"We're having too good a time today. We ain't thinking about tomorrow."
(Johnny Depp as John Dillinger)
The film "Public Enemies" is based on the criminal career of John Dillinger, specifically once he is targeted by the FBI and Special Agent in Charge Marvin Purvis. There has been discussion as to whether the film is accurate; director Michael Mann attempted to make everything as real as possible, but some critics have argued that he romanticized Dillinger to the point of making people sympathetic to him and his cause. The film stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as SAC Marvin Purvis, along with Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd, Jason Clarke as Red Hamilton, Stephen Graham as Baby Face Nelson, and Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette.
The Film: "Public Enemies" chronicles the period during the Great Depression known as the "public enemy era" of crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is just coming into prominence under J. Edgar Hoover (in fact, the film shows Hoover's difficulties in securing more power and money from Congress to create a stronger FBI) and Hoover knows that if his agents can catch the big name criminals of the day - Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger - the FBI will be much more respected. He makes it his mission to take these men down.
The film begins in 1933 with Dillinger going to the Indiana State Prison with friend Red Hamilton to break some of his friends out of prison. Purvis chasing down (and catching - and killing) Pretty Boy Floyd. This apprehension of a "public enemy" brings him to the attention of Hoover, who tasks him with catching Dillinger and his gang. John Dillinger and his gang at this time are bank robbers (as were most major criminals in the public enemy era).
There are a few main points about this movie that deserve being noted. I will do my best not to give away what happens, but it might prove inevitable.
1. A key part of this film - and the real story of John Dillinger - is the effect of the mafia on Dillinger's life in Chicago. Early on, he lives openly in Chicago because the mafia protects him (and he has some of the police officers on his payroll). However, Dillinger's activities (and the activities of other criminals in the public enemy era) anger authorities so much that the FBI urges Congress to make interstate crimes the jurisdiction of the FBI. Since many mafia families conduct activities in multiple states, their operations would come under the scrutiny of the FBI (as opposed to remaining under the radar since no single state could get the full picture of their criminality). This change in policy made the mafia lift its protection of Dillinger, putting him in intense danger.
2. Agent Purvis is promoted to catch Dillinger and his gang, but several mishaps ensue, leading Baby Face Nelson to escape capture. The ineptitude of most FBI agents at the time was due to the fact that a person had to be an agent regardless of their job at the FBI. Thus, many people were agents who were vastly unqualified and untrained. Purvis prodded Hoover to professionalize the FBI, which he did. Purvis adds a Texas Ranger friend to the task force in hopes of professionalizing the agents under his purview. This professionalization of the FBI was the beginning of increased acceptance for the FBI and the beginning of an illustrious career for Hoover.
3. Dillinger was caught only because the FBI found the woman who was housing Dillinger and was able to elicit cooperation in exchange for keeping her illegal immigration status a secret from immigration enforcement. She arranged with the FBI to have Dillinger take her and her friend to a movie that evening. Dillinger took them to a film at the Biiograph Theater in Chicago. After the movie, he was shot in the street by one of the FBI agents after he reached into his pocket (the agent believed Dillinger was reaching for a gun).
The Reality: The film does an excellent job of describing the difficulties J. Edgar Hoover had in forming the FBI as we know it today. Most people would not recognize the FBI in its 1930s form, as it has come quite a long way. Now agents are the best of the best, trained for months at the FBI academy in Quantico, VA and are extremely professional. Purvis was the first to insist upon using true investigating techniques, leading the way for scientific method in the FBI.
The public enemy era was the era which most people think of when they think of bank robberies. And John Dillinger (and his contemporaries, such as Bonnie and Clyde) were the reason that interstate crimes were pursued so harshly by the FBI - and continue to be to this day. Without this crucial era, we would not have as strong of an emphasis on interstate crimes, which has been extended from merely bank robberies to include interstate homicide, kidnapping, drug and human trafficking, and organized crime.
