In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number-one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the public.
 

 No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression.
 

But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark Gable of the FBI.’’
 

However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of lawmen from the Dallas bureau and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.
 

We worked with MSN to create a custom microsite housing archived articles dating back to the actual events this film highlights, bios on the real life characters and additional assets from the film. This easy to navigate interactive site was built to appeal to the audience who is interested in the historical background of this real-life-based film. One of the most interesting articles is entitled “Dillinger Walks Into Trap”. It describes how Dillinger walked into a house that was rented by his gang members and got caught by the police.
 

While browsing the characters’ bios you can read up on all of your favorite mobsters of that time period. Dillinger was considered a hero by some and a dangerous criminal by others, due to his many getaways from the police which always landed him on the front page of the newspaper.

Check it out at: movies.msn.com/movies/movie/public-enemies.2/

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