Dog's Day
The True Story of a Bank Robbery, Gay Liberation, and Toxic Love That Inspired a Hollywood Classic
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Book Presentation:
The wilder-than-fiction true story behind the sensational bank heist immortalized in the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon
On the hottest day of 1972, John Wojtowicz and a teenage accomplice strode into a Brooklyn bank, guns drawn, and demanded the contents of the vault. The cops showed up before the two could escape. Over the next 14-hours, an unexpected drama played out in real time. Wojtowicz took the lead, making demands of the cops and unashamedly declaring that he was a gay man and wished to see his trans lover. Part of the reason for the heist, he hinted, was to get the cash to pay for her gender-affirming surgery. Wojtowicz captured the attention of the city and the nation. And did not let it go until he was arrested and his accomplice was shot dead by the FBI.
Al Pacino famously portrayed a fictionalized Wojtowicz in the film Dog Day Afternoon, but Hollywood could only tell part of the story. Dog’s Day is the never-before-told story of the robbery and the tragically intertwined lives that made it happen. From the gritty origins of the gay liberation movement to the Mafia exploiters who controlled New York City’s queer gathering spaces to the bizarre post-prison celebrity of a man who could never admit he’d done anything wrong, Dog’s Day is a story that feels as relevant today as it was fifty years ago: a messy love story in a politically fraught time in which simply being oneself could be seen as an act of rebellion. Nerves fray and desperation looms, guns are drawn and the straight world—for a few hours at least—cannot look away.
About the Author:
MATTHEW J. PRIGGE is an author and librarian from Milwaukee. He has written six books, including a work on film censorship that was made into a feature-length documentary, Outlaws, Rebels, & Vixens. He is a faculty librarian at Marquette University in Milwaukee and lives with his wife, two pet rats, and a rescued cat.
Press Reviews:
"[An] absorbing breakdown of a New York tragedy." —Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune
"For those who remember the film fondly, and those too young to have seen its initial release, Dog’s Day [allows] the participants to speak again, providing an unflinching look at queerness, love, trauma, and abuse that a two-hour movie could never fully capture." —Max J. Phillips, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
"Captivating . . . Written in a delightfully readable narrative style . . . Wojtowicz has long been a figure of fascination in our culture, and Matthew J. Prigge never settles for the simple as he carefully crafts the complexities of this complicated man." —Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books
"Prigge delves into the real-life inspiration for Dog Day Afternoon in this engrossing account . . . Fans of the movie will find this irresistible." —Publishers Weekly
"Prigge paints a vivid picture of Wojtowicz, a deeply contradictory man . . . Eden struggled with mental illness, and Prigge writes about her with care. His depiction of the robbery itself is tense and suspenseful. More than just the tale of a heist gone awry, however, this is a book that pays deep attention to the historical context surrounding a tragic crime. A fascinating look at the real-life crime that inspired a revered film." —Kirkus Reviews
"Dog Day Afternoon conferred an ironic sort of glory on John Wojtowicz, the inept bank robber played by Al Pacino in the 1975 film. His stated motive—to fund a gender-affirming operation for his partner—made Wojtowicz a cult hero in some circles and a punchline in others. Matt Prigge reveals the story behind the story. Thoroughly researched and deftly written, Dog’s Day is a compelling chronicle of a human drama that is stranger, and sadder, than anything Hollywood could concoct." —John Gurda, author of The Making of Milwaukee
See the publisher website: Counterpoint
See Dog Day Afternoon (1975) on IMDB ...
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