symbolism in bonnie and clyde

EminemThe Slim Shady LP An Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records Release; 1999 UMG R. He was our producer on Bonnie and Clyde. In an important early scene, Bonnie and Clyde bond with a man whose house has been repossessed. Not affiliated with Harvard College. So I got the idea to break the components of the massacre into something romantic, even balletic, as well as savage. This shifted power out of the hands of studio producers, who had long gripped the industry in a chokehold. I thought, if thats the case, then this is just the story of a couple of gangsters. But over time, it has become a classic, to the point where Quentin Tarantino said film history can be divided into films made before and after Bonnie and Clyde, that is, that the cinema of the seventies started with this late-sixties movie. Faye is in the car, and Warren is outside the car. The movies idealizations, in turn, contrast with the disappointing reality that these thieves were no Robin Hood and his band of merry men, robbing the rich and giving to the poor, but were just common criminals, Clyde having been especially hardened by the traumatizing prison rapes he suffered. symbols of their own times in the 1960s. The director, Arthur Penn, wanted his film to be as real and untheatrical as possible, Guffey comments. And with this comes the provocative suggestion that his gun has, in a certain sense, replaced his penis. Her father Charles Parker was a bricklayer who died when Bonnie was 4 years old. The ideal of those photos, still images showing people as unified totalities instead of the fragmented people we all feel ourselves to be, is a motif in this film connected with the image of Bonnie at the mirror. Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born in 1910 in Rowena, Texas, the second of three children.Her father, Charles Robert Parker (1884-1914), was a bricklayer who died when Bonnie was four years old. By the time I left the vantage point of Bonnie and Clyde, I didnt want to go back there. And it stops to reveal this errant bullet hole, and thats it. If you find Cinephilia & Beyond useful and inspiring, please consider making a small donation. Back in 1967, Roger Ebert stated he wouldnt be surprised to see Bonnie and Clyde become a symbol of American cinema, an undisputed representative of an era. But when Eugene tells them hes an undertaker, an instance of foreshadowing of Bonnies and Clydes fate, she gets apprehensive and insists on kicking them out. All material for educational and noncommercial purposes only. Clyde gives his gun to the father and a man named Davis (who worked there with the family), allowing them to fire bullets at the sign and house windows, to release their frustration at the banks taking it away from them. On the Lam It was confronting back then, and remains so today. She is driving because its her car, of course, but the visuals of a woman driver and male passenger, as opposed to the traditional vice versa, still reinforces the role-reversal theme. Everything took hours to rig. It is sent to the newspapers, a poem that foreshadows their deaths; but as a communication of who they are to the media, it replaces photographic images with language, a far more meaningful expression. GradeSaver, Read the Study Guide for Bonnie and Clyde, Feminism & Mid-20th Century Western Films: An Unlikely Parallel, New Gangsters, New Historiography: Bonnie and Clyde. Clyde has dreams of a life of crime that will free him from the hardships of the Depression. BURNETT GUFFEY, ASC. A piece of Clydes head comes off too, like [in the Zapruder film of] the Kennedy assassination, and that was rigged with monofilament pulled from off camera. Gangsters Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow are notorious for robbing and killing several people during the Great Depression in the United States. Instead of saying Action, I told Warren to hold a pear, and when I pointed at him to squeeze the pear, that was the cue for the special effects guys. A close-up shot shows one enter the mans cheek; another his forehand. He fires a few ejaculatory bullets in the window of the bank in a pathetic attempt to save face. Either way, this all adds to the theme of sex role reversal by making (or at least seeming to make) Clyde, in one sense or another, sexually passive. In this scene, just as in the beginning one of nude Bonnie in her room, we see a number of jump cuts symbolic of fragmentation. Revolutionary in its depiction of gritty, blood-splattering violence, cleverly and to great effect exploiting the counter-culture atmosphere, led by captivating performances from Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, supported by prophetically cast supporting roles, given form by a director who knew how to make the most out of an extraordinarily potent script, Arthur Penns Bonnie and Clyde captured the imagination of millions and became a cultural landmark of the American sixties. There was a huge amount of film when we got into the cutting room, and everybody was perplexed by how to put it together. They walk together, buy bottles of Coke, and the sexual innuendo between them commences as