ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: DILLINGER (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television production is about notorious bank robber John Dillinger. The program begins in May 1933 after Dillinger has just been released from a nine-year prison sentence at age thirty. He walks up a country road to his father's farmhouse. There, Dillinger has some supper and says he is going to look for work, after turning down his father's offer to help run the farm. Staying in a fancy hotel, Dillinger soon gets a call from old associate Harry Copeland. Dillinger then meets with Copeland, wanting help to spring Harry Pierpont from prison. Dillinger explains that Pierpont helped him when they were in prison together, and that he needs guns to carry off the breakout. To finance the firearms' purchase, Dillinger thinks they should rob the Daleville Commercial Bank. The pair pull off the robbery the next day, followed by several similar "withdrawals." However, Dillinger thinks that they should knock off a city bank for some big loot. Copeland insists they need more guys for such an undertaking. Soon enough, Dillinger and Copeland rob a bank in Indianapolis. That night at a club, Dillinger and Copeland discuss their score and preparation for springing Pierpont. Dillinger speaks with Pierpont's wife Jacqueline, enamored by her. Dillinger walks off with her and and they are soon making love. Then, the police arrive, arresting Dillinger after getting a tip that connected him to the string of robberies. At the same time, Dillinger and Copeland's funds help get the firearms to Pierpont, enabling him to escape with Russell Clark, Charles Makley, and John Hamilton from Michigan City Prison. Now free, Pierpont wants to help spring Dillinger. Under the guise of federal officers, Pierpont and the others go to Sheriff Jess Sarber, killing him before freeing Dillinger. Soon, Dillinger and the others are back out robbing more banks.
Meanwhile, Captain Matt Leach makes Dillinger his number one enemy. The next day, Dillinger and the others go for a particularly big score, trying to get in and out of the Greencastle Bank quickly. While exiting the bank, a boy recognizes the infamous Dillinger. Afterward, Pierpont is angered at Dillinger for confirming his identity to the youth. Dillinger doesn't think it matters, certain that Leach is hot on their trail regardless. Leach is upset that Melvin Purvis and the feds can't help until a federal law is broken. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover tells Purvis that he doesn't understand Leach's interest toward a simple bank robber. Partying at a Chicago nightclub, Dillinger meets Billie Frechette, who is impressed by the gangster. However, Dillinger and the others realize they need to flee Chicago and thus they head to Florida with Frechette in tow. In Florida, Dillinger, Frechette, and the others celebrate New Year's Eve as 1934 comes to a close. The next day, the radio reports, inaccurately, that the Dillinger gang has just robbed another bank in Chicago. Dillinger is upset that everything is being blamed on him, while Pierpont doesn't like that Dillinger is getting all the credit for their exploits. Pierpont wants to part ways with Dillinger, heading to Tucson. Frechette thinks that the others in Dillinger's gang are jealous of him. Later, during another bank robbery, one of Dillinger's men is killed and another injured. Dillinger then heads to Tucson to meet with Pierpont and start robbing banks again. However, Dillinger and his gang are soon picked up in a surprise bust by the police. Dillinger is extradited back to Indiana for trial. A media circus greets Dillinger's return for his arraignment. Leach soon arrives, telling Sheriff Lillian Holley that Dillinger should be moved to a safer area. Holley insists that Dillinger will stay in her facility until he's tried. Dillinger tells the media that he didn't kill Sarber, he only robs banks. Dillinger also finally comes face to face with Leach, daring him to see if he can be kept behind bars.
Dillinger plots in jail, carving a soap sculpture and giving it to a guard as a souvenir. Next, Dillinger whittles a wooden gun, which he covers with shoe polish to make it appear more authentic. Dillinger lures the guard back to his cell to give him another soap sculpture, then sticks the wooden gun in his side to escape from prison. Dillinger springs two other prisoners along the way. The trio steals a car and head to the middle of nowhere with two guards before dropping them off. Hoover is finally ready to get Dillinger now that he has committed a federal offense by driving a stolen car across state lines into Illinois. Hoover tells Purvis to get Dillinger at any cost, his fame now equal to Will Rogers and FDR. Soon, Dillinger has returned to Frechette and the rest of his gang, meeting new members Eddie Green, Homer Van Meter, and Baby Face Nelson. That night Dillinger makes love with Frechette, who doesn't want to lose her man again. Meanwhile, Purvis continues getting tips on Dillinger. Then, Dillinger and his gang hold up a huge bank, during which Dillinger gets shot in the shoulder as guards fire from a newly installed bulletproof cage. One day, federal agents follow another tip and discover the hideaway of Dillinger's gang. They get into a gun battle which leaves Dillinger injured. Dillinger goes to a doctor to his get his leg stitched up on the down-low. The FBI continues to relentlessly pursue Dillinger and his gang, killing Green along the way. Frechette worries about what she and Dillinger will do now that they are alone, then asks him if he's scared. Dillinger insists that all that matters in life is living it up.
