24 May 2012

Lawrence Tierney becomes a star in vintage crime drama

This is definitely one of Hollywood's first (if not the very first) movies about the notorious gangster, John Dillinger. Lawrence Tierney plays him to perfection as he guns down his victims while his cold, emotionless face shows no remorse. One of the most brutal scenes of all the gangster classics is when Tierney discovers an elderly couple about to phone the police & turn him in, & promptly guns them down. While this isn't a very accurate account of Dillinger's life, the main elements are there, especially the mysterious "lady in red" who betrays Dillinger to the police. Unfortunately, little time is spent on the details of his many bank robberies, but after all, this is a crime drama, not a documentary. Although largely forgotten today, this was a big success back in 1945, making Lawrence Tierney a star. His acclaimed performance in this classic led to starring roles in some great film noirs & gangster dramas: "Born to Kill"-1947, "The Devil Thumbs a Ride"-1947, "Bodyguard"-1948, "Shakedown"-1950, "The Hoodlum"-1951. If you like an entertaining gangster flick & aren't too picky about getting the facts right then this one's for you.

whpratt1

24 May 2012

GREATEST CAST OF FILM ACTORS !

Always enjoy viewing this picture with all the Classicactors, namely:- Edmund Lowe (Specs Green) "Front Page Detective"TV Series'51; Eduardo Ciannelli (Marco Minelli) "Staccato" '59 TV series; MarcLawrence (Doc Madison) "Charlie Chan in Honolulu"'38; Elisha Cook Jr.,(KirkOtto) "I Wake Up Screaming" '42 and last but not least, Lawrence Tierney(John Dillinger) "Reservoir Dogs" '92. This film was truly the greatestDillinger film ever produced because of these great actors, who were thebest gangster actors in the 1930's and 40's in Hollywood. However, LawrenceTierney really was the Star of this film, with his hateful cold blooded eyesof death, his eyes of evil and hatred over powered his audiences and showedhow the real Dillinger's mind actually worked. This film will alwaysportray the true story of JOHN DILLINGER!

23 May 2012

Making His Bones?

This review is from: Dillinger (DVD) Lawrence Tierney paid an unmatched tribute to the 20th Century Jesse James, John Dillinger, not only bringing a landmark testament to an American folk legend but setting a new standard for cinema tough guys in the process. Though it is a weak biography (heavy on the drama and light on factual events), Tierney's impression of a ruthless bandit stands alone in the genre. For crime movie buffs, 30's-40's flick lovers and Tierney fans, this is one you won't do without.

22 May 2012

John Dillingers Deadly Game..

This review is from: Dillinger [VHS] (VHS Tape) Lawrence Tierney is convincing as John Dillinger in this 1945 gangster film "Dillinger", based on truth and fictional events. The film starts with Dillinger as a small time hood who is put away behind bars for a robbery, building up to his public enemy #1 status. John Dillinger becomes the country's most wanted outlaw. The film doesn't waste any time getting to the point, running a short seventy eight minutes. The story covers important exploits of the notorious gangster,although the film also portrays a couple murders that Dillinger never actually committed. Lawrence Tierney does his part, but not the same impact of Warren Oates in his career best performance as the outlaw - "Dillinger" is an interesting look about a man who lived dangerously and drove down the fast lane to the fatal end,accompanied by the lady in red,(Anne Jeffreys). Twentieth Century Fox VHS - good transfer, b&w. Johnny Depp as Dillinger?

20 May 2012

Inaccurate and simplistic, but who cares when youve got Lawrence Tierney!