we see her with her lips around the bottle top, sensuously drinking in a way suggestive of fellatio. The Role. And that alerts him that something is not right here. This is intended to be happy. I didnt have to tell Warren to roll over like that. 8X10 PUBLICITY PHOTO RAQUEL WELCH ACTRESS AND SEX-SYMBOL PIN UP RT059 ; Theyre quickly cut together because for them, theres no more time. This moment introduces another theme of the movie: the reversal of sex roles. Guns Cow Joke Hero's Journey Setting Point of View Genre . The cameras had to be positioned so that the film magazines didnt interfere with each other, because with that much film running through in order to get a slow-motion shot, theyre large magazines. There are few couples who have made headlines in quite the same way as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Its a little metal dish in which they put a little bit of powder and an envelope of blood. Other accounts say they set up the evening of the 22 nd.It was about 9:15 a.m. on May 23 when the officers, who were hidden in the . The . They had to portray the throes of death. I learned a lot about everythingincluding psychologyfrom Elia Kazan. "If all you want's a stud service, you get on back to West Dallas and you stay there the rest of your life. Consider, as historic examples, the Russian Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, the Korean War, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and the suppression of the weakly-defended, short-lived Paris Commune. Every aspect of the economy from production . Hamer was a well-respected law enforcer, inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame; his posse shot and killed Bonnie and Clyde not out of a wish for revenge over his wounded pride, but out of their need to stop a gang of violent cop-killers. The original script even had a mnage trois sequence, which was ultimately removed. We needed a clearing on one side of the road, and a good bush on the other because thats where the birds were going to be released from and where the ambushers would be hiding. After that, Moss drives them to the house of his father, Ivan Moss (played by Dub Taylor). When Clyde and Bonnie discover the camera, they use it to help in the creation of their own legends. Cell the Great. Both Bonnie and Clyde have been shot in the arm, but they and Moss get away. Author of. Arthur Penn never directed another film as famous as Bonnie and Clyde. The full posse set up an ambush along Louisiana State Highway 154 just south of Gibsland, near Sailes. Hamers sense of manhood has been humiliated, especially by Bonnies kiss on his lips when the photos are taken of him with the gang (hence his ejaculatory spitting on her afterwards), so his and the posses shooting of her and Clyde is him taking his revenge and regaining his sense of manhood. ), to suit their purposes, suggests at least unconscious motives. Davis is black, incidentally, and he is treated with pleasantly surprising respect, given the time when Jim Crow was still the law of the land in the American south. Bonnie Parker embraced the image of the gun moll and scandalised newspaper readers by smoking cigars (Credit: Alamy). While everybody still talks about the impact of Bonnie and Clydes most risqu moments especially those breathtaking final images the films influence extends even further than revolutionising screen violence. Like the legend of Bonnie and Clyde, the car has survived as a grotesque symbol of fame. Dim-witted CW should know better than to put the care of his fugitive friends in the hands of his arch-conservative father; but he doesnt have anywhere else to take them. When they rob banks, Clyde suggests that they are taking from the haves, rather than the have-nots, and this is an important ethical distinction for him. Though he initially escaped jail with the help of a gun provided by Bonnie, he was rearrested and returned to prison, where he remained until being released on bail in 1932. But they do not ignore. They were out to get stark realism on celluloid. I never ran into her there, because I had moved out here to the West Coast, but Richie Marks, Barry Malkin, Steve Butler, and many other New York editors my age grew up under her guidance. Walter Murch, Off the top of your head, can you mention what youve learned from certain directors? CW Mosss tattoo says Love, suggestive of the hippies, while Ivans disapproval of it suggests the conservative parents of that later decade. Clyde's gun takes on different significance at different points in the film. Absolutely our highest recommendation. So she knew she wouldnt fall out of the car. du pre, with its prohibition against Oedipal incest with Mother, so is Eugene experiencing a kind of legal prohibition, if you will, against getting his stolen car back; for in the world of the Barrow gang, a world symbolic of the proletarian dictatorship, the poor have the legal right to expropriate the bourgeoisie. The outlaw genre was . But through this one iconic work he played a part in creating a culture where US film-makers could become mega celebrities. This is where the birds were. On April 1, 1934, Barrow and Parker murdered two police