10 Greatest Criminal Masterminds In Cinema

10. John Dillinger (Public Enemies)

John DillingerUniversal PicturesThe first entry on our list was actually a real life criminal. John Dillinger lead the entire newly created FBI on a merry chase across the United States in during the early 1930's, robbing a string of banks and leaving J. Edgar Hoover's 'G-Men' clutching at straws as to where he was going to strike next. Michael Mann's 2009 film Public Enemies depicts these events, albeit slightly altered for the sake of a more compelling film, with everyone's favourite character actor Johnny Depp stepping into Dillinger's shoes. Dillinger spends almost the entirety of the movie with a middle finger to the FBI. He attends the cinema in public when his face is well known, he escapes from jail with the aid of nothing but a wood block carved into the shape of a gun and he even walks straight into the FBI head office to examine the information they have on him. Dillinger was undoubtedly a criminal before his time, too smart for the system to catch up with. In the end, both in real life and the movie, it took someone else ratting him out for him to get caught. A jealous lover shopped him to the FBI, letting them know that he was definitely going to a theatre that evening. The FBI staked out two theatres, knowing he'd be at one of them and when Dillinger emerged, a shoot-out occurred. Dillinger was shot four times as he tried to escape. Still, had it not been for one vengeful ex, the FBI would probably never have caught the greatest bank robber of that age.
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