Review and interview
Given the fascination that outlaws hold for Western fans, it’s
surprising that so little is known about the Reno Gang. While the stories of
the Jameses and Youngers and Billy the Kid are common knowledge, the train robbing
Reno brothers of southern Indiana are unknown outside of a couple of Hollywood
movies, Rage at Dawn and Love Me Tender, the former a vehicle for
Randolph Scott, the latter a showcase for the emerging talent of a singer by
the name of Elvis Presley.
As we learn in this recent documentary film from historian David Distler
and his colleagues, the Renos are credited with having pulled off the first
peacetime train robbery in history. They were also the brains behind a
post-Civil War crime wave that ranged over several states and enlisted a band
of 100 or more lawbreakers like themselves.
There’s little one can say to romanticize or excuse their often violent
and brutal exploits. The Pinkerton agency was hired to bring them under arrest,
and the story might have ended there, except that neighboring communities,
particularly Seymour, Indiana, took their criminal rampage personally. Abetted
by a crusading local newspaperman, they organized a vigilance committee intent
on sidestepping due process.
