The real & the imagined in Bonnie and Clyde

As it has become our habit to surf the Net when bored with primetime offerings, we had planned to see what National Geographic had to offer. In the process, we came upon a series that would put all teleseryes to shame. The History Channel was airing a series of true stories and the particular one we stumbled upon was that of Bonnie and Clyde, the real, unexpurgated story of one of America’s most misunderstood villains, set during the Great Depression of 1929 to 1939 in America.

We have watched the Hollywood version, released in 1967, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, directed by Arthur Penn. Beatty (Clyde Barrow) meets Dunaway (Bonnie Parker) who is bored with her job as a waitress, gets intrigued by Clyde and becomes his partner-in-crime until the law catches up with them. Hollywood’s Bonnie and Clyde is considered a landmark film. It won awards and made Dunaway and Beatty household names.

The use of real stories and characters in history, however, does not come easy to film producers.  Barrow Gang member   Blanche Barrow complained about the treatment of her role. Gang member W.D. Jones filed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers – Seven Arts, as the movie implied that he betrayed his partners in the gang. Texas Ranger widow and son sued for defamation of character and were awarded an out-of-court settlement in 1971.

We wonder how Filipino real-life stories have prospered in the past. Into what category would the E.R. Ejercito-KC Concepcion portrayals in Boy Golden fall under?

Meantime, we look into the story behind the History Channel portrayals. It is less romanticized with Bonnie pictured as a gun Mol looking for excitement after a teenage marriage didn’t work out. She was intelligent in school, wrote poems and had the propensity of keeping a diary of her daily activities. As an adult, she worked at various jobs that didn’t interest her. What actually bored her was living in provincial Dallas.

Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born in Texas, to a poor farming couple that moved to an urban slum in West Dallas. Clyde showed an early predilection towards petty crime before graduating to stealing cars and cracking safes, which sent him to prison where he beat to death another inmate who assaulted him sexually. When Clyde got out of jail, a friend reported that he was a changed man.

Historians later would read into his actions, not a criminal seeking vengeance for himself, but one determined on changing prison rules and treatment of its inmates.

We felt that the couple made the worst possible combination. One was obsessed with fame; the other sought to make a name as one who rose from poverty.

To us History Channel’s Bonnie and Clyde was more interesting from the comments after the two-part showing. Those who worked behind the scenes gave their opinions on the behavior of the leads. The couple wanted to be well-dressed, not ordinary criminals no one would respect. The costumer said the film had around 50 costume changes for both. There was nothing cheap about them.

They had their pictures taken, dressed up to the nines, which Bonnie sent out to publications with a write-up. As fascinating young criminals in love, the publications fell for it. In the midst of the great American Depression, Bonnie and Clyde became the anti-heroes the downtrodden were searching for.

The entire nation loved their pictures and stories.

Their fame, however, could not last. More and more knew them and how they looked, including the law. In exchange for money, some would send a paper trail of their ultimate destination. The tragedy of Bonnie and Clyde was that they knew, even felt, when the end was near. And no one will dispute that it did make for a great story.

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