My Brother's Keeper

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER

Sean Greenthaner

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2014

APPROVED:

C. Melinda Levin, Major Professor Ben Levin, Committee Member George Larke-Walsh, Committee Member Alan B. Albarran, Chair of the Department of Media Arts Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Greenthaner, Sean. “My Brother’s Keeper.” Master of Fine Arts (Radio, Television and

Film), May 2014, 35 pp., illustrations, references, 23 titles.

My Brother’s Keeper is a Documentary Film developed to explore the life of John

Dillinger. It examines the legendary criminal through the memories of Frances Dillinger

Sean Greenthaner

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS…………………………………………………………………………1 Description

PREPRODUCTION RESEARCH……………………………………………………..3 Purpose Intended Audience Treatment Feasibility Research Style and Approach Potential Shots and Characters Photos Funding Distribution

RECONCEPTUALIZATION BEFORE PRODUCTION………………………….…15

INTERGRATION OF THEORY AND PRODUCTION……………………………..17 Theories and Rationales Re-enactment and Authenticity

PRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………..22 Overview Crew Equipment

POSTPRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………26 Overview Editing Techniques Distribution

APPENDIX A BUDGET ITEMIZATION…………………...……………………….29

REFERENCES………………………………………………………….……………..34

iii Description

The Great Depression, the most severe recorded economic downfall in America’s history.

The hardship began mid 1920s and lasted until 1939. It was the longest and most devastating depression ever experienced in the United States. The federal and state authorities found it a desperate time as well. The nation had to coexist with poverty and the circumstantial rise in crime. Ordinary men turned to crime as a way to survive. But for one man, his crimes were extraordinary. He was a new breed of outlaw with aspirations of legacy. In the media, he was portrayed as a modern day “Billy the Kid”. His crimes against financial institutions paid homage to those who came before him. His crimes became accepted by many across the nation as he was referred to as a “prince amongst thieves.” Criminals became front page news and their crimes and exploits were followed by the nation. Gangsters and bandits became romantic hero figures and were glamorized Robin Hoods of the day. People cheered them as celebrities. They represented a “power of the people” that stood up against what was viewed as government- produced hardships. He was known as Public Enemy #1 to the authorities but to his family, he was simply Johnnie.

1 My Brother’s Keeper explores John Dillinger’s iconic criminal career, life and death. The film will reveal a historical, intimate biographical look at Dillinger. This documentary will explore the media of the time and reveal their role in glamorizing Dillinger’s actions and creating the contemporary popular opinion about Dillinger. In the film, John Dillinger’s roots are visited in the home of the Dillinger family: Mooresville, Indiana. Also, My Brother’s Keeper will introduce the Dillinger family today. For the fist time in over sixty five years Frances Dillinger

Thompson, the youngest of the Dillinger sisters, recounts personal family stories about John as a boy and up until the years of his death. An audience will witness the family today and how they came to terms with intimate memories of John, now burdened by historical myth. Viewers will have a rare firsthand look at recorded personal artifacts such as John’s letters from prison to his father and the infamous carved wooded pistol coated in shoe polish that is to believe to be the one used by Dillinger during his famous escape from Crown Point. The film will observe the

Dillinger family brings personal items for sale to auction and how the family came to the decision to depart with the personal items. This film allows an honest understanding of the man himself, and will aid in reintroducing John Dillinger to a more contemporary audience. In this attempt to rediscover John Dillinger, the documentary will focus on the qualities and characteristics recorded from interviews with eyewitnesses at the time and that of the circumstances that surrounded his life. Interviews with expert historians, authors and retired FBI agents will provide accounts that will be threaded together to educate and focus on fact versus myth. My Brother’s Keeper will allow for the social perception of John Dillinger to be connected to a more intimate perspective about the man that his family called Johnnie.

2 Purpose

My Brother’s Keeper will explore the fascination with one of America’s most notorious

criminals, John Dillinger. The film’s focus will deconstruct many of the myths associated with

Dillinger’s life. It will take into account the circumstances and actions of the man and his crimes,

paralleled against intimate family stories and detailed letters of John’s own admissions of his

crimes to his father and family. The documentary attempts to bring closure to many of the

sensationalized actions of Dillinger played out by the media of the time and show how the 1930s

media helped create the myth. It will also address the post-Dillinger era of today. How will the

burden of John Dillinger’s crimes and iconic status affect future generations of the Dillinger

family? My Brother’s Keeper will also serve as a record of the intimate memories of the last

remaining family member closest to John, his little sister Frances Dillinger Thompson. From this

personal access, the film allows Frances to have one of the first and last conversations about her

older brother in over sixty- five years and allow a rare, privileged conversation into his past. This is a documentary that aims to separate fact from fiction and to reveal John Dillinger in a more

intimate light. A film that can act as a voice for who John Dillinger the man really was and who as a nation we needed him to be.

Intended Audience

A national target audience is intended. In my opinion, this film has the potential for broad

interest because of the action-based content and historical basis. Moviegoers who enjoy

biography, history, crime or documentary films and books are targeted. Those who like

documentaries that employ re-enactments to aid in the storytelling are a target audience.

Educators could find this film useful as an educational tool for history and social studies to assist

3 in the teaching of American culture. As Dillinger’s criminal escapades took him through the

Midwest, regional markets in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Missouri will be targeted for localization and identification towards the subject matter.