Max Nosseck, one of the lesser-known German emigrees to Hollywood during the golden age (this is far and away his best-known film, and it's got under 600 votes on IMDb) directs this first telling of the Dillinger story with flare and simplicity, making for a reasonably exciting and watchable, compact noirish gangster story that has very little to do with real events. Given that William Castle was an uncredited screenwriter (along with the credited Philip Yordan, one of the ace film noir writers) and that this was made for c-grade Monogram, I guess that's not surprising, though you'd think that, being made less than a dozen years after the real John Dillinger was gunned down outside of the Biograph in Chicago (yes, they do get this part sort-of right) there'd be some concern that the public would resent the obvious distortions. Oh well, I guess not.The film has a rather interesting opening, with an audience watching a newsreel on Dillinger, after which a man comes out who purports to be Dillinger's father and who then introduces the story we see. This is a completely ruthless, cold and pretty nearly inhuman portrait, played by steely-eyed Lawrence Tierney in his first significant role; there's no subtlety here, no real character development, no attempt to get into "why a man goes bad" or anything like that, apart from the critical (and rather silly) scene where the insulted, poor youn Dillinger gets mad and steals a few bucks from a shopkeeper in order to buy his girl a drink - one insult to his manly ego leads to a life of crime, I guess.But no matter, what it lacks in "realism" and accuracy, the film generally makes up for in the fluid storytelling and the general excellence of its cast, starting with the frightening Tierney but also including the relatively obscure Anne Jeffreys as his dame Helen Rogers, silent star-turned-character actor Edmund Lowe as his mentor/eventual rival Specs, and the great Elisha Cook Jr in a relatively low-key and thankless role as a henchman. Tierney went on to do BORN TO KILL a couple of years later, which really established him as one of the best of the cold-blooded noir anti-heros (or charismatic villains, take your pick), and his acting certainly improved over time - he gives some great late performances as crusty old mentors (usually of the gangster type) in films like TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE and RESERVOIR DOGS - but he's well worth watching in this debut. Not a great film by any means, but well worth a look for fans of noir or gangster films or any of the great cast.DVD NOTE: as a couple of others have mentioned, there are some slight issues with the transfer here - though it looks razor-sharp, there are a couple of noticeable drop-outs of a few seconds, and the sound doesn't always seem perfectly synched. Not a huge issue for me, but you should be aware. John Milius, who made his own DILLINGER 28 years later, provides a fairly entertaining commentary.

19 May 2012

Holy Guacamole!!

Lawrence Tierney is one bad dude. This is an excellent crime-noir, introducing Lawrence Tierney and unleashing him on the unsuspecting public. Mr Tierney stars as John Dillinger in this film of his rise and fall. Dillinger starts on his life of crime at the hands of a b-girl. He gets sent up the river where he falls in with a group of professional bank thieves. The leader, "Specs", disrespects our Man, and you know where that leads. Be afraid! There is a lot of implied violence which is very chillingly portrayed. The movie is beautiful to look at and Mr Tierney is all cold nasty, sexy rage. Recommended.

Pleasehelpmejesus

19 May 2012

None

If anyone knows who played the Black prisoner in the cell next toTierney's Dillinger and the waiter Dillinger attacks with the beerstein I would appreciate their posting it. Also wanted to note that theonly other comment I've seen posted does a good job on this film andmentions Tierney's brother, actor Scott Brady, but doesn't mention hismore famous sister, the beautiful Gene Tierney. I suppose it was his rather prickly personality that prevented Tierneyfrom attaining the legendary status of some of his contemporaries but alook at "Dillinger" will make you wonder what would have been had hehad the career his talent and charisma merits.If anyone plans to watch this on DVD I must say that John Milius'commentary is one of the worst and most superfluous I've ever heard.Not the least reason being that one has to turn the volume way up tohear it and then lower it fast during passages of film dialogue becauseit's turned up so high for the commentary. It's not a very informativeone either. It doesn't even contain the interesting tidbit that theactor who played Mr. Otto (the lodge owner)Ludwig Stossel went on tokitsch fame as The Little Old Wine Maker for Italian Swiss Colony's TVcommercials.Despite this gangster film and film noir fans will really enjoy thisone. Tierney's performance really shines and makes up for some scriplapses and budget shortcuts. Look for the scene in which "Specs" tellshim to 'smile'. Perfect.

