Dillinger (1973) (Gangster Flick)

[cigar joe]

I picked up this excellent DVD from Amazon the other day. Directed by John Milius, this is another great Warren Oates performance as Public Enemy #1, John Dillinger.

The film has a fantastic supporing cast with an equally great Ben "I'm going to smoke one of these cigars over each one of these crooks dead bodies" Johnson as G-Man Melvin Purvis in what has to be his best perfomance that I've seen (he practically steals the picture) and also MNIN's Geoffrey Lewis as Harry Pierpont, Harry Dean Stanton as Homer Van Meter, Richard Dryfuss as Baby Face Nelson, Steve Kanaly as Pretty Boy Floyd, Frank McRea as Reed Youngblood, Michelle Phillips as Billie Frechette, and Cloris Leachman as the "Lady in Red"

The film is entertaining through out, as good or even better than Bonnie & Clyde. with a lot more action sequences and a minimal love story that doesn't tie it down.

It could have stood to be a little longer and devloped the characters a bit more, it starts in the middle of Dillingers crime spree, so we don't really find out what drove him in that direction, but since it was the depression its probably similar to all the wayward biographies of the gangsters of that time period. Its a little loose with the actual facts ie., Harry Pierpont was actually executed by electrocution, not killed by the cops on a bridge, and "Baby Face" was killed 4 months after Dillinger. But its a drama not a documentary.

There is a sequence near the beginning during a getaway where a woman is brutally run over and the death scene of Baby Face Nelson is not to be missed, the death grin on Dreyfuss' face is pretty creepy.

All in all a great watch & worth it. A must for Warren Oates fans.

[Arizona Colt]

Warren Oates is also good in DRUM 1976 if a bit over the top. It's amazing the dialog he delivers here. Nothing like this could be done today. He is in good company though with Yaphett Kotto, Fiona Lewis, Pam Grier, Ken Norton (broke Ali's jaw in round 1!), John Calicos and Royal Dano among others.

Oates was equally adept at horror alongside Peter Fonda in the horror-action hybrid RACE WITH THE DEVIL 1975 one of the biggest hits of that year and set for a remake directed by the great 70s action director Jack Starrett who played Gabby in BLAZING SADDLES 1974.

[Leone Admirer]

Hi Joe, have you seen the original Dillinger from 1945 starring the excellent and threatning Laurence Tierney and the excellent character actor Elisha Cook Jr? It can be found in the WB Film Noir Vol. 2 boxset. I also heartily recomend the new Bogie Vol.2 set the new transfer of the Maltese Falcon is incredible. I'm going to have a Bogie fest starting next week 

[cigar joe]

I haven't seen it recently, but I do remember it. 

[Groggy]

I've got this film somewhere on my Netflix queue, I really hope I get to see it before watching Public Enemies.

[The Firecracker]

I've got this film somewhere on my Netflix queue, I really hope I get to see it before watching Public Enemies.

You could always catch it on youtube...

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqtrI_gCQq0&feature=related

[Groggy]

Groggyfucius Say: If there be anyway to watch movie not on YouTube, take the opportunity.

[Groggy]

As the DVD is listed as being a "long wait" on Netflix, Groggyfucius may have to bend to the Firecracker's wisdom...

[Amaze]

I have seldom seen better casting than in this gangster classic, which is without a doubt the best movie ever made on John Dillinger. I disagree with the reviewers who say Ben Johnson was miscast as Melvin Purvis. I think he was perfect in the role although his character really came out looking like a villian. I know that this film gets many facts wrong, but it is a movie, not a documentary. Warren Oates looks a lot like Dillinger & gives a flawless performance. I don't know why he didn't become a bigger star after this was released. Although filmed over 30 years ago, the shootouts are some of the best I've ever seen in any action movie. In fact, I think the only movie that tops "Dillinger" in shootouts is 1995's "Heat". This has a brilliant blend of action & romance that will command everyone's attention from start to finish. The dvd's picture quality is good but not great.

sounds good really. downloading it now

[Groggy]

YouTube only has up to part six, whether from copyright issues or the gentleman hasn't gotten around to the rest of it.

[cigar joe]

Watched this again tonight, lots of great action sequences, going to be hard to top, I guess we'll see. Now I wonder if Purvis is going to smoke a cigar over each dead body, or if the PC police will ban smoking from this flick, lol.

[Groggy]

Watched the Little Bohemia shootout and the killing of Dillinger from this film on YouTube. Both scenes are ludicrously inaccurate and I daresay not very well-staged either, particularly Purvis's killing Dillinger. Mann's portrayal of the former event is rather inaccurate too, but this is just ridiculous.

I still have this movie on my Netflix queue but it's listed as a "long wait" so I doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon.

Was the cigar-smoking a Milius/Ben Johnson touch? Because nothing I've read indicated Purvis did that sort of thing (not to mention being half Johnson's age).

[cigar joe]

It was a Milius-Ben Johnson touch, Milius was going more for the Myth & Legend lager than life Dillinger vs larger than life Purvis, Mann was going for accuracy with an inaccurate time line.

[Groggy]

Seems fair enough to me, however I'll still go into the film proper with reservations.

[Dust Devil]

Started watching this today and barely finished it (had to cut it to three 40 minutes sessions). Gangster flicks were never really my thing, but I can recognize a classic, and Dillinger in not one of those in my book. I liked the action scenes (accurate or not, you be the judge), not so much the 'developed characters' and the dialogue, in which I couldn't find any of John Milius' notorious wittiness. Warren Oates and the rest of the cast get a positive grade, though. All in all blank gangsta flick, for fans of the genre only.


5/10