Treatment

The sign reads “Welcome to Mooresville”. It is a small Indiana town mostly made up of farm land and the humble hard working people who live there. A car pulls up to a small house where an older women and a man stand out front. The woman waves and is inviting. Inside the house the walls are lined with picture frames with wonderful black and white photographs. She now sits at the kitchen table with a coffee in front of her and introduces herself. She is Francis

Dillinger Thompson and she is proud to say that John Dillinger was her brother. She begins to reminisce about when she was a little girl and how she would love to go to the movies with her big brother. She smiles when she thinks of the time she tried to bring one of her brother’s bulletproof vests from his car. The weight of the vest was so heavy for her weak arms that

“Johnnie would tease me as I dragged it to the house” she remembered. To Frances, John

Dillinger was just a big brother that liked to take her to the movies or play and tease with her as they grew up in a modest normal home surrounded by the fields of the small Midwest town and countryside of Morrisville, Indiana.

As for Johnnie Dillinger, growing up would be the hardest thing to do. The death of his mother at the age of three would not be the first time the loss of a woman in his life would spark his misdirected anger. His childhood sweetheart and first wife broke his heart and after ten years of marriage, his stepmother who loved him like he was her own died the day he came home from prison. His relationships with women would be the one thing that made him vulnerable and it

4 was yet another woman who would be his downfall. Anna Sage who Dillinger trusted in the end cooperated with the FBI and told the agents where and when they would be at the Biograph

Theater.

The myth of John Dillinger still resonates today. Countless books and movies sensationalize the actions of Dillinger and has been the major reason why his myth continues today. But where is the separation between fact and myth? Who really was John Dillinger? Has the myth replaced the facts of who Dillinger really was? Historians today still argue myth versus

facts and credit Dillinger as the most influential criminal of our time. John Dillinger shaped The

United States government’s stance towards criminals and redefined the FBI as we know it today.

John Dillinger is loved by many, but not by as much as the little sister who had to grow

up without her big brother. Francis Dillinger has always found it difficult to understand the

reasons behind her brother’s actions. All she can remember are the good times she spent with her

big brother. They would go to the movies or Johnnie would read to her from his dime novels.

She was very young but her memory is still vivid when she speaks about John. She states “I just

want everybody to understand the John Dillinger I knew, Johnnie my brother, the loving, kind

person that he was.

The film visits the town of Mooresville and meets some of the people that recollect the

past. Their stories of Johnnie are of a young boy who had a playful spirit and warm heart. They

want to make it understood that the boy they had known could never be the cold-hearted killer

the 1930s media made him out to be.

It then asks questions of historical experts on Dillinger such as how could this sweet boy

from Indiana come to be known as one of the most deadly men in America. This is a sequence

5 that will set up questions about Dillinger’s psychological state and analyzes how abandonment by the women in his life could have caused him to act out in damaging ways.

Next, the film asks about the FBI’s official view on Dillinger and how did he impact the

agency? After speaking with retired federal agents, it is learned that he was a murderer in the

eyes of the law though there is nothing in the agency’s records that proves Dillinger took

anyone’s life. Was it J. Edger Hoover’s wish for fame and his eagerness for getting his man that

required that Dillinger be taken dead or alive? Also, it is discovered that the public’s perception

of Dillinger was that he was more of a nuisance and should have been arrested, not gunned down

in the streets in cold blood.

The film takes us on location to the famous Crown Point Jail where Dillinger broke out

using a wooden pistol and also to the Biograph Theater where Dillinger met his end. These

locations are important because they set the backdrop for two of Dillinger’s unresolved legends

still discussed today. Did Dillinger really carve the pistol or did one of the few who visited him

in Crown Point smuggle it in? There are unresolved questions about the artifacts from the

Dillinger museum in Indiana. Is this the actual pistol? Many different owners take credit for the

priceless artifact’s possession today. The film hunts down the rightful owner. A scene also takes

us to the place of his death. Dillinger’s deadly capture is explored through files and historical

accounts on who really shot Dillinger.

Finally the film ends back with the Dillinger family today as they head to Dallas, Texas

to auction off private artifacts kept by the family for more than 60 years. Francis shares that this

is what her father told her to do as a small child, that the items someday would be worth money

and that this is what Johnnie would want, knowing that he was still taking care of his family.

6 Feasibility

Through an established relationship I enjoy with the Dillinger family, I have privileged

access to original documents, photographs, artifacts and personal recollections of John Dillinger.

Public and private libraries throughout Texas and the United States are accessible for research

material. Utilizing state and federal agencies will provide factual public information needed for

research and historical cross checking.

With this level of access, I have a unique opportunity to tell Dillinger’s story from an

unheard voice and perspective. I believe that his story is that of tragic circumstance that makes it

connectable to a contemporary audience. The story of John Dillinger can reach today’s youth and

show them that the wrong life decisions can lead one down the wrong path

Research

The film’s historical research springs from many different media outlets. From 1930 to the present, many books have been written on the subject. One influential reference is the manuscript written by G. Russell Girardin in the 1930s. This material is considered to be the most factual as it was written during the time when Dillinger was at the height of his criminal career. Most of the author’s facts come from first hand interviews with the Dillinger family and

Mooresville community, as well as the only approved statements and interview by Dillinger’s lawyer Louis Piquett.

Also an important part of this research comes from the passing of the Public Information

Act which allowed for access of 30,000 files on John Dillinger. These documents, which contain detailed information on the actions of Dillinger’s crimes, shed light on what was once under lock and key.

7 The most significant research comes from the personal interview with Francis Dillinger

Thompson, the youngest of the Dillinger family. She is the last remaining immediate family

member of John Dillinger today. Her memories of his early life and upbringing will be

examined. For the first time, interviews with the present-day Dillinger family allow a contemporary audience to have a better understanding of who John Dillinger really was.

