A woman in an orange dress tipped off police to a movie theater, and America's most wanted man never made it out alive.
A Fatal Night at the Movies
On a warm night in July 1934, John Dillinger exited the Biograph Theater into the humid Chicago air. He finished watching Manhattan Melodrama, which is a film about criminals starring Clark Gable and he did not know that his actual experiences were about to resemble the events on the screen.
For more than a year, Dillinger appeared frequently in national news reports. He robbed many banks across the Midwest, escaped from a jail and avoided being caught multiple times. Due to those actions, he became a famous individual who was hiding from the authorities. To members of the public who suffered during the Great Depression, he was an adventurous person who lived outside the law. To police officers, he was Public Enemy Number One.
The Woman in Red
The plan to catch him was created days earlier by Ana CumpΔnaΘ, who is also known as Anna Sage. She was an immigrant who managed a brothel and was at risk of being forced to leave the country. She worked with the police and federal agents because she wanted help with her immigration status and the reward money. To ensure that agents could see her outside the theater, she wore a dress that is a bright orange red color - this choice of clothing later resulted in the name "the Woman in Red".
Dillinger walked outside with Sage and his girlfriend, Polly Hamilton. As the three people turned onto the sidewalk, Special Agent Melvin Purvis used a match to light a cigar - this action is the signal that the agents planned to use before they moved toward the group. And federal agents appeared from areas where there is no light.
The Ambush and Aftermath
When John Dillinger perceived a threat, he moved quickly toward a side street and attempted to draw a handgun - but federal officers discharged their weapons before he was able to shoot. As multiple projectiles struck his body, he fell to the ground at the entrance of the alleyway. To provide medical care, officials transported him to a hospital where a doctor stated that he was no longer alive.
By a short time later, many people in Chicago knew about the event. Before the evening concluded, large groups of individuals assembled at the location and some visitors collected items from the ground. Because the government killed a person who was known for breaking laws, the public reacted with both joy and sadness. In many cities police and banking executives were happy that the period of robberies was over. At the same time laborers expressed grief for a man whom they perceived as an opponent of established institutions.
With this event the reputation of the Bureau of Investigation under Hoover became more established. It is one of the specific occurrences that made the public perceive the organization as more powerful - but this single case did not cause the creation of the modern FBI by itself. It is one of the visible examples that increased the status of the Bureau during the decade of the 1930s.
For Anna Sage, the agreement resulted in a negative outcome - although she obtained a portion of the payment, she did not receive the legal safety that she expected. And because of her legal status, the government eventually sent her back to Romania.
On a typical day now, the passage next to the Biograph Theater is silent and looks like any other street. It is very different from the evening in July 1934 when John Dillinger died at that location.