Tampabay.com
JUNE 25, 2009

Johnny who? Public Enemies could star Warren Oates, Robert Conrad and Mickey Rooney!

Looking forward to tonight's screening of Public Enemies, the gangster flick based on the criminal careers of "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum), "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham) and the rogue in this gallery so tough that he didn't need a catchy nickname, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp).

Heck, even Al Capone was called "Scarface." Just not when he could hear you.

Anyway, the chance to again see gangsters riding running boards on speeding coupes and blasting machine guns got me thinking about other times Dillinger, Floyd and Nelson were movie subjects. There's plenty to recall; Dillinger is listed as a movie character 27 times by the Internet Movie Database, with the other two tied at 14 appearances each.

That's a bunch of jauntily cocked fedoras, and some noteworthy actors wearing them, sometimes twice. Here's the most wanted list, starting with:

JOHN DILLINGER

Dilliinger Warren Oates, Dillinger (1973) --A criminally underrated actor, Oates roared with Wild Bunch brio through a typically macho John Milius screenplay. 

Robert Conrad, The Lady in Red (1979) -- Knock the battery off his shoulder and he'd fill you full of lead. Bonus points for getting Nancy Drew herself, Pamela Sue Martin, undressed.

Martin Sheen, Dillinger and Capone (1995) -- Never saw this straight-to-video flop but it would be worth finding, just to witness F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) hamming his way through the Capone role.

CHARLES ARTHUR "PRETTY BOY" FLOYD

Fabian Fabian Forte, A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970) -- You knew the pop music idol (Hound Dog Man, Turn Me Loose) was serious about acting when he added his surname to the billing.

Robert Conrad, Young Dillinger (1965) -- Conrad pulled off the rare double-dare, playing second Tommy gun to the late Nick Adams in the title role.

Martin Sheen, The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd (1974) -- Not as fondly recalled as Sheen's other two TV movies that year: The Missiles of October and The Execution of Private Slovik.

LESTER M. "BABY FACE" NELSON

Babyface Mickey Rooney, Baby Face Nelson (1957) -- You keep expecting the former Andy Hardy to exclaim: "Hey, kids! Let's put on a bank robbery!"

C. Thomas Howell, Baby Face Nelson (1995) -- This is what happens when the Brat Pack won't let you join. Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.

Richard Dreyfuss, Dillinger (1973) -- One month after this movie release, Dreyfuss' baby face made him a star in American Graffiti.

Honorable mention:

Michael Badalucco, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) --The Coen brothers hilariously dodged facts, naming Nelson "George" and portraying him as an insecure crook who'd even shoot cows. "Oh, George, not the livestock" is a funny line every time.

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About the bloggers

For new movie reviews and movie news, this blog's for you. Steve Persall, movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times, weighs in on blockbuster movies, small-budget movies, the best movies, the worst movies ever and everything in between. Steve was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.

E-mail Steve Persall:
persall@sptimes.com.

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