| Dillinger and Capone | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jon Purdy[1] |
| Written by | Michael B. Druxman |
| Produced by | Roger Corman[2][3] Mike Elliott |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John B. Aronson |
| Edited by | Norman Buckley |
| Music by | Steve Cohn |
Production companies | New Horizons Hillwood Entertainment Production |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[4] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dillinger and Capone is a 1995 Americanaction film directed by Jon Purdy[5] and starringMartin Sheen,F. Murray Abraham,Michael Oliver,Catherine Hicks, andDon Stroud.[6][4] The film was screened atMystFest inCattolica, Italy and theCannes Film Festival in 1995.[2][7] Written byMichael B. Druxman, the film is not based in real events but imagines a world in whichJohn Dillinger is not killed at theBiograph Theater and lives on to work withAl Capone. The film was acquired byCinemax and aired on their cable television network periodically in 1996.[8][9] In 1997 the film was acquired byHBO and aired periodically on that television network.[10][11]
On July 22, 1934, Roy Dillinger (identical twin brother of infamous bank robberJohn Dillinger) is warned by John's friend George that his brother has been set up by theFBI, who plan to arrest him while he is out on a date withAnna Sage at theBiograph Theater. Rushing to warn John, Roy is mistaken for his brother by an FBI agent who guns him down. John slips out during the commotion and realizes that his brother is dead.
Having grown weary of his criminal lifestyle, John returns home and decides to bury his past. He moves to the countryside, marries Abigail Dalton, and takes her surname as his own. They have a son, and John quietly takes up work as a farmer.
Several years later, in 1940, disgracedChicago Outfit bossAl Capone is released from prison on medical grounds after being diagnosed with terminalneurosyphilis. His family moves him to a mansion inFlorida, but Capone retains enough of his mind to realize that he is now effectively bankrupt, under heavy police surveillance, and abandoned by his former organization. Learning that the famous John Dillinger is still alive, Capone blackmails him to carry out one final heist: a vault, hidden by Capone in Chicago during his criminal reign, that contains millions in untraceable diamonds.
AnEntertainment Weekly review in 1995 gave the film a "C minus" rating and described it as "far-fetched fiction".[6] CriticLeonard Maltin awarded the film two stars, and stated that the film is "boosted by slick acting, but it soon slides into a routine heist thriller."[12]