LCShackley

18 May 2012

Almost completely fictional account of Dillingers life

This film bears about as close a relation to the facts of Dillinger'slife as Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" did to that other set ofoutlaws. It's amazing that a film made about a decade after thehistorical events could play so loosely with the truth, when theaudience would no doubt remember the real story.It's also a cheap production, with re-usable sets, bad rearprojections, and the substitution of California scenery for the Midwestof the story. The acting isn't bad, but the script feels more like aset of snapshots being flipped as fast as a deck of cards.John Milius (who did his own Dillinger pic in the 70s) does acommentary on the DVD, which is interesting, but he's also unsure ofmany facts in the story. May I recommend the book "Dillinger's WildRide" if you'd like a historical, documented account.

vitaleralphlouis

17 May 2012

9 Times Better than 2009s Public Enemies

Amazing that 60+ years ago the low-budget Monogram Pictures made thisDillinger movie 9 times better than Universal's 2009 sorry lookingmess, "Public Enemies." This 1945 movie grabs you from the openingcredits and keeps your interest for the entire 70 minutes. That'sright, 70 minutes. There's no need to pad this story into a 2 hour +boring mess.To begin with, and all-important, it's true that Lawrence Tierney wasborn to play Dillinger. He's perfect. Johnny Depp maybe was born toplay Jack Sparrow, but he stumbles around looking stupid in the 2009film.Just everything about the 1945 clicks like clockwork. Just one exampleis the simple-but-effective shootout at the Biograph Theater. The 2009film ought get special honors for incredible multiple layers of BadFilm-making 101. In the 1945 gut-level film we have a bored and brokeDillinger taking his girl to the neighborhood movie for a few laughs.In the old days people went in and out of movie theaters all day, notat starting time. Thus when Dillinger steps outside there are just twopeople leaving, not the 500 marching out in "Public Enemies." So theFBI can easily spray him with bullets without hitting other folks.This fine Monogram Picture can be found on Netflix and other places. Noneed to settle for today's silly trash.

17 May 2012

Lawrence Tierney is COMING FOR YA!

Viewed: 10/08Rate: 710/08: John Dillinger was one of the most famous criminals from the Depression era and symbolized the mythical drape of a heroic looking criminal (shall I say Robin Hood?). Well, of course, even more notorious than him is the story of how he died at the theatre after being escorted out with a woman in the red. John Dillinger was so famous that he was brandished the first original Public Enemy Number One whether it's true or not. Of course, a movie had to be made about him, and the results are somewhat mixed. One thing for sure is that Dillinger found itself stuck in 40's mentality, restraining much of the potential the lead character had. Lawrence Tierney is awesome in his role as the menacing two-faced John Dillinger, and if he was allowed to be seen pushing the envelope even further, that would have been a performance of his lifetime. In short, he was quite good. Unfortunately, the film lacks enough of realism and gritty moments. Whenever the moment occurs, it's ninety percent obfuscated and one hundred percent presumption. On the other hand, I didn't feel anyone's character was developed well enough, and Dillinger would have been a more interesting picture if it did occur. Easily the worst part of Dillinger is how it ends. I thought the ending was so lackluster that I had to view it as "blah..." A couple of well known actors took part in Dillinger: Elisha Cook, Jr. of The Maltese Falcon and Marc Lawrence the film noir veteran and of The Asphalt Jungle. I liked Anne Jeffreys' performance as well, and she is a looker, perfect for 40's black-and-white films. It's easy to see why the role suited Lawrence Tierney so perfectly well because he was a bad boy in real life. If there is any indication of that, don't look any further than Reservoir Dogs as Nice Guy Eddie's father and Seinfeld as Elaine's father and made Jerry Seinfeld and George Constanza to squirm. That's Lawrence Tierney, all right. One of the best parts about Dillinger is its short running time of seventy minutes. That's very helpful but harms the idea of making a biopic out of John Dillinger while detailing the great many bank robberies and daring prison escapes. All in all, Dillinger is worth watching and solely for Lawrence Tierney. He was quite cold and also very good, one of the greatest villainous performances. It's funny when I suddenly remember when Lawrence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs said, "Dead as Dillinger." Sorry pal, Dillinger, to me, isn't regarded a film noir.

