''Dillinger and Capone'' is a 1995 American

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by Jon Purdy and starring

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

, F. Murray Abraham, Michael Oliver, Catherine Hicks, and Don Stroud. The film was screened at MystFest in

Cattolica Cattolica (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Italy, with 16,233 inhabitants as of 2007. History Archaeological excavations show that the area was already settled in ancient Rome, Roman times. According to one legend, Catto ...

, Italy and the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in 1995. Written by Michael B. Druxman, the film is not based in real events but imagines a world in which

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...

is not killed at the Biograph Theater and lives on to work with

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

. The film was acquired by

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box ...

and aired on their cable television network periodically in 1996. In 1997 the film was acquired by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

and aired periodically on that television network.

Plot

On July 22, 1934, Roy Dillinger (identical twin brother of infamous bank robber

) is warned by John's friend George that his brother has been set up by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, who plan to arrest him while he is out on a date with Anna Sage at the Biograph 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, disgraced

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...

boss

is released from prison on medical grounds after being diagnosed with terminal

neurosyphilis Neurosyphilis is the infection of the central nervous system by '' Treponema pallidum'', the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics, the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been report ...

. His family moves him to a mansion in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 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.

Cast

as John Dillinger * F. Murray Abraham as Al Capone * Michael Oliver as Sam Dalton * Catherine Hicks as Abigail * Don Stroud as George * Stephen Davies as Cecil * Michael C. Gwynne as Perkins *

Jeffrey Combs Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the ''Re-Animator'' film series (1985–2003) and portraying multiple characters in the ''Star Trek'' universe, most notably the ...

as Gilroy * Anthony Crivello as Lou Gazzo *

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His more than 200 acting credits include feature films ...

as Bobo * Time Winters as Eli *

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...

as Jack Bennett

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

review in 1995 gave the film a "C minus" rating and described it as "far-fetched fiction". Critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

awarded the film two stars, and stated that the film is "boosted by slick acting, but it soon slides into a routine heist thriller."

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, dillinger_and_capone 1995 action films Films set in the 1930s American gangster films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language action films