Banks were having miserable public relations problems during the Depression. Many of them failed, sweeping away the life savings of millions of hard working people. Those that stayed in business foreclosed on people's homes, farms and businesses as the economy went from bad to worse.
So bank robbers were not particularly viewed as terrible criminals by the average American. There was even a touch of Robin Hood when bank robbers destroyed all of the mortgage records at the banks they hit. The daring daytime robberies and skillful getaways were glamorous and exciting, especially if the robbers were handsome, polite and photogenic.
And so, John Dillinger and Harry Pierpont, Baby Face Nelson and the rest of the Dillinger Gang were celebrities whose exploits were followed closely by a Depression-weary American public that followed their every adventure like a running television series.
Not everyone was entertained by America's new folk hero outlaws who sprang up during what would come to be known as the Mid-West Crime Wave. In Washington, D.C., J. Edgar Hoover and his fledgling Bureau of Investigation were outraged that American citizens had come to idolize the new breed of outlaw Dillinger, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, "Machine Gun" Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde and others and became vicariously absorbed in their lawlessness.
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