JOHN MILIUS PRESENTS 'MELVIN PURVIS G-MAN' W/ HARRIS YULIN

Harris Yulin in MELVIN PURVIS G MAN Year: 1974 Grade: C+

John Milius's DILLINGER has everything you'll ever want in a gangster flick with a thousand bullets to spare. Warren Oates plays Dillinger and Ben Johnson plays Melvin Purvis, both to perfection. A year after the 1973 theatrical hit, Milius figured Purvis's story needed more coverage, and we get it here with this TV-movie written by Milius , directed by horror icon Dan Curtis, and starring Dale Robertson in the title role.

But there's not enough Purvis and too much of the bad guys, who are Machine Gun Kelly and his gang of bickering villains. So this is more or less a prequel to DILLINGER, and being that it was made for TV, there are limitations to the kind of violence these movies need. While Harris Yulin is a dependable actor, his portrayal of Kelly borders on overboard. Although the climax before the climax: a shootout between the G-Men and the thugs, is fairly good, reminiscent of the Milius film, and, overall there's nothing gained/nothing lost here, except an hour fifteen minutes where you could have watched something better.

Harris Yulin in MELVIN PURVIS G MAN

Melvin Purvis G Man action sequence