JOHNNIE DILLINGER

CLINTON — Tommy gun blazing, "Baby Face Nelson" led other gangsters out of the bank they’d just robbed in Sioux Falls, S.D.

In real life, the notorious criminal from the 1930s is Maryville actor Jason Leith, and the bank is Dr. Joe Rainey’s dental office in downtown Clinton.

That scene is one of many being filmed in several East Tennessee towns by Jupiter Entertainment of Knoxville.

The end result, a two-hour documentary "Crime Wave,’’ will air next spring on The History Channel, says Alex Alexander, a freelance re-enactment producer for the filmmaking company.

The film crew is capturing the exploits of some of the biggest kingpins of crime during the prohibition era of the early 1930s: John Dillinger, George "Machine Gun’’ Kelly and Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, better known as Bonnie and Clyde.

The documentary also will explore the FBI’s role in combating that crime wave, Alexander said.

Filming began Oct. 26 and will wrap Nov. 10, she said.

Locations have included the old Morgan County Jail in Wartburg, downtown Oliver Springs and various locations in Clinton.

Filming is planned Sunday in downtown Knoxville, and other shots are scheduled in Harriman and Townsend.

"All of the small towns have been wonderful,’’ Alexander said. "We’ve worked closely with the police and sheriff’s departments.’’

Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough said the filmmakers warned him in advance they’d be shooting machine gun blanks in Clinton Thursday afternoon.

Later that evening, they filmed Dillinger being gunned down behind Clinton’s historic Ritz Theater.

Alexander, in the business for 25 years, said she’s very familiar with East Tennessee locations, and she played a role in getting filmmakers to use Oliver Springs for scenes in the movie "October Sky.’’

"There’s a lot of film production in and around Knoxville ? lots,’’ says Jupiter Entertainment’s property master, Cheri Van Bynen.

Van Bynen says she’s the first to arrive on a location and the last to leave. "I make everything look the way it’s supposed to look,’’ she said.

To convert a dental office into a bank building, Van Bynen covered up signs, swept away leaves and removed a storm window so the mobsters could shoot through it.

Leith, 29, who landed his gig as Lester "Baby Face" Nelson Gillis through a Knoxville talent agency, said he’s been acting for years. He said he plays Burt Reynolds’ character’s son in the new movie "Broken Bridges.’’

Powell resident Phil Campbell portrays a member of Dillinger’s gang in the documentary, and he, too, has been acting for years, including a stint on the TV show "Hee Haw.’’

"This is a lot of fun,’’ Campbell said of his latest role. "You get to dress up and shoot guns.’’

Bob Fowler, News Sentinel Anderson County editor, may be reached at 865-481-3625.

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