bkoganbing

16 May 2012

The Baddest Bandit Of The Twentieth Century

It's too bad that the first film tribute to the baddest bandit of thelast century was done by Poverty Row Monogram Pictures. And whileLawrence Tierney is certainly brutal enough to portray that aspect ofJohn Dillinger's personality, the charm that was also part of Dillingerwas left out. It's possible a good deal was left on the cutting roomfloor of Monogram.Both Johnny Depp's Public Enemies and even more so the film Dillingerthat starred Warren Oates in the title role were far closer to thetruth than this was. To be sure Dillinger's legendary escape from anIndiana jail with a fake wooden gun and the matter of his demise wereincluded if not completely accurately. You couldn't have a film aboutDillinger without them.No deep psychological insights into John Dillinger here. He was just amean anti-social individual who took to a life of crime. In most othertimes he would have not been glamorized. But this was The GreatDepression and bankers were not popular back in those days. They wereforeclosing left and right and when they weren't doing that they werefailing, robbing people of life savings. So if Dillinger and his kindwere taking out withdrawals their way, who really cared?Dillinger while in prison for a two bit convenience store stickup meetsup with old time bank robber Edmund Lowe and the rest of the gang whichconsists of Eduardo Ciannelli, Elisha Cook, and Marc Lawrence. Tierneyas Dillinger bust them out of the joint after he's finished hissentence and takes over the mob from Lowe. He also meets up with AnneJeffreys who becomes the infamous lady in red.Certainly Depp and Oates got more out of the Dillinger role thanTierney did. But what Tierney got was a career and in a limited way hedid capture part of the Dillinger mystique. Sad this film was not doneat a major studio though.

bullterrier100

16 May 2012

Inaccurate and clumsy, yes, but entertaining

I was aware of Tierney from Reservoir Dogs and "Seinfeld", but not hisearly career until I saw Dillinger and Born to Kill. He is one of thegreat, largely unrediscovered actors of postwar, tough guy films --with a fascinating way of switching from menacing psycho to hurt littleboy and back again, all within seconds. Hopefully, more of his movieswill be released on DVD.In Dillinger, when Tierney first meets Anne Jeffreys, the clock in backof her box office booth clearly says Gruen (the manufacturer) on itsface. But when Tierney goes in to see the movie, there's a dissolve towhat is obviously supposed to be the same clock, indicating passage oftime. 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 inthe Midwest, specifically Indiana -- with the help of at least fournewspaper mockups: the Indiana Journal, the Evansville Courier, theIndianapolis World and the South Bend Daily Press. But when a"be-on-the-lookout", all-points bulletin is issued for Dillinger, amontage of the dragnet features a city map clearly labeled as LosAngeles and showing the Southern Calfornia cities of Inglewood and ElSegundo.Check out Anne Jeffreys going into the Biograph with Tierney near theend. Shot from the rear, the only word to describe her is'steatopygous'.

14 May 2012

Dillinger

Poverty Row Monogram's biggest hit dealing with subject matter the major studios agreed not to touch. The budget was so small they had to lift the big heist scene from Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, but the taut little script is well cast. Tierney radiates menace and Edmund Lowe as his jailhouse mentor does a nice deterioration from commanding to sniveling. Nice bits of jarring violence, even if off-screen: a face-mauling w/ a broken beer mug, a gunning down of a sweet old couple, and an ax murder. Good, clean fun. 7/10

NewEnglandPat

13 May 2012

Rough-edged drama packs a wallop

This film biography is an entertaining movie of a total thug who tookwhat he wanted at the point of a gun. Dillinger was indeed a publicenemy no. 1 who turned on friend and foe alike to suit his own twistedpurposes. The mastermind of assorted criminal activities, Dillingerinsisted on being the boss and demanded allegiance from each gangmember, using an itchy trigger finger to make his point. The featurehas a film noir look, and Anne Jeffreys is just right as a typicalfemme-fatale of this era. Jeffreys, a perfect clone of Virginia Mayo,is pleasing to the eye but doesn't really have much to do except sufferabuse from Dillinger, but evens the score in her own good time. Tierneyis dashing and tragic as Dillinger but is overshadowed by Edmund Lowe'sclever underplaying of Specs. Eduardo Ciannelli and Elisha Cook Jr. arealso good. Marc Lawrence's natural menacing visage is a big plus butit's Ciannelli who makes the best impression as a grumpy, suspiciousgunman.