Information will be obtained from the Morrisville, Indiana historical records found in libraries and archival materials such as newspapers and news reels from the period. The archival media on the subject is made available from the Library of Congress. This material will be used to cross reference myth versus fact and describe how the media from the 1930s over- sensationalized the actions of Dillinger and made him the legend he is today.

The Dillinger family archive of personal family photos of John Dillinger as a child and adult are available to me. My Brother’s Keeper uses stock newsreels from the 1930s of John’s father being interviewed about his son. Also the film will utilize earlier film attempts from the

30s and Hollywood-made films about Dillinger to aid in demonstrating how the myth was established.

Style and Approach

My Brother’s Keeper is a historical documentary in tradition but will have modern

techniques such as the use of observational footage and narrative re-enactment sequences. The

film will contain interviews with criminal, physiological and historical experts, as well as, with

some of John Dillinger’s surviving family members. Historians will talk about the late 1930s

economical effects on society and life at that time in America. Scenes from Hollywood gangster

films will reconnect the moments in Dillinger’s career as they caused national headlines. The

8 interviews will be complimented by archival footage, personal photos and stock photos of the

period.

A biographical, chronological account of Dillinger’s crimes and the decade of the

depression will be narrated and scripted. Voice over with incorporated sound bites of interviews

and archival footage will drive the film. Music from the 1920s and 1930s will be used for audio

transitions and underlying music score.

Re-enactment footage will be used to recapture situations and places during Dillinger’s

criminal acts. They will be shot on high definition to obtain best quality for vintage appeal to the overall theatric tone of the film. Archival stock footage will be interlaced with re-enactment

footage to aid certain events.

In all the style and approach towards the film is that of a historical documentary. The

filmmaker will have a reflexive role at times mostly covered by voiceover and narration with

little on camera presence.

This film’s objective is to educate and entertain its audience while providing Dillinger

fans new and old access into the life of this man. The film aims to provide a better understand of

the man and his actions.

Potential Shots and Characters

HD Video Re-enactment (Cinematic Composition) • CU of Tommy Machine Gun being loaded • MS of 1930s Ford automobile driving down dirt road with people on the running boards • CU of the smoke from the machine gun as it fires rapidly • MS of driver’s perspective looking out front windshield of 1930s ford • CU of direction being given by barrel of gun • MS Pervis and his men waiting outside theater • CU Anna Sage lighting her cigarette • CU Dillinger lying on the street after being shot • Both Mythical and Factual visual accounts of Dillinger’s death will be shot. • (Purvis shooting Dillinger)(FBI field agents shot Dillinger: Purvis never fires)

9 HD Video Interview and Observational • CU of interviews of experts as they explain the social effects the 1929 depression and other social issues and perspectives about Dillinger’s life and crimes • CU interview of family member as they talk about how Dillinger attempted one of his famous prison breaks • LS pan across auction room as bidding takes place on Dillinger personal items • Interviews with family members outside on Dillinger’s childhood home • CU of Dillinger family as they watch personal items being sold

HD Video Landscape and Location • LS pan across the field Dillinger played and hunted in as a boy • WS Indiana landscape, Chicago skyline, Downtown • MS of the actual spot Dillinger took his final breaths outside Biograph Theater • WS of the Crown Point Jail Dillinger broke out of with wooden gun • CU of the cell and path Dillinger took with in jail for his escape • CU/WS of Dillinger museum • CU of Dillinger gravestone

Archival and Photo • Archival still photos of the Dillinger shooting outside theater will be used under voice • Personal still photos of Dillinger as a young boy will be used under voice • Scenes from television movies about gangsters will be used as supportive visual correlation to voice over, also will be used as transitional footage • Interiors and Exteriors of Federal Penitentiaries • Archival still photos of famous gang members and bank robbers that Dillinger was a member of or robbed with (example: Machine Gun Kelly) • Stock archival still photos and footage of and around Great Depression will be used to support narrative • Newspaper headlines and court transcripts about Dillinger will be used • A newsreel of Dillinger’s father talking about crime does not pay and rare interviews will be used

Historical Characters/Subjects • John Dillinger (Criminal) (main subject) • Melvin Purvis (FBI, hunted Dillinger down) (main subject) • Anna Sage (Lady in Red, Responsible for setting Dillinger up) (main subject) • J.Edger Hoover (Head of FBI) (supportive subject) • Polly Hamilton (Pawn) (supportive subject)

Subjects Supportive • Francis Dillinger Thompson (last remaining immediate family member to Dillinger) (main subject) • Mike Thompson (nephew) (supportive subject) • Carol Sissom (author) (supportive subject) • Alston Purvis (author) (supportive subject)

10 Potential Expert Interviews • Ben Loeterman (filmmaker) (supportive subject) • William J. Helmer (author) (supportive subject) • Elliott J. Gorn (author) (supportive subject) • David Mitchell (FBI) (supportive subject) • Gordon Kramer (FBI) (supportive subject) • Ellen DiGiovanni (psychologist) (supportive subject) • Ethan Time (Historian) (supportive subject) • E. Gray Simons (Historian) (supportive subject)

11 Photographs Archival Photographs

12 Funding

The filmmaker provided the funding for the project, with the understanding that other

funding mechanisms were available for future needs. Volunteers and in-kind services were also

utilized.

