The people responsible for Public Enemies, led by director Michael Mann, have given us another reason to revisit the world of the 1930s maverick criminals. This new movie is a smart blend of contemporary style and Depression–era nostalgia. The basis of the film is a recent book by Bryan Burrough using extensive research of government files – Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34.

Public Enemies is touted to be the most historically accurate portrayal of this tumultuous period. Given the book source and Mann’s well-known attention to period authenticity, this is likely true. Great History’s crime writer, Paul Davis, evaluates the history behind the movie in a series of articles on the subject. I found the FBI’s use of technology in the film, including wiretaps and voice recordings, to be a fascinating revelation. My focus, however, is the ongoing attraction in films and popular media of these criminals and the law enforcement officers who pursued them.

JOHN DILLINGER
The most famous of the 1930s gangsters was John Dillinger, the Indiana malcontent who became the title character in five dramas and numerous documentaries, was a key character in several other films and is the most prominent outlaw in Public Enemies. Given the rare opportunity in that era to hold court with reporters (after his capture in Tucson), Dillinger’s notoriety, charisma and charm won him a perverse admiration among the public at a time when economic classism and financial mismanagement turned the population against bankers.

So great was Dillinger’s influence as a folk hero during the Depression that the first motion picture about him was not released until 1945 because the Hayes Office (the industry’s censoring body at the time) would not allow it. Even then the film, Dillinger, was independently produced by the King Brothers for a smaller studio, Monogram. Lawrence Tierney, who later established a career as a character actor, interpreted Dillinger as a confident tough guy in a movie that opened with Dillinger’s father appealing to the audience of a film within the film; that scene seems to serve as a warning for parents to be watchful of young people rebelling against the law, a moral message that would have made the film more palatable to the censors. Essentially a melodrama (like Manhattan Melodrama, the film Dillinger saw the night of his death) it has action, story and performances that make it a very watchable film.

These films also brought Dillinger and his associates, including “Baby Face” Nelson and “Pretty Boy” Floyd, to the big screen. Dillinger (1973), written and directed by John Milius (Big Wednesday, Apocalypse Now) took advantage of the 70s’ penchant for realistic, graphic violence. The title character, Warren Oates, is thought by many to possess the best physical resemblance to Dillinger, although Ben Johnson seems more like a grizzled Western sheriff than the real-life FBI agent Melvin Purvis. The film is action-packed, colorful and violent. Look for a young Richard Dreyfuss to stand out as “Baby Face” Nelson. The Lady in Red (1979) directed by Lewis Teague for New World Pictures focuses on Dillinger’s association with a Romanian madam and Polly, one of her girls, in the weeks before his death. The film was one of Roger Corman’s low-budget features stocked with emerging talent including Robert Conrad (Dillinger), Pamela Sue Martin (Polly), Louise Fletcher (madam Anna Sage) and Christopher Lloyd in a minor role. The screenplay was written by John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus Seven, Baby It’s You) and the score composed by James Horner (Braveheart, Titanic).

JOHNNY DEPP
Johnny Depp’s engaging portrayal of John Dillinger captures the essential attributes of the man’s character with an easy style that is so familiar to Depp fans. He builds a characterization that ranges from sensitive to coldly calculating as the need requires. If Dillinger was as clever and confident as Depp portrays him in Public Enemies it is understandable why he became such a popular figure in newsreels, magazines and newspapers of the day. An equally strong performance is turned in by Christian Bale as Special Agent Melvin Purvis. Bale studied the life of his character thoroughly, even talking with Purvis’ son, and creates a performance that is memorable in a film with many noteworthy elements.

One can really appreciate the setting of Public Enemies with the style, tones and essential details that went into recreating the period and events; some scenes were shot on the locations where they actually occurred. And a whole lot of “Tommy Guns” fire a whole bunch of bullets throughout the film. (Did these guys actually take that long to die?) Add to these aspects many strong performances, fluid camerawork (with some very extreme close-ups), an eclectic music mix and a solid storyline that delivers right to the film’s end. While all of the films mentioned can provide interesting entertainment, Public Enemies could well be the best of these and may achieve the status of a top-tier crime film.

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