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Columbiana Co. plays role in new gangster film
Charles Arthur ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd was gunned down outside East Liverpool.
Vindicator Entertainment Writer
EAST LIVERPOOL — The notorious gangster “Pretty Boy” Floyd met his demise near East Liverpool on Oct, 22, 1934, but his legend lives on.
Versions of exactly how the gangster was killed vary, with both federal and local lawmen taking credit for firing the fatal bullet. The story will be resurrected in the new movie “Public Enemies,” which opens today. Will it add yet another version? We’ll know soon enough.
The movie begins with a scene depicting the slaying of Floyd, but it is mainly about gangster John Dillinger, who is played by Johnny Depp. Channing Tatum plays Floyd, and Christian Bale plays FBI agent Melvin Purvis in the film, which is directed by Michael Mann.
Floyd’s death still looms large in this river town.
Robin Webster is the director of the Lou Holtz museum here, which has a permanent exhibition on Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd that includes newspaper clippings, embalming process photos, an East Liverpool Police Department Tommy Gun that was used in the hunt for Floyd, and other items.
And Floyd’s death mask is still on display at the Sturgis House Bed & Breakfast, which is a few blocks away from the Holtz museum in downtown East Liverpool. The Sturgis was a funeral home in the 1930s, and it’s where Floyd’s body was embalmed and shown. Curious townsfolk lined up around the block to view the dead outlaw’s body.
Today, the Sturgis B&B is run by Frank Dawson, whose late father operated the Sturgis Funeral Home in the 1930s and embalmed Floyd. Dawson is president of the Lou Holtz/Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame. He also is a funeral director, a member of the East Liverpool Historical Society and the author of historical books about East Liverpool.
Dawson said his bed and breakfast is often visited by “gangster afficionados,” adding, “I’m not sure if the history helps or hurts us, because some people think it’s haunted.” He said Glendyn Floyd of Oklahoma, a nephew of Pretty Boy’s, has stayed at the Sturgis B&B.
Movie
Public Enemies
"Public Enemies" is the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger-the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis, and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public. No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone-from his girlfriend Billie Frechette to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang-later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson and Alvin Karpis-thrilled many, Hoover hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw's capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing "Clark Gable of the FBI.'' However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis' men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals-from the infamous "Lady in Red'' to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti-were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.
Dawson is a local expert on Floyd, whom he refers to as “Charlie.” But even he isn’t sure who really killed the gangster.
“I have a copy of the coroner’s report,” said Dawson. “It’s 70-some-pages long, and it gets pretty confusing. The death certificate said there were four bullets in him. But my dad said there were more than that.”
Dawson noted that a bronze historical marker on Sprucevale Road north of East Liverpool points out the exact spot where Floyd was gunned down. “It’s full of bullet holes,” he said.
The differing stories on Floyd’s death had their root in professional pride. When word came that Floyd was believed to be holed up in the woods where his car had broken down outside of Wellsville, the FBI’s Purvis, who had been tracking Floyd, and three of his assistants flew in from Cincinnati.
Floyd was spotted by a team of lawmen, consisting of city police as well as Purvis and his men, after he had hitched a ride into East Liverpool. The gangster fled the vehicle and ran toward the woods.
Chester Smith, who was an officer with the East Liverpool Police Department, claims to have fired first, downing Floyd with a hit to the right arm.
“There was no CSI team in those days, so nobody really knows whose bullet killed Floyd, although each of them laid claim to it,” said Webster.
The lack of proof didn’t stop Purvis from taking the credit for killing Floyd, she said.
Webster also noted that the gunbattle of popular lore never happened. “They just gunned him down,” she said.
Floyd’s courtesy toward a local resident might have done him in, according to Webster. Floyd, another gangster named Adam Richetti and two women were in the car when it broke down. As the women took the car into Wellsville to get it fixed, Floyd and Richetti stayed hidden. Richetti was soon captured and taken to the Wellsville jail.
“Floyd asked a local farmer for a ride into East Liverpool, but he had to wait until he was able to take him,” said Webster. “But he could’ve just stolen his car and taken off with it.”