The filmmaker is seeking future funding from private and public grant-providing agencies across

the nation. In part, the filmmaker has privately-generated capital through fund-raising efforts and

donations from private investors. Arts and Humanities Councils and state tourism boards also

offer funding resources. National funding will be sought from the Corporation for Public

Broadcasting (CPB) and Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). Local funding opportunities exist

through city arts commission, regional chamber of commerce associations and city tourism

boards.

Funding Resources

Commission on the Arts Educational Agency: Major Universities Film Commission Historical Commission Tourism Commission CPB Fund- Public Television ITS- Independent Television Service Ford Foundation Media, Arts & Cultural Grant National Endowment for the Humanities

Distribution

After the film’s completion, private funds have been secured for entry fees for film

festivals and costs associated with supplying distributors. Funds have been set aside in the

amount of $1,000.00.

13 The filmmaker is primarily seeking those that specialize in documentary film distribution

as well as supply educational content to schools and universities nationwide. Distribution

companies with an interest in providing programming for Public Television and cable formatted

channels appeal to the film’s overall distribution goals.

Distribution Resources

Lucid Public Relations-Houston, Texas. Focus on educational content distribution. Marengo Film-Dallas, Texas. Independent film distribution/PBS programming. AIMS Multimedia-New York, New York. Distribute educational & training programs. Tapestry-Atlanta, Georgia. Focus on educational content distribution. Documentary Educational Resources-California.

Additional festival distribution will include nationally and internationally recognized documentary film festivals. My Brother’s Keeper will target distribution that focus on historical, biographical and educational subject matter.

National/International: Berlin International Film Festival – Berlin, Germany. SXSW Film Festival – Austin, Texas. New Directors/New Films – New York Premiere – New York. Silverdocs: Discovery Channel Documentary Festival – Silver Spring, Maryland. Sydney Film festival – Sydney, Australia. Peraro Fim Festival – Peraro, Italy. Melbourne International Film Festival – Melbourne, Australia. Napa Sonoma Film Festival – Napa Valley, California. Vancouver Film Festival – Vancouver, Canada. International Documentary Film Festival – Amsterdam, Holland. Big Sky Documentary Film Festival – Missoula, Montana. Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival – Hot Springs, Arkansas. AFI Dallas Intl. Film Festival – Dallas, Texas. Austin Film Festival – Austin, Texas. Hot Doc – Toronto, Canada.

14 RECONCEPTUALIZATION BEFORE PRODUCTION

My studies have taught me that at the root of every good story there are basic

fundamentals. The characters are one of the most important because they are the ones who tell

the story. They serve to guide the story along, hopefully gaining trust with the viewer. Their

conflict and resolution are the story. These grounded rules in storytelling, such as the character,

their conflict and resolution, are the same in documentary and fiction narrative films.

In the beginning I knew I wanted to make a documentary film that depicted the infamous

1930s bank robber bandit. During this period of time, there were more than an enough of these types of characters. But at the center, it became clear that the film would showcase John

Dillinger. I was intrigued and thrilled by Dillinger as a character. Maybe he acted as a reminder for me as a boy playing cops and robbers —the good guy versus the bad guy. As children, we are always being taught that the good guy always wins. But I was often fascinated by the gangster

character and wanted to explore it. No other bank robber in history has had the success and

defining characteristics of a smooth criminal as John Dillinger. I started to research the bank

robber and realized that due to his popularity, many books, documentaries and Hollywood films

have been made about his life and crimes. I found this film to be a challenge, knowing that his

story had already been told by many different people and in many different ways.

When I first created the concept for the film, I determined that like many historical

documentaries, interviews and archival material would set the visual tone for the film. I wanted

to add a cinematic quality and test my abilities but there was only one visual solution: use of re-

enactments. I knew re-enactment footage would allow me, as a director, to theoretically walk in

Dillinger’s shoes. Acting out his crimes and death in front of the camera would give me

cinematic connectivity with my subject. The film’s story detailing Dillinger’s life would be

15 crafted out of interviews, media artifacts and re-enactments woven together, overlaid by narration.

In July 2010, the first stages of re-enactment shooting went into production. August of that same year would mark the 75th anniversary of Dillinger’s death. The film’s production got local news coverage and then caught the attention of the Chicago Sun Times. After this article, I

was contacted by Mike Thompson and his mother Frances Dillinger Thompson and they thanked

us for my interest in John and for wanting to tell the story of his life. This would be the defining

moment for the production of the film and the story itself. A new character would share center stage. I knew that the film would now feature Frances as the driving force within the film. It would be through the intimate conversations held with Frances on camera that would allow for the film to truly get closer to Dillinger than I could have ever imagined. Frances, his last remaining sister, would act as her brother’s keeper. As a character, she would share their

personal relationship and the burden living with this task.

16 INTEGRATION OF THEORY AND PRODUCTION

Theories and Rationales

My Brother’s Keeper is an intimate portrait and historical documentary film exploring the

life of John Dillinger, revealed through the memories of his youngest sister, Frances Dillinger

Thompson. The film utilized multiple documentary styles in order to reveal the intimate hardships endured by Frances due to her older brother’s historical criminal past. Through the use of expository methods combined with self-reflexive narration, observational form, and re- enactment, the film speaks to the viewer in a combination of styles that become the one voice of the film.

