Dillinger (1973 film)

Dillinger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Milius
Written by	John Milius
Produced by	Buzz Feitshans
Starring	Warren Oates Ben Johnson Cloris Leachman Michelle Phillips Harry Dean Stanton John Ryan Richard Dreyfuss
Cinematography	Jules Brenner
Edited by	Fred R. Feitshans Jr.
Music by	Barry De Vorzon
Production companies	American International Pictures F. P. Productions
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release dates	June 19, 1973 (1973-06-19) (Dallas, Texas)[1]
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million[2]
Box office	$2 million (US and Canada rentals)[3][4]

Dillinger is a 1973 American biographical gangster film, dramatizing the life and criminal exploits of notorious bank robber John Dillinger. It is written and directed by John Milius in his feature directorial debut, and stars Warren Oates as Dillinger, Ben Johnson as FBI Agent Melvin Purvis, and Michelle Phillips in her first film performance as Dillinger's moll Billie Frechette. Other actors in the film include Cloris Leachman, Harry Dean Stanton, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Retired FBI Agent Clarence Hurt, one of the agents involved in the final shootout with Dillinger, was the film's technical advisor. The film includes documentary imagery and film footage from the era. It includes a verbal renouncing of gangster films written by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover: he was scheduled to read it for the film, but died before it started production. Hoover's text is read at the film's close by voice actor Paul Frees.

The film was released by American International Pictures on June 19, 1973. It was well-received by critics and was a commercial success. It was followed by two made-for-TV spin-offs: Melvin Purvis: G-Man (1974) (teleplay written by Milius) and The Kansas City Massacre (1975), both directed by Dan Curtis and each starring Dale Robertson as Purvis.