Director: Max Nosseck
Year: 1945
Rating: 6.0
Gangster films had been all the rage back in the 1930's with a plethora of
films coming out of Warner's and other studios, but by the end of the decade
they had gone a bit out of style and with the war those films disappeared
for the most part. They were a part of the Great Depression when times were
tough and people turned to crime. By 1945 the major studios had an agreement
not to make these sorts of films. But Monogram, a Poverty Row studio, was
not a part of that agreement and so produced this film about John Dillinger
and his crime wave. It was one of Monogram's largest hits. And perhaps led
the way to an increase in violence in films. After the war violence was back
in style.