Filmmaker Bill Nichols defines this combination of styles as the fourth generation of documentary film. The voice of the film is the mixture of existing documentary forms woven together, defining the material as the film’s voice. He explains the fourth generation of documentary voice in New Challenges for Documentary:

In the evolution of documentary, the contestation amongst forms has centered on the question of “voice.” By voice I mean something narrower than style: that which conveys to us a sense of a text’s social point of view, of how it is speaking to us and how it is organizing the materials it is presenting to us. (18)

The materials presented in this film cover the past and the present. Because the story covered

two different eras with the Dillingers, it was my intention to utilize the best documentary styles possible to convey the information. The expository mode was the principal voice of the film, spoken through interviews. But unlike traditional use of narration in this form acting as “the voice of god” in the film, self-reflexive voice over is used within the film but only to deliver known facts and personal observations about Dillinger. The narration only attempts to tell the whole truth.

17 According to Nichols, the definition of the use:

The reflexive mode acknowledges the constructed nature of documentary and flaunts it - conveying to people that this is not necessarily "truth" but a reconstruction of it - "a" truth, not "the" truth. (189)

The use of reflexive narration in My Brother’s Keeper is a rhetorical tool designed to aid the re- enactment footage and express my personal thoughts about Dillinger’s life and death. It in no way attempts to act as all knowing or present new facts.

The expository mode allowed the subjects’ interviews to tell the story and not rely on the narration. It allowed for the film’s major subject, Frances, to have the authority needed for the material she was conveying. Interviewing Frances on-camera reinforced to the audience that she has first hand experience on the film’s subject matter. Also, it allowed the film to introduce

Frances and the burdens of being her brother’s keeper to a contemporary audience for the first time ever. My objective for the use of expository style was to allow the intimate portrait of John

Dillinger to come directly from the personal relationship between the siblings. Archival photos and news reels support the style and aid in the visual representation of the historical material gathered during the traditional interview process. The work of Errol Morris is a good example of the expository mode used in documentary filmmaking with films such as A Brief History In

Time, The Thin Blue Line and The Fog Of War where their subject’s interview becomes the driving force of the films narratives.

Observational style was needed and used in the film’s overall voice in areas of the story where this documentary form best represents the material. This style’s traditions influence the modern documentary today with its roots formed by Robert Drew and Richard Leacock called direct cinema. Ellis and McLane describe their observational style in A New History of

Documentary Film:

18 Their technique assumed the possibility of an objective observer. While acknowledging that subjectivity occurs in selecting persons and situations and aspects of them, once those choices are made the filmmakers do not direct or participate in, or even influence, the scene in any way. (215)

My choices for the use of the observational form would be best used in one sequence of

the film where the material presented should not involve the filmmakers influence. During the

auction sequence, observational footage is combined with interview. The audience witnesses the

Dillinger family today coming to terms with the sale of John’s treasured personal belongings by

observing Frances and the human condition naturally unfold for the camera as she faces this

truth. This was a scene in the film I didn’t want to attempt to re-enact. I knew that observing this

situation first hand would have more of an impact on an audience, allowing them to see Frances’

burden as caretaker of her brother’s memory and belongings for themselves. As the filmmaker, I

wanted this scene to voice the impact John’s life had on Frances even 75 years after his death.

The last form used to shape the overall voice of My Brother’s Keeper was dramatization

or re-enactment. The use of re-enactment is a style used to voice the film’s interpretation of the events in Dillinger’s life. They are used to demonstrate what may have happened, unlike the observational, which documents events as they happen. The sequences providing supporting visuals assist with illustrating the popular memory of Dillinger created by the media. The major re-enactments of John’s final hours before his death were set up to reinforce the thematic end to

Dillinger’s life. They were a cinematic tool used to connect the audience with a nostalgic, romanticized image of Dillinger. The voice they exercise in the film is more my own creative expression rather than to deliver important material.

In the end, My Brother’s Keeper is a fourth generation documentary that truly showcases the use of modern techniques that allow the voice of the film be heard in several different

documentary forms. The decision to use this combination of styles was based on my goal to

19 achieve a contemporary voice for the film, which I felt was important in order to reach the intended audience.

Re-enactment and Authenticity

My Brother’s Keeper is a contemporary historical documentary. It serves as a historical

and social expression on the life and criminal career of John Dillinger as well as his lasting

relationship with his youngest sister, Frances. As discussed, the film utilizes many different documentary forms. Stella Bruzzi criticizes Nichols for suggesting that documentary filmmakers have aimed for the “perfect representation of the real” and would fail in this impossible aim, thus undermining the documentary form.

All types of documentary have existed at different times’ and have often, mixed styles. What is the point of worrying about authenticity? (189)

She sees documentary as contributing to understanding real world events. My Brother’s Keeper

in its use of re-enactments contributes only an interpreted point of view towards the events of

Dillinger’s life and doesn’t attempt to give authority to the events depicted.

Due to fact that these events occurred in the 1930s, re-enactments are used and act as an

important narrative tool in the re-telling of historical events depicted in this film. The stylistic choice for the use of re-enactments allowed me as a filmmaker to provide a useful objective visual representation in depicting Dillinger actions and death.

The use of re-enactment is limited but important in this film. It is strictly used to act as a transitional, poetic and visual representation of the circumstances surrounding Dillinger’s

criminal career and death. Over time, many of these facts have been misrepresented and are

heavily burdened in myth. This was why the decision for objective representation of Dillinger,

set against landscapes, would set the tone for the re-enactments and visual dialogue in the film.

20 The theater sequence was used to represent the misconception and the myth of his death. This

event has no visual record. It is only based on the stories of witnesses and bystanders. In time,

these accounts have been visually construed and embellished by the media, impacting American

culture’s understanding of Dillinger.

