Ana Cumpanas
Encyclopedia
Ana Cumpănaş or Anna Sage, nicknamed Woman in Red (1889 – April 25, 1947), was an Austro-Hungarian
-born Romania
n prostitute and brothel
owner in the American
cities of Chicago
and Gary
. She is best-known for assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation
in tracking down gangster John Dillinger
.
, a village of Banat
(then part of Austria-Hungary, now in Timiş County
, Romania). She married Michael Chiolak in 1909 and the couple moved to the United States either the same year, in 1914, or in 1919, settling in East Chicago
, Indiana
. They had a son, Steve Chiolak, in 1911, but their marriage did not last and by the end of the decade, Cumpănaş was working as a prostitute, and later became a madam. Her first brothel was in East Chicago and in 1923, she opened a second one in Gary. Cumpănaş married attorney Alexandru Suciu, and the couple used Sage as their surname (this was an Anglicization of Suciu, reputedly preferred by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
officials). In 1923 or 1924, Cumpănaş-Sage traveled to the Kingdom of Romania
and visited her mother, returning on board the RMS Majestic
.
Friction between Alexandru and Steve led to the breakup of that marriage and Cumpănaş left her husband in 1932. A year later, she opened a brothel on Halsted Street
in Chicago. By 1934, Cumpănaş was facing deportation
to Romania, after the authorities deemed her to be an "alien of low moral character". On July 4, 1934, John Dillinger began frequenting Cumpănaş and her circle of friends. Cumpănaş was reportedly close to Polly Hamilton, who was Dillinger's lover. Once she became aware of Dillinger's real identity, she considered turning him in as a way of obtaining permanent US residence. As Dillinger was rumored to have killed two Chicago Police
officers on May 24 of that year, a large reward had also been offered for his capture. On July 22, after contacting Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Chicago Police, Cumpănaş fingered Dillinger to the FBI agent Melvin Purvis
, resulting in Dillinger's shooting outside the Biograph Theater
in Chicago. Despite the nickname and her alleged promise to wear red as a distinctive mark, Cumpănaş is said to have actually worn orange that night.
The FBI moved Cumpănaş first to Detroit and then to California
. She received a US$
5,000 reward, only half of what she had been allegedly promised. In 1935, she informed reporters of the deal to keep her in the country, but deportation proceedings had already begun. Allegedly, the FBI told her that they could not stop the procedures, due to poor communication between branches of the federal government
. She appealed the decision to deport her, and her case was heard in Chicago on October 16, 1935. In January 1936, the court agreed with the lower court, and Cumpănaş was deported to Timişoara
, Romania, the same year. Making a point of shunning further publicity, she lived there until her death from liver disease in 1947.
into a series of Dillinger myths, entertaining the public during the Great Depression
: according to this popular interpretation, the gangster had been betrayed by his own weakness for women (an idea first circulated by the newspapers covering her role in the 1934 events). On the night of Dillinger's death, an unknown chalked a pavement located nearby the Biograph Theater with the epitaph
:
Stranger, stop and wish me well,
Just a prayer for my soul in Hell.
I was a good fellow, most people said,
Betrayed by a woman all dressed in red.
Hollywood films
and television productions focusing on Dillinger also include references to Ana Cumpănaş. She was portrayed by several actresses, albeit not always as Anna Sage, including: Ann Morriss (as Mildred Jaunce) in Gang Busters
and Guns Don't Argue
; Jean Willes
in The FBI Story
; Cloris Leachman
in 1973's Dillinger
; Bernadette Peters
(as Nellie) in Love, American Style
; Louise Fletcher
in The Lady in Red
; Debi Monahan in Dillinger and Capone; Branka Katić
in Public Enemies.
In Romania, some interest in the career of Ana Cumpănaş was sparked by the Mircea Veroiu
's film Femeia în roşu ("The Woman in Red"). It is in turn based on a 1990 book co-authored by three Postmodernist
writers—Adriana Babeţi, Mircea Mihăieş and Mircea Nedelciu
—reputedly suggested by Banat Swabian
author William Totok. The latter is a fictionalized account, depicting real or imagined events occurring after her return from America. The narrative moves beyond genre boundaries, mixing the account with metafiction
al elements and accounts of unrelated episodes (involving, among others, writer Elias Canetti
and psychoanalyst
Sigmund Freud
). A best seller, the novel reportedly propelled Cumpănaş the character to iconic status in Romania, and, according to critic Cornel Ungureanu, made her "the actual aunt of autochthonous Postmodernism."
