The much ballyhooed movie “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger is set to hit theaters July 1.  Early reports say the director was scrupulously careful to get the details right to the early 1930s – the clothes, the cars, the locales, and yes, the guns.  Backtracking to last year in this blog, you can see what some of the scenes look like today, including the Biograph Theater in Chicago, outside which Dillinger was killed by Federal agents in July of 1934.
Doubtless riding the coattails of an anticipated wave of renewed interest in all things Dillinger after the movie premiers, the high profile auction house of Leslie Hindman in Chicagoland will offer what they claim is “the gun that killed Dillinger.”It is scheduled to go under the gavel in late July to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the legendary shooting.
The revolver in question is a Colt Army Special, caliber .38 Special, which belonged to Captain Timothy O’Neil of the East Chicago, Indiana Police Department.
Only trouble is, no records indicate that Captain O’Neil ever fired that revolver, or any gun, on the night in question.
FBI records indicate that the only rounds discharged at the scene were fired by three agents of J. Edgar Hoover’s Division of Investigation, which would soon after be re-named Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Charles Winstead triggered three rounds; Clarence Hurt fired twice; and Herman Hollis got off a single shot before Dillinger collapsed with his Colt .380 auto pistol in his hand, drawn and fully loaded but unfired.
Clarence Hurt was famous for his skill with a service revolver, but I don’t recall what handgun he was using that night. Herman Hollis was known to carry a Colt Super .38 semiautomatic. Charles Winstead stated in his official FBI report that he shot Dillinger with a DOI-issue Government .45 automatic.  It is generally believed – and was certainly believed by Hoover – that Winstead was the one who inflicted the gunshot wound that actually killed Public Enemy Number One.
Leslie Hindman has an excellent reputation as an auctioneer. I hope she and her staff do a little research before the auction.
I’m looking forward to seeing “Public Enemies.” Some of y’all will doubtless get to see it before I do. You’re welcome to post reviews and comments here.

1 COMMENT

  1. “do a little research before the auction.”

    Yeah, right. Isn’t the death/autopsy report availible someplace for public reading. Wouldn’t it say what bullet was found. Seems like it would be pretty easily to tell the difference between a .38 and a .45.

    I’m sure the movie will have a good deal of 1911’s in it. I’ll be going probably the first week. Saw Transformers last nigth, too much like a kung-fu movie with robots for me.

  2. The FBI were such credit and publicity hogs, I wouldn’t accept their report uncritically. Tom Young’s point is well taken. Of course there may have been multiple hits.

  3. Mas,
    I noticed the official FBI history left out the embarassing shooting of several innocent men at Little Bohemia.
    The Agents were outside when several innocent patrons of the tavern were leaving. The Agents mistakenly thought it was Dillinger and his boys leaving. They opened fire without warning. This also allowed Dillinger’s gang to escape.
    The history also left out that an innocent woman was wounded outside the Biograph Theater.
    The Bureau’s gunfighting skills left something to be desired. Which resulted in them hiring Hurt and Winstead to do the real shooting when confronting Bad Dudes. Dolph “Jelly” Bryce also is one of the Gunners hired by the Bureau. Makes a great story!

  4. I don’t know how the film will affect firearms but it just might get some younger men into fedoras to impress their women. (Yes, I wear one, but then I’m an old guy.)

  5. Dear Mr. Ayoob,

    Thank you for mentioning our gun on your blog! We are really looking forward to the sale July 28th and it is great to see it inspire such discussion.

    We would like to clarify a couple points regarding the presentation of O’Neil’s gun. While we are fully aware of the dubiety of all accounts including the official FBI record, O’Neil kept an extensive archive of newspaper clippings following the shooting at the Biograph Theatre and many, including his obituary in the Chicago Daily News, credit the Captain of the East Chicago Police with firing one of the 5 shots fired at Dillinger, with a few accounts giving him credit for firing one of the two that slew him. The newspaper archive will accompany the gun at auction. Hesitant to play into any conspiracy theories, there are a number of sources that agree to the 5 shots as opposed to the 3 recorded by the F.B.I. We believe there is sufficient evidence to suggest a certain amount of truth in the accounts of the incident reported by Chicago papers, but do not claim with any certainty that O’Neil fired the fatal wound.