Michael_Elliott

12 May 2012

Good

Dillinger (1945) *** (out of 4) Incredibly fast moving Monogram flick tells the story of John Dillinger(Lawrence Tierney) who rises to the top only to fall to the bottomagain. The main thing here is the performance from Tierney who reallycaptures that bad guy image. He doesn't play it as one of those funnyguy roles but instead he plays it for a mean s.o.b. and he nails everysingle second of the film. The direction is nice throughout and there'ssome good style even with the low budget. Low budget filmmakers shouldcertainly watch this just to see what you can do with a small budget.The final ten minutes really don't work too well but everything else ispretty good.

11 May 2012

A Little Picture That Could

Movie: **** DVD Transfer: **** Extras: ***This ultra low-budget film released by Poverty Row's Monogram Pictures is much better than the studio's standard fare, thanks to the artistry of a fine cast and a few capable technicians. The script by Philip Yordan is a typical biographical whitewash job that bears only a passing resemblance to the true story of 1930's gangster John Dillinger; and yet it works just fine as a piece of noir crime drama, with sturdy dialogue and interesting characters. In his first starring role, Lawrence Tierney acquits himself well as Dillinger; and lovely Anne Jeffreys (although anachronistic in her 1940's fashions and hairstyle) turns in a fine performance as his treacherous moll. But the real acting honors are shared by the four actors who comprise Tierney's original gang: former silent star Edmund Lowe; veteran character player Eduardo Ciannelli; the craggy-faced Marc Lawrence; and the always reliable Elisha Cook, Jr. Each of these men is given a brief but ample opportunity to shine, and each one makes the most of his turn in the spotlight. Also of note are the musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin, and the moody black and white cinematography of Jackson Rose.The Warner Brothers DVD release of this film offers unexpectedly fine picture and audio quality. It must be kept in mind that to keep production costs down, "Dillinger" includes many snippets of stock footage from other films, and this generic footage was filmed at different times with varying film grains, and with a hodge-podge of technical styles. As presented here, it all blends fairly seemlessly, with only a few really rough spots standing out. The DVD includes a serviceable audio commentary by John Milius, director of the 1973 "Dillinger"; his sometimes meandering remarks are intercut with old excerpts of an interview with screenwriter Yordan. The Original Theatrical Trailer is also included ... see if you don't agree that the "Time" magazine quote at the trailer's end ("DILLINGER reached unmatched heights of daredevil ruthlessness!") refers to the actual man rather than the magazine's review of this little diamond in the rough.

10 May 2012

Fast paced action, but the DVD quality was sub par

This review is for the 2005 Warner Brothers DVD.This film is about the real life bank robber John Dillinger who is arguably the most notorious robber in the history of American and earned the nickname "Public Enemy #1". From my brief research on the internet, the movie appears to be relatively true to form. From the early `30s until his death in 1934, Dillinger wreaked havoc across America with his brutal bank robberies and daring prison escapes.The film itself moves fast, but is only 70 minutes long. There is little character development and the action is continuous and rarely dull. Lawrence Tierney stars as John Dillinger. This was his screen acting debut and he does little to set the acting world on fire. Even in scenes of major confrontation, Tierney seems expressionless and lacks emotional body language. Perhaps this was by design by the director. But if you are fan of vintage gangster films, I'm confident that you will be entertained and pleased with action and drama.The DVD was remastered but not restored and unfortunately there was a significant amount of film damage. There were five or six scenes with at least 3 or 4 seconds of severely damaged footage. The remastering helped make the picture look sharp but tiny specs of deterioration were still prevalent throughout the film, but that wasn't a major deal compared to the noticeably larger scratches. Warner has historically been one of the better studios for film restoration and they obviously decided to not fix up this film. Due to the limited market of a DVD like this, I'm sure the payoff wasn't there to restore an entire movie, but if they would have at least fixed the severely damaged frames, that would have been sufficient for me.PLEASE NOTE: Before buying this DVD, consider buying the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 2 which contains this movie plus four other highly recommended movies at a very reasonable price.Movie: B-DVD Quality: C