The case of Ana Cumpănaş was discussed by researcher Jay Robert Nash
in his book Dillinger: Dead or Alive?, as part of a theory claiming that, unable to apprehend the real John Dillinger, the FBI had staged his killing, using an innocent victim. Nash, whose version of events is deemed "quaint" by crime historian Jonathan Goodman, further argues that her deportation was part of a cover-up
.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
-born Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n prostitute and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
owner in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cities of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Gary
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
. She is best-known for assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
in tracking down gangster John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
.
Biography
Cumpănaş was a native of Comloşu MareComlosu Mare
Comloşu Mare is a commune in Timiş County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Comloşu Mare, Comloşu Mic and Lunga. Its sister-settlement is Magyarcsanád, Hungary.- Relevant Dates :1446 - First historical documents mention the commune;...
, a village of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
(then part of Austria-Hungary, now in Timiş County
Timis County
Timiș , , Banat Bulgarian: ) is a county of western Romania, in the historical region Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the largest county in Romania in terms of land area....
, Romania). She married Michael Chiolak in 1909 and the couple moved to the United States either the same year, in 1914, or in 1919, settling in East Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.-Geography:East Chicago is located at ....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. They had a son, Steve Chiolak, in 1911, but their marriage did not last and by the end of the decade, Cumpănaş was working as a prostitute, and later became a madam. Her first brothel was in East Chicago and in 1923, she opened a second one in Gary. Cumpănaş married attorney Alexandru Suciu, and the couple used Sage as their surname (this was an Anglicization of Suciu, reputedly preferred by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
officials). In 1923 or 1924, Cumpănaş-Sage traveled to the Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
and visited her mother, returning on board the RMS Majestic
RMS Majestic (1914)
RMS Majestic, launched in 1914 as SS Bismarck, was, at 56,551 gross tonnage, the largest ship in the world until the completion of the in 1935. Originally slated to be the third and largest member of German HAPAG Line's trio of transatlantic liners, her completion was delayed by World War I...
.
Friction between Alexandru and Steve led to the breakup of that marriage and Cumpănaş left her husband in 1932. A year later, she opened a brothel on Halsted Street
Halsted Street
Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the American city of Chicago, Illinois.-Location:In Chicago's grid system, Halsted street marks 800 West, one mile west of State Street, from Grace Street in Lakeview south to the city limits at the Little Calumet River in West Pullman...
in Chicago. By 1934, Cumpănaş was facing deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
to Romania, after the authorities deemed her to be an "alien of low moral character". On July 4, 1934, John Dillinger began frequenting Cumpănaş and her circle of friends. Cumpănaş was reportedly close to Polly Hamilton, who was Dillinger's lover. Once she became aware of Dillinger's real identity, she considered turning him in as a way of obtaining permanent US residence. As Dillinger was rumored to have killed two Chicago Police
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
officers on May 24 of that year, a large reward had also been offered for his capture. On July 22, after contacting Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Chicago Police, Cumpănaş fingered Dillinger to the FBI agent Melvin Purvis
Melvin Purvis
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature...
, resulting in Dillinger's shooting outside the Biograph Theater
Biograph Theater
The Biograph Theater, at 2433 North Lincoln Avenue, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois, was originally a movie theater but now presents live productions. It is notable as the location where bank robber John Dillinger was shot by FBI agents after watching a gangster movie on July 22, 1934...
in Chicago. Despite the nickname and her alleged promise to wear red as a distinctive mark, Cumpănaş is said to have actually worn orange that night.
The FBI moved Cumpănaş first to Detroit and then to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She received a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5,000 reward, only half of what she had been allegedly promised. In 1935, she informed reporters of the deal to keep her in the country, but deportation proceedings had already begun. Allegedly, the FBI told her that they could not stop the procedures, due to poor communication between branches of the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. She appealed the decision to deport her, and her case was heard in Chicago on October 16, 1935. In January 1936, the court agreed with the lower court, and Cumpănaş was deported to Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, Romania, the same year. Making a point of shunning further publicity, she lived there until her death from liver disease in 1947.
