BONNIE AND CLYDE 🤩

When I graduated from high school in 1967, I was a pretty naive young woman. Some are street-wise, and then some aren’t. I didn’t get “wise” until I was immersed in a college lifestyle. The turbulent 60’s grew on me and made me who I am today, but before those gray, shadowy periods of history got their clutches into my soul, I saw the world divided into two sections… those who abided by the law and those who didn’t. If a person strayed outside those lines, then they deserved what they got. Silly me. It took time to shave those rigid rules into oblivion. Hence, I did not always understand certain films that depicted extenuating circumstances due to cruel and harsh backstories. It didn’t mean that breaking the law wasn’t wrong; it just offered more insight into the why behind it all.   

My mom and dad were young adults during the Great Depression of the late 20’s to the middle 30’s. My dad was born in 1900. My mom was born in 1913. Their families came to America with very little in their pockets and worked extremely hard while struggling along with the rest of the country. Both of them shared the same lineage, the third of four children. Each of them knew what it meant to go to sleep hungry and how to pinch pennies at an early age. My dad was forced to quit high school and start working to help make ends meet. My mother was luckier and was able to stay in school. Both understood the value of a dollar and what it could buy if you had one in your wallet. Believe me, I heard many stories throughout my childhood. But both of them always harped on working hard, getting an education, and never taking what isn’t yours or harming someone else. These are great values to grow up with every day. It was easy to understand my naivete about those who just made up their own rules as they went along. 

When the film, BONNIE AND CLYDE, hit the movie theaters in 1967, I didn’t get it. Why make a movie that glorifies robbing banks and killing innocent people? Why make it look like they were having fun? Why were they laughing so much as bullets whizzed everywhere chaotically in defiance of law and order? What was the lure? Why was it so popular and financially successful while launching major careers and changing Hollywood’s antiquated controlling system? Sometimes it just takes life experiences and decades to understand the answers to these questions. 

BONNIE AND CLYDE was a hard sell to Warner Bros. Studio. Jack Warner didn’t like the script, but he greenlit the film because of the persuasiveness of Warren Beatty, who wanted to play Clyde even though he was too tall and well-built to mirror the real Clyde Barrow, who was only 5’ 7” and a measly 135 pounds. Beatty had purchased the rights to the screenplay, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He teamed with director Arthur Penn (LITTLE BIG MAN) and became a producer as well to make sure BAC was made. Beatty even agreed to cut his salary to only 40% of the profits and premiere at a Texas drive-in theater. “B” picture status to be sure, but it didn’t matter. The film found its audience and grossed over $70 million with only a $2 million budget. Beatty became even richer, and Jack Warner realized, too late, his mistake. 

BONNIE AND CLYDE went on to claim critical acclaim as well. It was nominated for ten Oscars (including Best Picture). It took home two gold statues for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons as Blanche) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey, who argued with Penn every day while filming). It received a huge thumbs-up from film critic Roger Ebert, and director Barry Levinson praised every cinematic choice.  

Beatty was a powerful Clyde. He was very serious about making sure as many facts about this impotent, sexually abused, violent man were included, since Beatty didn’t look like a real member of the Barrow’s gang. In real life, Beatty was a womanizer, but he and his co-star, the beautiful Faye Dunaway (Bonnie), made a pact not to get romantically involved while filming. 

Beatty was charismatic in this role. The camera loved his face, and he knew it. He used it to every advantage, making sure there was humor, laughter, sexual tension, and sensitive, crazy moments meshed together with the violent, numerous chase scenes. He was such a hunky man, it was impossible for viewers not to be taken under his spell, even when he was shooting and killing those who didn’t agree with his chosen method of making a living. 

Dunaway was breathtaking on the screen.  She was told to lose 25 pounds, and she did. She fasted for days on end, eating only small amounts of salad intermittently. She walked with a heavy weight attached to her body and smaller ones around her hands to burn more calories each day. She only took them off when bathing or sleeping. She was 25 when she became Bonnie, but her look, her skills, her longing, and her cigar smoking have never been forgotten. Thousands of berets were sold for years, all because it was a smart costume choice for her character. Her chemistry with Beatty was off-the-chart. They sizzled throughout their scenes with sexual undercurrents and innuendos. The two of them were not only American folk heroes but also iconic Hollywood legends. 

Gene Hackman as Buck Barrow was brilliant. He brought the slippery-slope edginess to every frame. His robust, loud banter was at times intentionally pitiful. There was so much angst, competition, and love between the brothers. It all felt so realistic. 

Parsons was the perfect Blanche. She was the only one who really researched her part. She didn’t like the hysterical characterization Penn wanted. She thought she was too old for the part. There were many discrepancies in the story from the real-life person, but the Academy didn’t care. They loved her performance regardless. It is impossible to let go of her shrieking, screams, and pathetic pleas (“Daddy, get up”). It is something you can’t stop hearing in your head. Parsons was magnificent. 

The entire ensemble was exquisite, from Michael Pollard, Denver Pyle, Dub Taylor, and Evans Evans to Gene Wilder’s feature film debut. Tense, compelling, and frightening performances to move the story forward using bits and pieces from the authentic, historical past. Even though viewers knew how it would all end, it was an intriguing, entertaining classic-car ride to the bitter end. 

The legendary final scene was captured by four cameras that produced still shots of each machine gun blast to BONNIE AND CLYDE’s ravaged bodies. It was rumored, because Clyde was such a superb marksman, law enforcement would take no chances that the infamous couple were indeed dead. The scene took 57 seconds. I remember screaming in my head to stop. It was quite simply overkill, but there were many moments throughout the movie that also showcased the frenzied pace of running from motel to motel, through fields of farmland, along dusty, unpaved roads, and through forests. At the same time, upbeat banjo music played in the background. It was a mad hunt every step of the way. 

BONNIE AND CLYDE allowed new and younger, non-establishment directors to get their foot in the door. It triggered lightning bolts of what could be imagined on screen. It was a multifaceted look at the early 1930’s using locals as extras while on location. It was an extraordinary gangster classic, one that includes the best introductory line. “I’m Clyde Barrow. This here is Miss Bonnie Parker. We rob banks.” 

I so get it now.

BONNIE AND CLYDE is available on TCM.