebert-Boticoff - Costume Designer, Donald C. Klune - First Assistant Director, John Milius - Director, Barry de Vorzon - Composer (Music Score), Sam Coslow - Songwriter, Alexis Dubin - Songwriter, W. Franke Harling - Songwriter, Arthur Johnston - Songwriter, Leo Robin - Songwriter, Richard Rodgers - Songwriter, Harry Warren - Songwriter, Richard A. Whiting - Songwriter, Seymour Simons - Songwriter, Harry Gillespie - Songwriter, Tom Ellingwood - Makeup, Jules Brenner - Cinematographer, Samuel Z. Arkoff - Producer, Buzz Feitshans - Producer, Lawrence Gordon - Producer, Robert A. Papazian - Producer, Charles R. Pierce - Set Designer, Cliff Wenger - Special Effects, A.D. Flowers - Special Effects, Don Johnson - Sound/Sound Designer, Max Kleven - Stunts, John Milius - Screenwriter, Lorenz Hart - Featured Music
It stars Warren Oates as the violent gangster John Dillinger in Depression Era America and Ben Johnson as his pursuer, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. The movie, narrated by Purvis, chronicles the last few years of Dillinger's life (depicted as a matter of months) as the FBI and law enforcement closed in.
The movie features unapologetic and largely unromanticized depictions of the principal characters, allowing for character depth and development which is rarely seen in the "shoot-em-up" genre. The compelling performances and clever script created a film which, over time, has transcended its B-movie production values. It was written and directed by John Milius for Samuel Z. Arkoff's American International Pictures.
Retired FBI Agent Clarence Hurt, one of the agents involved in the final shoot out with Dillinger, was the film's technical advisor.
The movie was followed by two made-for-TV spin-offs: Melvin Purvis: G-Man (1974) (teleplay written by Milius) and The Kansas City Massacre (1975), both directed by Dan Curtis and each starring Dale Robinson as Purvis.