The re-enactment was used to entertain the audience visually. This allows for an audience to use the re-enactments as visual aids for their own objective witnessing of the film’s attempt to interpret Dillinger. The level of authenticity within the re-enactment was a decision left to the viewer. Its purpose was not to make a moment or event in this story more authentic or imply any truth. The re-enactment in the film was simply used to present the material in a cinematic expression. An example of this is found in the film’s sequence of Dillinger running across a snowy field. His face is never shown; the audience witnesses the will and determination of the character to cross the field. The film’s visuals, juxtaposing Dillinger’s determination against the threatening landscape represents the hardships endured by Dillinger. The narration reinforces this image by informing the audience that Dillinger, no matter what the circumstances, always found a way to prevail and return to his family.

In creating these sequences, I was influenced by Errol Morris, the first documentary filmmaker that demonstrated that cinematic recreations have a place in documentary storytelling. It was in his film A Thin Blue Line where Morris successfully illustrates that place and time can be recreated without having to establish authenticity. The interrogation scenes in the film are re- enactments but the cinematic treatment of these sequences helps the audience into accepting the re-enactment as a possible representation of reality. The re-enactments are used to add a visual representation of characters and events not to give authority towards actuality.

21 PRODUCTION

Overview

The film’s overall production consisted of two major stages of production. The first stage was the planning and filming of the Dillinger re-enactment scenes. The second stage was the logistics and filming of testimonials or interviews. Both stages seemed challenging because they would require different preproduction planning and execution.

I had to approach the first stage of production as a narrative film. In the summer of 2010, auditions were held for the major characters and the opportunity was given for open casting for extras and vehicles. Rehearsals and location visits before shooting were required for camera blocking and lighting. Make up and wardrobe had to take extra time for preparation and authenticity. Weapons experts and safety officers had to be brought in because of the film’s use of a gun and city streets. This made the first stage very demanding on organization, details and the concurrent special attention given to these aspects of production.

This is quite different from the second stage of production for the film. Attention was given to safe travel first and foremost due to seasonal changes while visiting locations during winter months. The interviews were filmed at various locations and the same thought towards proper preproduction was applied as in stage one but without the added burden of a large cast or crew. The second stage required more intimate detail like interview techniques and observation of subjects. Time could be spent with the film’s subjects. The filming during this stage was not restricted to any pre-scripted storyboard as in the first stage.

During the months of November and December 2010, two location visits took place. The first location was to the town of Mooresville, Indiana where Frances and Mike Dillinger-

Thompson’s interviews were conducted. The second was to Chicago, Illinois to obtain the

22 interview with the head curators of the Dillinger Museum and Old Sheriff’s House & Jail. Also,

during this time two separate re-enactment scenes were planned and executed in Mooresville.

Crew

Sean Greenthaner: Director, Cinematographer, Principal Camera, Writer, Editor

I have a completed Bachelor’s Degree in Television and Film production from the

University of North Texas. Professionally, I have worked in many leading capacities and

positions for narrative and documentary film projects. Currently, I work as a content producer/director for a Texas Public Television Station for almost ten years. Also, I have two

year background in public relations and promotions. I am in the finishing stages of completing

a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Production from the University of North Texas.

Christian Wohlfhart: Second Camera

Christian has worked for KNCT Public Television in Killeen, Texas for more than 15 years, ten of which he has served as Production Manager. He is highly skilled in many aspects

of production and is principal photographer for all of the stations’ television productions.

Mike Bartosek: Camera/Grip

Mike has an Associate’s Degree in Radio & Television Broadcasting from Central Texas

College. While in my position at KNCT-TV, he worked for me as a production assistant. He was found to be a confident asset to any production. He currently is a fulltime producer/director for

KNCT Public Television in Killeen, Texas. He also holds a current place in union for stage/light rigging. He works professionally for major concert venues throughout Texas.

23 Jamie Olswold: Sound

Jamie has received a Bachelor’s Degree in Radio, Television & Film from the University of North Texas. He is currently a freelance production professional that has operated both camera and sound for major concerts and sporting events. He has five years of experience in the production field.

Equipment

The use of a Panasonic HPX-500 high definition camera was used for principal

photography. The camera is a contemporary solid-state file sharing system. It allows for seamless HD digital workflow. This camera uses a high end telephoto lens allowing for multiple depths of field and focal lengths. The camera is lightweight and contains multiple audio in/out connections for various recording microphones. It has a high sensitivity in low light and can produce perfect picture quality under proper lighting techniques.

The smaller Panasonic HPX-200 was also used and offers the same quality and

excellence as the HPX-500 but in a lighter compact housing with standard lens. Camera is solid

state allowing for the same HD work flow during postproduction. This camera will act as

secondary camera for smaller spaces such as vehicle sequence and observational situations. The

choice in cameras proved to provide professional clarity and depth.

Standard Sennheiser microphones such as an XLR lapel and boom were used during the

production. Both microphones provided ample pick up patterns for their defined uses. At times

both microphones had been utilized during interviews to ensure proper sound quality and backup

audio recording. The boom microphones will be used primarily for observational footage and

general views. Both microphones helped in securing the needed audio of subjects and situations.

24 Lighting was accomplished with the use of a mixture of different lighting instruments. A collection of multiple watt size and temperatures ranging from 200 -1000 will be utilized to achieve desired lighting effects. Most of the major lighting was demonstrated during the night time re-enactment of Dillinger’s death outside the theater. High temperature variations allowed for the nostalgic Hollywood Film Noir look and feel. Small LED lighting panels were used for confined spaces such as vehicles and inside the theater. Standard basic three-point lighting was achieved during the interview process providing amply desired lighting.

