Is the movie Dog Day Afternoon actually based on a real bank robbery?

Answer 1

The movie was based on the story of John Wojtowicz and adheres to the basic facts of what actually happened according to the Life article "The Boys in the Bank". With Sal Naturile, Wojtowicz held up a Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Brooklyn on August 22, 1972. Many details from the actual robbery are depicted in the film, such as the arrival of Ernest Aron (Leon Schermer in the film) at the scene and his refusal to meet with Wojtowicz, the robbers demanding Pizza (although in the actual event it was delivered by FBI agents, not a delivery boy) and the gun that was hidden in the getaway car used to shoot Naturile. In reality, the robbery and resulting hostage situation took 14 hours from beginning to end; in the film it appears to take about the same time. After being apprehended, Wojtowicz was convicted in court and sentenced to twenty years in prison, of which he only ultimately served seven. Wojtowicz wrote a letter to the New York Times in 1975 out of concern that people would believe the version of the events portrayed in the film which he said was "only 30% true". Some of Wojtowicz's objections included the portrayal of his wife Carmen Bifulco, the conversation with his mother that Wojtowicz claimed never happened, and that although shown in the film, the police actually refused to let him speak to his wife Carmen. He did however praise Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon's characterizations of himself and "wife" Ernest Aron as accurate. Sonny is seen making out a will during the film which entitles Leon to his life insurance so that even if he should be killed, Leon might still be able to pay for the operation. The real-life Wojtowicz was paid $7,500 plus 1% of the film's net profits for the rights to his story, $2,500 of which he gave to Ernest Aron to pay for his sexual reassignment surgery. Aron subsequently became Elizabeth Debbie Eden and lived out the rest of her days in New York, eventually dying of complications from AIDS in Rochester in 1987. Wojtowicz himself died of cancer in January 2006. The bank where the robbery took place was a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank, at 450 Avenue P in Brooklyn, New York, at the cross street of East 3rd Street in Gravesend Brooklyn. Today the location is the Brooklyn Medical Imaging Center.