Review of Dillinger (1945) by Sam C — 16 Jul 2012

Growing up I was always interested in gangsters. I don't know a whole lot of history for gangsters but one subject I've always known a little on was the John Dillinger era. In his time he was Public Enemy Number One because of the banks he and his gang robbed. I have also been interested in gangster films my whole life and I'm always interested in seeing ones I've never seen so when I found the movie Dillinger (1945) I was a bit excited since it was about John Dillinger. Although it is not great, nor tells the story of John Dillinger that good, it is still an enjoyable 70 minutes. This movie has some qualities that make a gangster film great but also has some moments where the movie seems weak.

Dillinger follows the life of John Dillinger (played by Lawrence Tierney) as he starts out as a petty thief and his rise in power. After committing a small robbery Dillinger is sent to prison for just a little while since his crime wasn't major. In jail he meets Specs Green (played by Edmund Lowe), at first they start out on the wrong side but after awhile they become friends. Spec introduces Dillinger to his gang who are a group of bank robbers and except Dillinger into the gang. Once Dillinger is released from jail he finds a way to get the whole gang out of jail, once he get's them out the start their crime spree and become the polices number one priority.

To be honest this movie shouldn't have been called Dillinger, this movie shouldn't have even been about John Dillinger because they really didn't get much right. From what I know they only got a couple things right and the rest was just made up. Even though this movie didn't get much right about the history of John Dillinger the movie itself is actually not that bad at all, far from perfect but still a good gangster flick. From the beginning to the end this movies story kept me interested although it did have some problems. I thought the story to this movie was actually very well written. The dialogue was good (with the exception of some lines), the story telling was very good (with the exception of some predictable moments), and the character development was great. This whole movie you see character changing and it's just so interesting to watch and the actors did so well at playing their roles. Sometimes the dialogue is a bit cheesy and some things are predictable and some editing is pretty bad but it's easy to get past that, overall this is a pretty good screenplay by Philip Yordan.

As far as acting goes this movie had some pretty good performances. All the characters in this movie were written great and the cast did a great job at portraying their characters. From the start to the movie to the very end you see John Dillinger changing and Lawrence Tierney does a wonderful job at showing that. Sometimes he feels just like a normal guy but in some scenes he feels like a very dark person who is just messed up in the head. Another performance that is very good in this film is by Edmund Lowe who plays Spec Green. I saw Specs changing a lot and thought he was a very good character and well acted by Lowe, he was a good mentor to Dillinger. The only performance in this movie that wasn't that great is from Anne Jeffreys who plays Helen Rogers, the character wasn't anything special and any young actress could have done it.

In the end you get a pretty good gangster flick, forgettable but a fun time for the 70 minutes your watching it. This movie is not really a story about John Dillinger's real life; it's just a story about a group of bank robbers that includes a few things about Dillinger's life that is written very well. This movie does have it's up and it's downs but overall I would recommend this movie. If you just want to see a good gangster flick this is a movie to watch, if you want a great movie about the life of John Dillinger I recommend you try and find something else to watch. In a world that has many gangster classics and greats this is nothing compared to them but still a very good watch.