Legacy
Famous as the "Woman in Red", Cumpănaş reached the status of cultural icon in the United States in the years following Dillinger's death. Her story was integrated American folkloreFolklore of the United States
The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is one of the folk traditions which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it should not be confused with the tribal beliefs of...
into a series of Dillinger myths, entertaining the public during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
: according to this popular interpretation, the gangster had been betrayed by his own weakness for women (an idea first circulated by the newspapers covering her role in the 1934 events). On the night of Dillinger's death, an unknown chalked a pavement located nearby the Biograph Theater with the epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
:
Stranger, stop and wish me well,
Just a prayer for my soul in Hell.
I was a good fellow, most people said,
Betrayed by a woman all dressed in red.
Hollywood films
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
and television productions focusing on Dillinger also include references to Ana Cumpănaş. She was portrayed by several actresses, albeit not always as Anna Sage, including: Ann Morriss (as Mildred Jaunce) in Gang Busters
Gang Busters (serial)
Gang Busters is a Universal movie serial based on the radio series Gang Busters. The city is terrorized by a crime wave masterminded by the elusive, soft-spoken Professor Mortis...
and Guns Don't Argue
Guns Don't Argue
Guns Don't Argue is a composite of three re-edited episodes from the 1952 TV series Gangbusters. The film was released to theatres in 1957 as a feature film which was produced by William Faris, directed by Bill Karn & Richard Kahn....
; Jean Willes
Jean Willes
Jean Willes was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films between 1934 and 1972.-Career:...
in The FBI Story
The FBI Story
The FBI Story is a 1959 American drama film produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead.-Plot:...
; Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
in 1973's Dillinger
Dillinger (1973 film)
Dillinger is a 1973 gangster film about the life and criminal exploits of notorious bank robber John Dillinger.It stars Warren Oates as Dillinger and Ben Johnson as his pursuer, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis. The film, narrated by Purvis, chronicles the last few years of Dillinger's life as the FBI and...
; Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
(as Nellie) in Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
; Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher
Louise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
in The Lady in Red
The Lady in Red (1979 film)
The Lady in Red is a 1979 film directed by Lewis Teague, and starring Pamela Sue Martin and Robert Conrad. It is an early writing effort of John Sayles who became better known as a director in the 1980s and 90s...
; Debi Monahan in Dillinger and Capone; Branka Katić
Branka Katic
Branka Katić is a Serbian actress known for appearing in the movies Black Cat, White Cat and Public Enemies, and in the TV series Big Love.-Career:...
in Public Enemies.
In Romania, some interest in the career of Ana Cumpănaş was sparked by the Mircea Veroiu
Mircea Veroiu
Mircea Veroiu was a Romanian film director and screenwriter. He directed 22 films between 1968 and 1997. He was a member of the jury at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival.-External links:...
's film Femeia în roşu ("The Woman in Red"). It is in turn based on a 1990 book co-authored by three Postmodernist
Postmodern literature
The term Postmodern literature is used to describe certain characteristics of post–World War II literature and a reaction against Enlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature.Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact...
writers—Adriana Babeţi, Mircea Mihăieş and Mircea Nedelciu
Mircea Nedelciu
Mircea Nedelciu was a Romanian short-story writer, novelist, essayist and literary critic, one of the leading exponents of the Optzecişti generation in Romanian letters...
—reputedly suggested by Banat Swabian
Banat Swabians
The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Banat province, which had been left sparsely populated by the wars with Turkey. This once strong and important ethnic Banat Swabian...
author William Totok. The latter is a fictionalized account, depicting real or imagined events occurring after her return from America. The narrative moves beyond genre boundaries, mixing the account with metafiction
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
al elements and accounts of unrelated episodes (involving, among others, writer Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti was a Bulgarian-born modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and non-fiction writer. He wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power".-Life:...
and psychoanalyst
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
). A best seller, the novel reportedly propelled Cumpănaş the character to iconic status in Romania, and, according to critic Cornel Ungureanu, made her "the actual aunt of autochthonous Postmodernism."
The case of Ana Cumpănaş was discussed by researcher Jay Robert Nash
Jay Robert Nash
Jay Robert Nash is an American author of more than seventy books on myriad aspects of true crime. Among Nash's crime anthologies are Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen and Outlaws, Look For the Woman, Bloodletters and Badmen, and The Great Pictorial History of World Crime...
in his book Dillinger: Dead or Alive?, as part of a theory claiming that, unable to apprehend the real John Dillinger, the FBI had staged his killing, using an innocent victim. Nash, whose version of events is deemed "quaint" by crime historian Jonathan Goodman, further argues that her deportation was part of a cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
.
External links
- FBI History - Famous Cases - John Dillinger at the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
site