Dillinger

J. Edgar Hoover protested this film being made and demanded that changes be made to the script to depict the FBI in a better light (see below). Shortly before his death he recorded a disclaimer to the film; it can be heard (spoken by an imitation voice) after the closing credits. The film depicts John Dillinger being shot outside the Biograph after he pulls his gun; in fact, Dillinger never pulled a gun that night. The FBI decided they were going to kill Dillinger rather than attempt to take him alive; they announced their presence, he turned to run, and was shot six times in the back.

Notes at the end of the movie claim that Melvin Purvis shot himself with the gun he killed John Dillinger with. In fact, the gun used to self-inflict his fatal wound was given to him by his colleagues at the FBI when he retired in 1935, the year after Dillinger was shot.

After the closing credits a verbal renouncing of gangster films written by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover is heard: he was scheduled to read it for the film, but died before it started production. Hoover's text is read at the film's close by voice actor (Paul Frees) decrying the film and calling it a source of corruption for children.

Two different versions with different main title music exist_ The original version features the song "We're in the Money" being played while snap shots of homeless and poor people are shown on the screen. The alternate version has the same visuals but with a simpler instrumental cue (called "Theme from Dillinger" on the soundtrack LP).