American Experience · SEASON 14
Public Enemy #1
Episode 10 · 2002-02-17
- Documentary
Episode overview
John Dillinger may have been "Public Enemy No. 1" in 1933 and '34, but Americans didn't reflexively hate him, and this hour explores reasons why as it chronicles his 14-month bank-robbing spree. Dillinger "represents a rebellious impulse that many people in the Great Depression had good reason to feel," says Tom Doherty, one of the historians interviewed. Morever, "he was a charming guy," says another, Claire Potter. The hour also features a grandnephew of Dillinger and Alston Purvis, the son of Melvin Purvis, the G-Man who finally caught up with the Public Enemy.
55 minutes
Season 14 episodes
1. New York (6): The City of Tomorrow2001-09-10
2. New York (7): The City and the World2001-09-17
3. War Letters2001-11-01
4. Woodrow Wilson (1): A Passionate Man2002-01-06
5. Woodrow Wilson (2): The Redemption of the World2002-01-13
6. Mount Rushmore2002-01-20
7. Miss America2002-01-27
8. Zoot Suit Riots2002-03-01
9. Monkey Trial2002-02-23
10. Public Enemy #12002-02-17
11. Ansel Adams2002-04-21
12. A Brilliant Madness2002-04-28
13. Ulysses S. Grant (1): The Warrior2002-04-01
14. Ulysses S. Grant (2): The President2002-04-02
