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Lost History: John Dillinger's Prison Escape Plan TV program with Gordon Herigstad cameo


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Excellent

I think I had seen that before but I certainly forgot about Gordon in there.

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Several years ago, when returning from a NASCAR race at Chicagoland I stopped off at Crown Point Jail.  I ended up getting a personal tour of the jail,  back stairwell (that Johnny used to get to the garage), his cell and the booking area where the infamous photo with the Sheriff was taken.    Cool history indeed. 

The jail scenes in the movie Public Enemies were filmed there as well.  My guide was astonished that the production company came in, painted the cells and common areas then made it look old again. Hollywood !!!  Maybe Mike Hammer can shed some light on that.  

There was talk about giving tours at some point.  A nice side trip if you are in the area.  The front of the Jail hasn't changed much from the time the video was taken.  

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It was a big event when Gordon got both "Dillinger" Thompsons returned to the PDs. Gordon said he discovered one of them in a storage area at the FBI facility at Quantico. He immediately recognized the serial number as the Crown Point gun stolen by Dillinger, no one there knew it. He went to Crown Point and spoke with the sheriff who was not interested in getting the gun returned. When a new sheriff was elected Gordon went back, this time the new sheriff was interested in getting the gun returned. Gordon was key working with the FBI and the sheriff to get the gun returned. Two FBI agents came and returned the Thompson, it was a big deal held in an auditorium, and the media and town dignitaries attended. The best part was they let Gordon clean and shoot the gun. Gordon sent me a video (VHS) of the presentation and him shooting the gun. It was on the local and national news. The other stolen Thompson was on display at the FBI facility, it was returned as well. I don't know the serial numbers etc, but I'm sure some of the gangster aficionados can chime in. I'll post pictures of the handouts given at the event (if I can find them).   

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8 hours ago, First Sergeant said:

The jail scenes in the movie Public Enemies were filmed there as well.  My guide was astonished that the production company came in, painted the cells and common areas then made it look old again. Hollywood !!!  Maybe Mike Hammer can shed some light on that.  

With the production budget at over 100 million, "Public Enemies" had the luxury of filming many of the scenes at or near the original places that the original events took place. Much of the film was shot at multiple locations in my home state of Wisconsin. Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Beaver Dam, Manitowish Waters. Same thing with locations in Indiana like the Crown Point jail. If the film has the budget, they will go to significant lengths to make it as authentic as possible.

I wanted to work on this film and did contact Avy Kaufman casting in NY, but unfortunately I was not as lucky as I was in getting a part in "The Highwaymen". The movie is still very good even though I'm not in it, Ha! But I think that I could have gave Depp a run for his money as Dillinger!

Mike  Dil.jpg

Edited by Mike Hammer
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Yes Mike you would have. since everybody forgets J.D. WAS YOUNG.

GONE TOO SOON.

And the Highwaymen, WAS A GREAT MOVIE.Watched that one 3 times already.anytime it hits 3 its great.

I had my 15 seconds of fame a number of times in life.now its time to forget ha ha......

 

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