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This Friday, Netflix premieres The Highwaymen, a film which the streaming service calls “the untold true story” of Bonnie and Clyde. Starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson, it is undoubtedly the other side of story: The journey of Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, the Texas Rangers who were hired to take the gunslinger duo down.
Make no mistake, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow—who famously robbed hundreds of small gas stations and rural stores in the 1930s, killing those who got in their way—are present spiritually in nearly every scene of The Highwaymen as Hamer (Costner) and Gault (Harrelson) follow the trail of blood. The film opens on Bonnie (Emily Brobst) and Clyde (Edward Bossert) breaking out fellow criminals from the infamous Eastham prison in Texas, the start of the duo’s “final run” in 1934. But we never actually see their faces until the very end of the film, right before the couple is riddled with bullets courtesy of Hamer, Gault, and several other lawmen.
The Highwaymen is a clear counterpoint to the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, which featured big-name movie stars Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as a glamorous, antiheroic version of the duo. (In fact, Highwaymen director John Lee Hancock has said his film was intended to correct what he considered a “beyond inaccurate” portrayal of the story.) But those movies aren’t the only time that Bonnie and Clyde have been portrayed on the silver screen. Here’s a look at five different interpretations of a story that’s fascinated Hollywood for over 50 years.
'The Bonnie Parker Story' (1958)
The first feature film adaptation of Bonnie and Clyde was the 1958 film, The Bonnie Parker Story, starring Dorothy Provine as Bonnie and Jack Hogan as Clyde—though his character was renamed Guy Darrow in the film. As you can probably guess, this was a very loose adaptation of the true story. It was directed by William Witney, a guy most famous for co-directing crime drama “movie serials” in the 1930s and 40s (basically TV show episodes, but you had to go to the movie theater to see them).
Provine’s Bonnie worked as a waitress in Texas (true—the real Parker did work as a waitress for several years) and Guy Darrow is one of her customers (likely not true—the real Parker and Barrow are thought to have met at the house of a mutual friend). After getting fired from her job, she joins Guy on a series of armed robberies, and the two are chased by a fictional version of Frank Hamer, a Texas Ranger named Tom Steel (Douglas Kennedy).
The film was largely forgotten, overshadowed by the groundbreaking blockbuster that followed a decade later (see below). In her 1967 review of Bonnie and Clyde, New Yorker critic Pauline Kael called the 1958 film “cheap in every sense of the word.” It’s not easy to find: You can either buy the Spanish DVD of it on Amazon or wait for it to air on TCM—but interestingly, celebrated filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is a big fan. In a 2000 New York Times article, he said ”I was blown away. It was like, whoa, who made this? I have to see everything he ever did.”
'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967)
From director Arthur Penn, this fast-paced, gunslinging gangster film was considered nothing short of revolutionary. Dunaway’s Bonnie was sexy, wild and free while Beatty as Clyde is boyish, charismatic and suave. It introduced American audiences to a new kind of glamourized, romanticized violence they had never seen before. Some audience and critics found the blood-splattering to be in poor taste, but others were fascinated, and many credit the film as the origin of the pulp noir genre (think Sin City, Million Dollar Baby, and of course, Pulp Fiction). It played favorably in awards season, with Estelle Parsons taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and Burnett Guffey taking home Best Cinematography. (Dunaway and Beatty were both nominated, but didn’t win.)
The film undoubtedly glossed over some facts: Texas Ranger Frank Hamer came off particularly poorly in the film—the couple captures him, humiliates him and sets him free, which never happened. In fact, Hamer’s widow was so upset, she sued the production for defamation and was awarded a settlement several years later. There’s no denying this film’s lasting impact, which all but secured the accepted narrative of Bonnie and Clyde, and indeed a narrative of cinematic gangsters for many, many years to come. (It’s also soon to be on Netflix!)
'Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story' (1992)
This made-for-TV film from director Gary Hoffman never got much attention—so little, in fact, that you can still watch the entire thing on YouTube. It stars Tracey Needham—who you may know as Meg from JAG—as a much sweeter Bonnie and Dana Ashbrook—who you might know as Deputy Bobby Briggs from Twin Peaks—as a much more sincere Clyde. It’s not nearly as gruesome as the 1967 film, given that it’s for TV, and it’s probably only a watch for true Bonnie-and-Clyde connoisseurs. But if you’re craving more content, it’s there!
'Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula' (2008)
Look, is it really a historical film franchise if no one’s made a vampire version of it? The answer is no, no it is not. Luckily, writer/director Timothy Friend stepped up to the plate with this horror-gangster romp. Is it good? No. Is it historically accurate? Obviously not. But is it the kind of hilariously weird horror film perfect for your drunk movie nights? Absolutely. With Tiffany Shepis as Bonnie and Trent Haaga as Clyde, this film tells a new version of the criminal’s story—one in which, in the middle of their robberies, they meet an escaped, re-animated Dracula, risen from the dead by a man named Dr. Loveless. Enjoy!
'Bonnie & Clyde: Justified' (2013)
This straight-to-video film from director David DeCoteau is about as C-movie as you can get. Ashley Hayes plays Bonnie, while Jim Poole plays Clyde. Unlike Dracula, this film aims for a serious, period-drama vibe, and, with a non-existent budget, inevitably falls very, very short. Curiously enough, Eric Roberts,—aka the brother of Julia Roberts and father of Emma Roberts—makes a very brief appearance as Hammer and Dee Wallace—aka the mom in E.T.—shows up as Bonnie’s mother. Hey, actors gotta eat!
