Original antique 1934 press photograph of John Dillinger's assassination. Amazing vintage July 1934 photograph of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago.
While it looks like a crowded street scene outside a movie theatre, this
is actually a crime scene photo from the spot where federal authorities
finally put an end to the hunt for gangster John Dillinger. The marquee
still reads, "Manhattan Melodrama" which was the movie he saw, and
crowds gather in the streets for a look at the gangsters lifeless body.
Issued by the Keystone View Company and stamped on the back, this is one
of the only examples of this photo in original form we have ever seen
and it presents beautifully!
Reverse reads:
THE END OF JOHN DILLINGERFIRST ORIGINAL PICTURE
Crowds outside the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, a few minutes after John Dillinger, America's Public Enemy No. 1 had been shot. Dillinger was betrayed to the police by a girl, who accompanied the gangster to the cinema. When they left, the girl dropped back and left Dillinger to walk alone into the police trap. Dillinger was shot dead by the police about 30 yards from the cinema.
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Shooting at the Biograph Theater and death
At approximately 8:30 p.m., Sage, Hamilton, and Dillinger were observed entering the Biograph Theater, which was showing the crime drama Manhattan Melodrama, featuring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and William Powell. During the stakeout, the Biograph's manager thought the agents were criminals preparing for a robbery. He called the Chicago police, who dutifully responded and had to be waved off by the federal agents, who told them that they were on a stakeout for an important target.
When the movie ended, Purvis stood by the front door and signaled Dillinger's exit by lighting a cigar. Both he and the other agents reported that Dillinger turned his head and looked directly at the agent as he walked by, glanced across the street, then moved ahead of his female companions, reached into his pocket but failed to extract his gun, and ran into a nearby alley. Other accounts stated Dillinger ignored a command to surrender, whipped out his gun, then headed for the alley. Agents already had the alley closed off.
Three men pursued Dillinger into the alley and fired. Clarence Hurt shot twice, Charles Winstead three times, and Herman Hollis once. Dillinger was hit from behind and fell face first to the ground.
Dillinger was struck four times, with two bullets grazing him and one causing a superficial wound to the right side. The fatal bullet entered through the back of his neck, severed the spinal cord, passed into his brain and exited just under the right eye, severing two sets of veins and arteries. An ambulance was summoned, although it was soon apparent Dillinger had died from the gunshot wounds; he was officially pronounced dead at Alexian Brothers Hospital. According to investigators, Dillinger died without saying a word. Winstead was later thought to have fired the fatal shot, and as a consequence received a personal letter of commendation from J. Edgar Hoover.
Two female bystanders, Theresa Paulas and Etta Natalsky, were wounded. Dillinger bumped into Natalsky just as the shooting started.
Natalsky was shot and was subsequently taken to Columbus Hospital.
Dillinger was shot and killed by the special agents on July 22, 1934, at approximately 10:40 p.m, according to a New York Times report the next day. Dillinger's death came only two months after the deaths of fellow notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde. There were reports of people dipping their handkerchiefs and skirts into the pool of blood that had formed, as Dillinger lay in the alley, as keepsakes: "Souvenir hunters madly dipped newspapers in the blood that stained the pavement. Handkerchiefs were whipped out and used to mop up the blood."
Dillinger's body was available for public display at the Cook County morgue. An estimated 15,000 people viewed the corpse over a day and a half. As many as four death masks were also made.
Dillinger is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Dillinger's gravestone has been replaced several times because of vandalism by people chipping off pieces as souvenirs. Hilton Crouch (1903–1976), an associate of Dillinger's on some early heists, is buried only a few yards to the west.
John Herbert Dillinger (/ˈdɪlɪndʒər/; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. He was charged with but not convicted of the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana, police officer, who shot Dillinger in his bullet-proof vest during a shootout; it was the only time Dillinger was charged with homicide.
Dillinger courted publicity. The media printed exaggerated accounts of his bravado and colorful personality, and described him as a Robin Hood. In response, J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), used Dillinger as a rationale to evolve the BOI into the Federal Bureau of Investigation, developing more sophisticated investigative techniques as weapons against organized crime.
After evading police in four states for almost a year, Dillinger was wounded and went to his father's home to recover. He returned to Chicago in July 1934 and sought refuge in a brothel owned by Ana Cumpănaș, who later informed authorities of his whereabouts. On July 22, 1934, local and federal law-enforcement officers closed in on the Biograph Theater. When BOI agents moved to arrest Dillinger as he exited the theater, he tried to flee, but was shot; the deadly shot was ruled justifiable homicide.
Dillinger was raised in Mooresville, Indiana. And became famous for his escapes, including when we broke out of the Crown Point Jail with a wooden gun and stole the female sheriff's personal car. The Allen County Sheriff, Jess Sarber, of Lima, Ohio, near Wapakoneta, was killed when Dillinger's gang broke him out of the jail. Several of his gang ended up in prison at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio.
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