The Lady In Red (1979)

A young farm girl (Pamela Sue Martin) runs away from her abusive religious fanatic father and goes to Chicago. From there, she works as a seamstress then a taxi dancer then a prostitute then a waitress in a diner which is where she meets the notorious gangster John Dillinger (Robert Conrad). Written by John Sayles and directed by Lewis Teague (CUJO). This is a highly fictionalized account of the life of Polly Hamilton (called Polly Franklin in the film), the woman who was on Dillinger's arm the night he was gunned down by the FBI in front of the Biograph theatre. The film has the feel of one of those socially conscious gangster movies churned out by Warner Brothers in the 1930s. It touches on prison conditions, exploitation of workers, racism among other subjects. Curiously, the film portrays Dillinger as a rather likable nice guy and we never see him performing any criminal activities. In actuality, the "lady in red" was not Martin's character as portrayed in the film but the ex-madam (Louise Fletcher) who doesn't wear red in the film at all. Conrad is rather bland and should have switched roles with Robert Forster, also playing a gangster, who has far more charisma and is a better actor. The film features the first film score by James Horner (TITANIC). With Christopher Lloyd, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller and Peter Hobbs.