American Experience

37 Season
396 Episode

American Experience - Season 14 Episode 10 Public Enemy #1 ()

John Dillinger may have been "Public Enemy No. 1" in 1933 and '34, but Americans didn't reflexively hate him, and this hour explores reasons why as it chronicles his 14-month bank-robbing spree. Dillinger "represents a rebellious impulse that many people in the Great Depression had good reason to feel," says Tom Doherty, one of the historians interviewed. Morever, "he was a charming guy," says another, Claire Potter. The hour also features a grandnephew of Dillinger and Alston Purvis, the son of Melvin Purvis, the G-Man who finally caught up with the Public Enemy.


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55 minutes 2024 HD

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