Bucs1960

10 May 2012

B Movie That Rivals an A Product

This taut little crime noir is worth watching a couple of times. It hasa short running time which was typical of "B" films and it packs a lotof action into a little over 60 minutes.What a cast this film boasts!!......Edmund Lowe, a former screen idolof the silents and early talkies; Marc Lawrence and Eduardo Cianelliwho could never shake their bad guy images; the greatest of allcharacter actors, Elisha Cook Jr. whose career spanned in excess of 50years; and Lawrence Tierney, born to portray a criminal. Tierney, whowas a bad boy in real life (which sank his career for many years beforehe made a comeback in the 1980s)is the epitome of a cold eyed, hardenedgangster who lives for today and the hell with tomorrow. Tierney, whosebrother Scott Brady was a recurring presence in films of the 50s, willalways be recognized for this part alone and it could have shot him tostardom but his personal life got in the way.......too bad. This filmis a standout in the realm of "B" movies and is worthy of it'sreputation.

08 May 2012

Excellent Poverty Row Gangster Flick!

"Dillinger" was made by poverty row studio Monogram Pictures as a "B"picture programmer however, it turned out to be much better thaneveryone had anticipated. Although it takes liberties with actualfacts, it is nonetheless a dark and brooding little film noire.The producers lucked in when Lawrence Tierney was cast in the leadrole. He plays John Dillinger as a cold blooded non-repentant killer.The real Dillinger was apparently nothing like Tierney's interpretationbut was more of a Robin Hood type character who was only a bank robberand not the cold blooded killer depicted in this film.The story follows Dillinger from a small time hood to his first prisonterm where he meets future members of his gang. Specs Green (EdmundLowe) is the planner and three of the most recognizable faces ingangster pictures round out the gang. First there is Marco (EduardoCiannelli), then Doc (Marc Lawrence) and finally Kirk Otto (Elisha CookJr.).Along the way Dillinger meets his "femme fatale", Helen Rogers (AnneJeffreys). After Dillinger springs the gang from prison they go on abank robbing spree. Dillinger takes over the gang from Specs and runsthings his way. Eventually the gang members are either caught or killedand Dillinger goes to hide out in Chicago. After several months inhiding he and Helen go to a movie at the Biograph theater. Helen isdressed in red and well you know the rest.Tierney should have risen to major stardom after this film but due tohis personal problems, he never really did. He reportedly had a hairtrigger temper and often got into bar room brawls, Naturally producersbegan to shy away from. His career is not unlike another actor whoalmost made it, Tom Neal.After starring roles in a few films, notably "Born To Kill" (1947), hedrifted into smaller and smaller roles. He did find work well into the1990s but never did achieve stardom. But his work in this film is whathas elevated it to the cult status it enjoys today. The gunning down ofthe elderly Ottos (Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stessel) and the maiming of abar waiter are particularly chilling.Edmund Lowe had been a star in silent films. By this time his careerwas winding down. Ciannelli, Lawrence and Cook were staples in gangsterroles for decades thereafter.John Milius who made the 1973 "Dillinger" (closer to the facts)provides some interesting insights and commentary on the DVD release.

bob the moo

08 May 2012

Tough crime drama that benefits from a tight running time

When Dillinger is sent to prison as a young man for a small scale robbery hewinds up sharing a cell with Specs. Specs introduces Dillinger to his gangand he joins them. On his release Dillinger breaks the gang out of jail andthey set out on a spree of well planned robberies. With tensions risingbetween the clinical Specs and the violent risk-taking Dillinger the mood inthe gang become tense. Dillinger eventually takes over the gang leadingthem into increasingly dangerous jobs risking capture anddeath.One of the many filmed versions of this gangster's life and death. It mayalso be one of the shortest, but by having a tight basic plot and goodscript it doesn't feel too short. The story is stripped down to key momentsand events in Dillinger's life as told by his father, however this makes thefilm more urgent and tense compared to more rambling versions. However Isuppose as a life story that's not really what you want, but here it worksbecause it's a crime thriller rather than a biopic.Lawrence Tierney was a bit of a hellraiser in his day and he brings amenacing streak to the role. Of those who don't watch films made before1990 it may be a surprise to realise that this young man is the same asplayed Joe in Reservoir Dogs. The whole gang gives strong supportespecially Edmund Lowe as the harassed Specs, it's also always good to seeElisha Cook Jr, here playing Kirk.Overall a taught little crime thriller that benefits from a tough cast and ashort tense running time.