Dillinger (1945)

Arrested for robbing a grocery store of $7, a shiftless young man (Lawrence Tierney) is sent to prison. It is there that he forms a gang and when he gets out, he breaks the gang out of prison and they begin a reign of terror by killing and robbing. It isn't long before the FBI declares him public enemy no. 1. Directed by Max Nosseck (THE RETURN OF RIN TIN TIN), this highly fictionalized gangster movie about the notorious John Dillinger received an Oscar nomination for Philip Yordan's screenplay. The product of poverty row studio Monogram Pictures, this crime film is tough, violent and fast moving. Director Nosseck pushes the movie forward with a tight and lean pace. The film makes no attempt to show Dillinger as a guy gone bad because of society or his background nor does it glamourize him. He's a selfish cold blooded killer and Tierney chillingly plays him to perfection. As his moll, Anne Jeffreys gives what is her best film performance. She never again got a movie part this good. The banal underscore is by Dimitri Tiomkin. With Edmund Lowe, Eduardo Ciannelli, Marc Lawrence and Elisha Cook Jr.