No one could stop John Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone -- from his girlfriend Billie Frechette 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' gang -- later including Baby Face Nelson and Alvin Karpis -- thrilled many, J. Edgar Hoover made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Melvin 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 Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) 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.
The crime drama is set during the Great Depression with the focus on the FBI agent Melvin Purvis's attempt to stop criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Christian Bale will play FBI agent Purvis, Johnny Depp will play Dillinger, Marion Cotillard will play Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette, and Channing Tatum will play Pretty Boy Floyd. Principal photography began in Columbus, Wisconsin on March 17, 2008[3] and wrapped in Chicago, Illinois; Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Madison, Wisconsin; and several other places in Wisconsin until the end of June 2008, including the famous Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, the actual location of a 1934 gun fight between Dillinger and the FBI.[4] Some parts of the film were shot in Crown Point, Indiana, the town where Dillinger was imprisoned and subsequently escaped from jail.
