Press Release: August 5, 2009
National Archives at Kansas City
Records Related to Public Enemies film available at National Archives
For More Information Contact:
Jake Ersland
(816) 268-8000
Kansas City, (MO)…One of the summer’s biggest blockbuster films has been the 1930s crime wave film, Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. The film centers on the experiences of Dillinger and in particular his relationship with Billie Frechette. Public Enemies portrays Frechette as a captivating young woman who is swept away by Dillinger’s charm, and caught up in the frenzied life that followed him. Part of Frechette’s true story can be found at the National Archives at Kansas City.
As a member of the Menominee tribe, Frechette grew up on a reservation near Green Bay, Wisconsin. The records of the Menominee tribe paint a picture of poverty and resentment toward the government among tribal members. Having lost her father at a young age, Frechette likely fell into the poorest class of Native Americans at the Menominee reservation. By the time she was a mid-teen, Frechette moved away from the Menominee Reservation to attend the Indian boarding school at Flandreau, South Dakota. National Archives records show she was an excellent student. Her duties while at school where geared toward preparation for home life back at the reservation, as she was charged with such tasks as laundry room and kitchen duty.
Frechette moved to Chicago where she met and fell in love with Dillinger, the stage of her life that is portrayed in Public Enemies. Her days with Dillinger came to an end with her capture and trial in a St. Paul, Minnesota U.S. District Court. The criminal case included other Dillinger associates who were tried and convicted of aiding a federal fugitive. Though Dillinger paid for his own lawyer to represent Frechette, she received a two year prison sentence.
The National Archives at Kansas City is one of 13 facilities nationwide where the public has access to Federal archival records. It is home to more than 50,000 cubic feet of historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by nearly 100 Federal agencies. Serving the Central Plains Region, the archives holds records from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The facility is located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. The National Archives at Kansas City is open Tuesday–Saturday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. for exhibits viewing and Tuesday–Saturday from 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. for research.
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NREA 09–20