All equipment used during this production worked up to the expectations of the filmmaker. I have no regrets in the choice of brand or equipment used during this production.

They allowed for me to achieve style and visual tone of the film. Overall the equipment used help in elevating the films sound and visuals to a professional level.

25 POST PRODUCTION

Overview

Post production for the film started in December 2011 and continued till fall 2013. Much

like production, the film’s post production had two stages as well. The first stage was to edit the

re-enactment footage and the second was to edit the interviews.

Stage One required the same organization as in editing a fiction film. Sequences were

written out and followed a shot list or storyboard. Each shot of a sequence is cut with continuity editing techniques using an establishing shot first and cutting into the action or dialogue. This can be seen clearly in the re-enactment footage of Dillinger running through the snowy field.

The second stage then required the organization of information from my subjects. I gathered my subject’s responses into general categories related to the visuals in the film. This helped when needing to quickly find a relatable response for a question the narrative of the film was asking. I also paid special attention to Frances’s interview material. I created categories of

footage that related to a particular visual message, such as when she smiled or laughed, as well as when I felt she looked sad. This way I could easily call up those shots to aid the story when needed.

Both stages of postproduction required the same attention to detail and organization. I

found editing scripted material easier due to the nature in which it is captured. The second stage,

the interviews, was the telling of the story. It is creatively using the material and shaping the

narrative through subjects and situation. This is the challenge of documentary postproduction

versus narrative postproduction.

26 Editing Techniques

Overall the editing techniques used in the making of this film exercise effective continuity editing principles. Establishing shots are used to setup the environment then closer

aesthetics used for character development and aid as visual cues for information and voice.

Extended edits are allowed, for example, when the filmmaker’s reflexive voice enters the

narrative. Here the edit pauses and allows a place for the voice of the filmmaker. Also, brief

moments of extra frames at the end of answers are used as breathing space between information

for the audience. The extended frames also help impact the voice or feeling that is conveyed in

the visual. An example was during Frances’s interview when she speaks of being kidnapped.

There are extended frames that linger allowing for her words to have impact as she sits quietly in

her chair.

The threading or suturing of the material makes up the film’s narrative or story. This

information is broken and split into sections selectively pushing the story along as it reaches new

topics. Information from a scene leads the viewer into the next selected information in a

chronological progression.

Edited newsreels were used as transitions along with re-enactment sequences that aid as

visual representations of Dillinger’s criminal career and death. Music was also selectively used

as transition from sequence to sequence allowing the audience to seamlessly move along with the

film’s structure.

The film was also edited under a three act story structure making sure that it had a

beginning, middle and end recognizable to an audience. At times, I would look at the ending of

the film first to ensure that the story structure was ending with a proper resolution for the

27 conflict. I wanted to have the film take it’s viewer from the 1930s to present day. From the film’s

first edit to its last, this was the overall goal for the film’s voice through the edit.

Distribution

With the film’s completion, distribution primarily will be sought with Public

Broadcasting. I currently work for KNCT-TV, a PBS affiliate in Killeen, Texas. My Brother’s

Keeper has confirmed interest from Texas Public Broadcasting Association (TPBA), who would distribute it to all PBS stations throughout the state of Texas. Also, this gives the film leverage to seek possible distribution by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is one of the main distributors of national programming for PBS. Other distributors include American Public

Broadcasting (APT) that focuses on independently-produced programming and National

Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) that caters to educational needs. I will promote the film to Public Television stations in the Midwest as this is where the film takes place. The goal is to have nationwide distribution of the film via Public Broadcasting, one of the major mediums for television documentaries.

28 APPENDIX A

BUDGET ITEMIZATION

29 My Brother’s Keeper Budget

02-00 Script $5,000.00 03-00 Producer Unit $10,000.00 04-00 Director $10,000.00 05-00Cast $3,000.00 Total Above the Line $28,000.00

10-00 Production Staff $1,400.00 22-00 Camera $16,510.00 23-00 Sound $1,471.20 24-00 Video Stock $219.00 25-00 16mm Film Stock $154.28 26-00 Transportation $350.00 28-00 Living $1,580.00 Total Production $21,684.48

30-00 Editorial $24,950.00 31-00 Music $1,000.00 33-00 Post Production Sound $750.00 34-00 Stock Footage Total Post Production $26,700.00

35-00 Insurance $ 2,535.60 37-00 General Administrative $6,247.00 Total Other $8,782.60

Contingency @ 10% $8,516.71 Grand Total $93,683.79

30 My Brother’s Keeper Budget

Above the Line Time/Amount Matching Funds Rates Required Total Cash In-Kind Requested 02-00 Script throughout the 02-01 Writer $3,000 $3,000 $0.00 $3,000 year 02-02 throughout the Researcher $2,000 $2,000 $0.00 $2,000 year 02-00 script sub-total $5,000

03-00 Production Unit 03-02 Producer $10,000 throughout year $10,000 $0.00 $10,000

03-00 P.U. sub-total $10,000

04-00 Direction 04-01 Director $10,000 throughout year $10,000 $0.00 $10,000

05-00 Cast 05-08 Narrator $100 hr 10 $1,000 $0.00 hours $1,000 05-09 10 Extras $100/day 2 days $2,000 $0.00 $2,000 05-00 cast sub-total $3,000 Below the Line 10-00 Production Staff 10-08 Production $100/day 14 $1,400 $0.00 $1,400 Assistant days 10-00 P.S. sub-total $1,400