Wanting to drive the FBI crazy with his next stunt, Dillinger takes Frechette back to his father's farm. The next day, Dillinger and Frechette attend a picnic where he denies his identity to a reporter. Dillinger's dad takes a photograph of his son with Frechette before they depart. Hoover is furious at Purvis as publicity of Dillinger's latest escapade dominates the news. Purvis learns that Dillinger has been seen in Chicago and sets up a stakeout there. In Chicago, Dillinger drops Frechette outside a restaurant where he plans to join her. However, once inside the establishment, she is apprehended as an accessory to robbery. Dillinger is furious but can do nothing about it. As Dillinger hangs out with his gang at a country lodge in Wisconsin, federal agents are told of his whereabouts and come after him. Lying in bed, Dillinger hears their approach and arms himself. He alerts the rest of his gang and they try to make their escape. A massive shootout ensues in which innocent guests are killed by the feds. The media grills Purvis on how he was unable to capture Dillinger while gunning down passersby. Purvis later reads a newspaper column by Rogers that mocks his failures. Radio reports then claim that Dillinger is holed up in Chicago. Hoover declares Dillinger to be "public enemy number one" while keeping Frechette in jail since she refuses to talk. One night, feeling blue, Dillinger finds himself at a diner being served by waitress Polly Hamilton. Soon, the two are kissing in the kitchen. Quickly, the two are dating and frequently going out on the town. Hamilton's friend and landlady Anna Sage is curious about the new man in her life. Sage, an illegal immigrant hoping to make a deal to stay in America, goes to Purvis and claims that Hamilton is dating Dillinger. Hamilton later tells Dillinger that she knows his true identity. Meanwhile, Purvis prepares for the final assault on Dillinger. Dillinger wants to take Hamilton and Sage to a movie that night at the Biograph Theater, a fact Purvis quickly learns. After seeing "Manhattan Melodrama," Dillinger, Hamilton, and Sage -- "the woman in red" -- exit the Biograph to find Purvis and other feds waiting. Dillinger tries to flee but is shot dead, with Purvis firing the fatal bullet. Graphics reveal the fates of the other characters. Also includes an "ABC News Brief" with Jack Smith. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: January 6, 1991 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:20535
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1991
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - AT&T phone networks
- TV - Commercials - Actifed cold relief
- TV - Commercials - Carefree gum
- TV - Commercials - Chevrolet automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Dentyne gum
- TV - Commercials - Diet Pepsi soft drinks
- TV - Commercials - Dodge automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Dristan sinus medication
- TV - Commercials - Duracell batteries
- TV - Commercials - Dynatrim diet aid
- TV - Commercials - Energizer batteries
- TV - Commercials - General Mills Cheerios cereal
- TV - Commercials - Kodak film
- TV - Commercials - Lexus automobiles
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Northwest Airlines
- TV - Commercials - Pop Secret Light popcorn
- TV - Commercials - Subaru automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Sudafed cold medication
- TV - Commercials - Tampax tampons
- TV - Commercials - TheraFlu cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Trident chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - US Centers for Disease Control
- TV - Commercials - US Sprint phone network
- TV - Commercials - Ultra Slim Fast diet drinks
- TV - Commercials - Walt Disney World theme parks
- TV - Promos - "All My Children"
- TV - Promos - "Coach"
- TV - Promos - "Doogie Howser, M.D."
- TV - Promos - "Equal Justice"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Head of the Class"
- TV - Promos - "Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story"
- TV - Promos - "MacGyver"
- TV - Promos - "Not Without My Daughter" motion picture
- TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
- TV - Promos - "The Whereabouts of Jenny"
- TV - Promos - "Under Cover"
- TV - Promos - "Who's the Boss?"
- TV - Promos - "thirtysomething"
- TV - Promos - ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings
CREDITS
- David L. Wolper … Executive Producer
- Bernard Sofronski … Executive Producer
- Mark M. Wolper … Producer
- Art Levinson … Associate Producer
- Rupert Wainwright … Director
- Paul F. Edwards … Writer
- David McHugh … Music by
- Mark Harmon … Cast, John Dillinger
- Sherilyn Fenn … Cast, Billie Frechette
- Will Patton … Cast, Melvin Purvis
- Bruce Abbott … Cast, Harry Pierpont
- Tom Bower … Cast, Captain Matt Leach
- Patricia Arquette … Cast, Polly Hamilton
- Xander Berkeley … Cast, Harry Copeland
- Yvonne Suhor … Cast, Jacqueline Pierpont
- John Philbin … Cast, John Hamilton
- Amy Yasbeck … Cast, Elaine
- David Neidorf … Cast, Russell Clark
- Vince Edwards … Cast, J. Edgar Hoover
- Lawrence Tierney … Cast, Sheriff Jess Sarber
- Joe Guzaldo … Cast, Sam Cowley
- Michael Krawic … Cast, Eddie Green
- Ramsay Midwood … Cast, Charles Makley
- Ralph Foody … Cast, Dillinger's Father
- Tom White … Cast, Homer Van Meter
- Malcolm Rothman … Cast, Lou Piquett
- Kurt Naebig … Cast, Baby Face Nelson
- Rod Sell … Cast, Robert Estill
- Peggy Roeder … Cast, Sheriff Lillian Holley
- Lucy Childs … Cast, Anna Sage
- Joe Greco … Cast, Zarkovich
- Will Zahrn … Cast, Gross
- Larry Brandenberg … Cast, Pfauhl
- Tim Grimm … Cast, Reporter #1
- Laurel Cronin … Cast, Mrs. Sarber
- Mike McKune … Cast, Alvin
- Bob O'Donnell … Cast, Dr. May
- Greg Kinner … Cast, Arizona Lawman
- Mariann Mayberry … Cast, Bank Teller
- Larry Gittelson … Cast, Emil Wanatka
- Rebecca Borter … Cast, Mrs. Wanatka
- Jim Ortlieb … Cast, Kahler
- for "ABC News Brief"
- Jack Smith … Anchor