Dillinger (1945)

Director:

Max Nosseck

Writer:

Philip Yordan (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

2 March 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

SHOCK-BY-SHOCK STORY OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS BANDIT OF OUR TIMES!! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

The rise of John Dillinger from petty criminal (including, unforgiveably, holding up a cinema) via prison...

Plot Keywords:

Jailbreak | Bank Robbery | Axe | Tear Gas | Armed Robbery

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Edmund Lowe	...	Specs Green
Anne Jeffreys	...	Helen Rogers
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Marco Minelli (as Eduardo Cianelli)
Marc Lawrence	...	Doc Madison
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Kirk Otto
Ralph Lewis	...	Tony
Elsa Janssen	...	Mrs. Otto (as Else Jannsen)
Ludwig Stössel	...	Mr. Otto (as Ludwig Stossel)
Constance Worth	...	Blonde
Lawrence Tierney	...	John Dillinger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Noble 'Kid' Chissel	...	Watchman (uncredited)
William B. Davidson	...	Bank President (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Dentist (Dr. Rex Spang) (uncredited)
Victor Kilian	...	Pa Dillinger (uncredited)
Walter Long	...	Mug in police lineup (uncredited)
Lou Lubin	...	Walter (uncredited)
Jack Mulhall	...	(uncredited)
Billy Nelson	...	Watchman (uncredited)
Bob Perry	...	Proprietor (uncredited)
Hugh Prosser	...	Guard (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Lee 'Lasses' White	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Max Nosseck

Writing credits
Philip Yordan		(screenplay)
William Castle		uncredited

Produced by
Frank King	....	producer
Maurice King	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Jackson Rose

Film Editing by
Edward Mann

Art Direction by
Frank Paul Sylos		(as F. Paul Sylos)

Production Management
Clarence Bricker	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Fox	....	assistant director

Art Department
Vince Taylor	....	interior decorator

Sound Department
Tom Lambert	....	sound engineer (as Thomas Lambert)

Special Effects by
Ray Mercer	....	special effects

Music Department
Edward Haire	....	music editor

Other crew
Leon Charles	....	dialogue coach
Herman King	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• King Brothers Productions

Distributors

• Monogram Pictures Corporation (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Monogram Pictures Corporation (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Allied Artists Video Corp. (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Key Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

John Dillinger, Killer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #10511)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

King Brothers Productions

Trivia:

Many conservative social and religious groups demanded that the film be withdrawn or banned outright because of what they considered its "brutal and sensational" subject matter. The Chicago Censorship Board banned the film from being shown in Chicago for two years.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Dillinger and Helen are walking to the movie theatre (about 1:06 into the film), the shadow of the boom mike can be seen on the brick wall above the children watching the man with the monkey.

Quotes:

Helen Rogers: Who lives here?
John Dillinger: What do you care?
Helen Rogers: Well, I just like to know where I am.
John Dillinger: You're with me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'Reservoir Dogs' Revisited (2005) (TV)

Inaccurate and clumsy, yes, but entertaining

I was aware of Tierney from Reservoir Dogs and "Seinfeld", but not his early career until I saw Dillinger and Born to Kill. He is one of the great, largely unrediscovered actors of postwar, tough guy films -- with a fascinating way of switching from menacing psycho to hurt little boy and back again, all within seconds. Hopefully, more of his movies will be released on DVD.

In Dillinger, when Tierney first meets Anne Jeffreys, the clock in back of her box office booth clearly says Gruen (the manufacturer) on its face. But when Tierney goes in to see the movie, there's a dissolve to what is obviously supposed to be the same clock, indicating passage of time. In the second clock shot,however, there is no Gruen label.

The movie makes a point of telling us most of the action takes place in the Midwest, specifically Indiana -- with the help of at least four newspaper mockups: the Indiana Journal, the Evansville Courier, the Indianapolis World and the South Bend Daily Press. But when a "be-on-the-lookout", all-points bulletin is issued for Dillinger, a montage of the dragnet features a city map clearly labeled as Los Angeles and showing the Southern Calfornia cities of Inglewood and El Segundo.

Check out Anne Jeffreys going into the Biograph with Tierney near the end. Shot from the rear, the only word to describe her is 'steatopygous'.