22-00 Camera 22-01 Videographer $400/day 14 $5,600 $0.00 $5,600 days 22-05 Cinematographer $700/day $1,400 $0.00 $1,400 2 days 22-06 Still Photographer $250/day $500 $0.00 $500 2 days 22-07 HD Digital $595 day 14 $8330 $0.00 $8330 Camera package days Mic,Lights,Tripod 22-08 16mm Camera Package $1200 $400 $0.00 $400 day 2 days

22-11 Expendables $20 day 14 $280 $0.00 (Batteries ect..) days $280 22-00 camera sub-total $16,230 $280

31 My Brother’s Keeper Budget

23-00 Sound 23-02 Boom Operator $100 day 10 $1,000 $1,000 days $0.00

23-03 Expendables $3.85 12 $46.20 (batteries) package packages $0.00 $46.20 23-08 Cell Phone $85 5 $425 months $0.00 $425

Time/Amount Matching Rates Required Total Cash In-Kind Funds Requested

24-00 Videotape Stock 24-01 External $150.00 2 $300 $0.00 $300 Hard Drive (2Tarabyte)

26-00 Transportation 26-02 Gas & Oil $2.50/gal 3 trips @ 1100 $350 $0.00 $350 miles –round trip

28-00 Living 28-02 Hotel $60 day Production Staff per 4 people / 3 days $720 $0.00 person $720 28-03 Hotel $60 day Extras (cast) per 5 people / 1 day $300 $0.00 person $300 28-04 Per Diem $30 day Production Staff per 4 people / 3 days $360 $0.00 person $360 28-05 Per Diem $20 day Extras (cast) per 10 people / 1 day $200 $0.00 person $200

30-00 Editorial 30-10 Editor $40 hr $8,000 200 hrs $0.00 $8,000 30-10 On-Line System & Effects $75 hr $15,000 200 hrs $0.00 $15,000 30-12 DVD Duplication $1.00 1000 $1000 disc $0.00 $1000 30-13 Closed $1,200 $ 1,200 Caption $0.00 $1,200

31-00 Music 31-01 Composer (final package) $1,000 $1,000 $0.00 $1,000

32 My Brother’s Keeper Budget

33-00 Post production Sound 33-02 Narration $75/hr $750 Recording 10 hours $0.00 $750

Above the Line Time/Amount Matching Rates Required Total Cash In-Kind Funds Requested

35-00 Insurance 35-03 Auto $55 1 month month $55 $0.00 $55 35-04 Errors and 3% of total Omissions budget $2,480.60 $0.00 $2,480.60

37-00 General Administrative 37-02 Legal $2000 $2000 $0.00 $2000 37-04 Email $40 4 $160 $0.00 $160 months 37-05 Copying $0.10page 2000 pages $200 $0.00 $200 37-06 Postage $0.37 stamp 100 $37 $0.00 $37 37-07 Transcription $20 hr 15 hr $300 $0.00 $300 37-09 Film Processing and $250 Transfer $250 $0.00 $250 37-10 Publicity $3000 $3000 $0.00 $1,000 $2,000 38-11 Wrap Party $300 $300 $0.00 $300

Items 0200-3710 $85,167.08 $69,839.28 $0.00 $15,327.80 Contingency @ $8,516.71 10% $8,516.71 $96,083.79 $69,839.28 TOTAL $23,844.51

33 REFERENCES

Rosenthal, Alan, and John Corner. “New Challenges for Documentary”. 2nd ed. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2005. 17-33.

Ellis, Jack, and Betsy McLane. “ A New History of Documentary Film”. New York: The Continuum International Publishing, 2005. 208-226.

Bruzzi, Stella. “New Documentary”. New York: Routledge Press, 2000. 180-201.

Supplement Bibliography

Gorn, Elliott. “Dillinger’s Wild Ride: The year that made America’s Public Enemy #1”. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Girardin, Russel. “Dillinger: The Untold Story”. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1994.

Sissom, Carol. “ Banking with Dillinger”. Indiana: Carol’s Adventures, LLC, 2009.

Burrough, Bryan. “Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave”. New York: Penguin Publishing Group, 2004.

Hampe, Barry. “Making Documentary Films & Reality Videos”. New York: Owl Book Henry Holt & Company, 1997.

Grant, Barry, and Jeannetta Sloniowski. “Documenting the Documentary”. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998.

Stam, Robert, and Toby Miller. “Film and Theory: An Anthology”. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 2000

Nichols, Bill. “Introduction to Documentary”. Indiana: Indiana Publishing Press, 2001.

Morris, Errol. “Truth Not Guaranteed: An interview with Errol Morris”. Cineaste. 1989.

34 Filmography

Dillinger: Public Enemy #1. Dir. John Dillinger. Midland, 1934. Film.

Crime Wave: 18 Months of Mayhem. Dir. Pat Bell. Jupiter, 2008. Film

The American Experience: Dillinger. Dir. Pete Hull. PBS, 1988. Film

Undercover History: Dillinger. Dir. John Hickey. National Geographic, 2006. Film

Brother Can You Spare a Dime. Dir. Philippe Mora. VPS, 1975. Film

Killers All. Dir. John Dillinger. Toddy, 1945. Film

The American Gang Busters. Dir. A.F. Dion. Midland, 1940. Film

Dillinger. Dir. John Milius. AIP, 1973. Film

Dillinger. Dir. Max Nosseck. King Brothers, 1945. Film

Public Enemies. Dir. Michael Mann. Universal, 2009. Film

Appointment with Destiny: John Dillinger. Dir. Nickolas Webster. Wolper. 1971. Film