    Regardless of whose gun actually fired the fatal shot, we, along with the family, are very happy to see O’Neil’s name return to the Dillinger discussion.

  6. Hey Mas, How about a blog entry about what you are hearing around the country from people about the general climate in the US right now. That is, The increase in socialist type power grabs by the current admin, the availibitly of ammunition or the lack there of and the general feeling that things are coming to a head. What are you hearing from people?

  7. I’m getting real sick of this Dillinger crap. A lot of it was filmed in and around here in Oshkosh Wi. That’s all that was in the paper all last summer. Thousands of star struck fans from several surrounding states. All winter the paper pushing to make over the downtown to look as it was setup for the movie. Paper full of nothing but the same crap for two months now for last tue advanced showing. A lot of people need a life. Hollywood’s full of punks and druggies and only three or four conservatives. You’ll see a lot of tommyguns, saw it in the paper.

  8. I was very disappointed in the movie from the standpoint of historical accuracy, but loved the weaponry – plenty of Thompsons, as expected, but also BARs, M1911s, .38s, rifles and shotguns. Was surprised to see a box magazine on the Thompson in a number of scenes, given Hollywood’s (and probably gangsters’) preference for 50-round drums. However, I expected more in the way of historical authenticity after hearing how several scenes were shot on the actual locations and seeing in trailers how Depp mimicked some of Dillinger’s habits. The movie was a mishmash of events mixed up in sequence and often wrongly attributed to Purvis and others who had nothing to do with them, such as the deaths of Baby Face Nelson and John Hamilton. Nelson actually died 4 months after Little Bohemia in a shootout with Cowley and Hollis, not Purvis and Hamilton was shot by a deputy sheriff in a car chase several days after Little Bohemia. Some events were accurately portrayed but others were almost total fabrications, such as Dillinger’s meetings with the Capone mob. Similar to the TV Untouchables, which I loved but which also played fast and very loose with history.

  10. My father who is Capt. O’Neill’s great nephew and is named after him told me that he can remember his uncle telling stories with his brothers (Dan and Eugene) and sister (Julia) and wife Martha where he lived in Munster Indiana. he stated that he “drilled him” talking about Dillinger. He said that his uncle did not want any credit for the killing because of possible retribution from friends and family of Dillinger in Indiana. I am the great-great nephew of Capt. Timothy O’Neill and am also a Police Officer in Oklahoma. I do not believe anything until I see it with my own two eyes, but my father never lied to me before. Just saying. My father is the son of Albert O’Neill who is the son of Eugene O’Neill (Timothy’s brother) if anyone is uncertain of my family roots. I don’t know the owner’s of the colt .38 cal that Timothy had, but I am certain that it is real and the gun used to kill Dillinger. Great-Great Uncle Tim was not afraid to use that gun as he had “drilled” several people in the past during his Law Enforcment career. I would sure like to meet relatives that I have never met in Indiana. Timothy O’Neil dropped one l from his name is anyone is wondering why I have two l’s on my last name.

  11. Oh by the way Great-Great Uncle Tim said that Purvis was hiding behind and under a car while the shootin occurred. I don’t want to discredit any Federal agent as I work with them and are men of great integrity, but that is the story that was told to my father. Just saying

  12. Anyone who reads the actual reports filed by the agents at the Biograph that evening will note the consistency of their accounts. Winstead fired three shots; Hollis and Hurt, one each. Both O’Neil and Zarkovich of the East Chicago Police were stationed on the opposite side of the street from the theater – the only LE personnel anywhere near Dillinger when he was killed were FBI agents.

    The autopsy report indicates that Dillinger was hit four times – two superficial wounds to the face, one superficial wound to the left chest, and the fatal wound entering the lower neck and exiting under the right eye.

    The notion that events occurred differently than the official account is misguided, as conspiracy theories always are.

  13. The idea that people still believe “official accounts” made by the government is humorous to me. The government would never lie:-)