officers in Grapevine, Texas, and five days later they killed a police constable in Miami, Oklahoma, and kidnapped a police chief. In The True Story of Bonnie and Clyde written by Bonnie's mother and Clyde's sister, the authors describe how at the funeral popcorn and candy stands were erected at the funeral due to the large crowd it attracted. Change). Bonnies make up and red lipstick along with her perfect straight blonde hair makes her even more attractive to the audience. The films mythology of the Barrow gang, who rob banks, portrays them as sympathetic to the poor, and as societys rebels who are sticking it to the Man. A preacher's daughter, she did not think that in marrying Buck Barrow she would end up wanted by the law, but things get away from her and she becomes embroiled in the Barrow gang's plight. We see some of those sensibilities reflected in the films attitudes towards the banks. This contrast between ideal and real is reinforced immediately after in the opening scene, with Bonnie Parker (Dunaway) nude in her bedroom and looking at herself in the mirror. On May 23, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde died in a spectacular manner after being ambushed by lawmen who fired hundreds of shots into their car. In fact, it is hard to believe Bonnie and Clyde is now half-a-century old, given the gut-busting impact this scene (and others in the film) still has. On May 23, 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died in a hail of gunfire inside their car as Texas and Louisiana lawmen riddled their bodies with dozens of bullets. This spot outside of Los Angeles was a logical choice. An analysis of the themes and symbols found in the movie Bonnie and Clyde, written in an easy-to-understand format. Bonnie is clearly focused on "we're in the money", whereas Clyde is worried about the impending murder charges, and C.W is showing his nervousness and regret by sweating Get Access Check Writing Quality analytical Gun Crazy Analysis analytical essay Lewis and cinematographer Russel Harlan, created a movie that had a unique yet formal feel. Ivan slips under his truck for safety, just after we see a flock of birds fly out from the bushes where Hamers armed men are hiding; these birds are a bad omen, but the warning is too late for Bonnie and Clyde. It is a deeply unsettling work that spoke to the shifting. Her inner fragmentation is related to her fragmented relationship with the outside world, that is, her social alienation and that of her species-essence. Bonnie and Clyde was an unforgettable movie in 1967, setting new cool fashion styles for the 1960s generation. Warrens one of the best producers Ive ever had. Moss drives wounded Bonnie and Clyde to an open-air place by a lake where a group of poor people, those that the Depression has cast aside, are staying. Once they got into the spirit of it and what I was intending, Warren and Faye participated vigorously. This visit, with her mothers fear for her clearly apparent, strengthens our sense of sympathy for her and for the rest of the gang. Their being shot and killed by the police thus represents a counter-revolution and restoration of capitalism. 3.97. Similarly, during the Cold War, the USSR, China under Mao, and the DPRK learned of the necessity of having a strong nuclear defence. This never actually happened. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) The movie was based on the Great Depression -era robbery team known as Bonnie and Clyde. Then there was our basic camera running at normal speed. Bonnie and Clyde rewrote the rules on screen violence, paving the way for a new and more liberal film classification system in the US, introduced the year following its release: the Motion Picture Association of America ratings guidelines, still in effect to this day. All five of these actors were nominated for Oscars, with Parsons winning. Their romance has also been the inspiration for films, songs, and even a musical. Made into legends through books, comics, movies, songs, and TV specials, Bonnie and Clyde have lived on nearly 80 years after their deaths as a Depression era . 97 Bonnie & Clyde, criminal lullaby, tells the story of a father who just assassinated his wife, and who drives, quietly, accompanied by their young daughter, to finally dump the body into a lake. Her physical blinding represents a more psychological blindness, and symbolizes the sacrifices she has been forced to make. Nothing was to be beautiful. At the end of shooting we returned to Hollywood and did about a weeks work at Warner Bros. I wanted to interject something that was a residue of what they experienced as lovers. Bonnie knew Clyde had vowed never to return to prison and that staying with him meant death for both, very soon. Every time the group makes a quick getaway, a rousing chorus of banjo music, a song called "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," begins to play. Bonnie and Clyde, in full Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, (respectively, born October 1, 1910, Rowena, Texas, U.S.died May 23, 1934, near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana; born March 24, 1909, Telico, Texas, U.S.died May 23, 1934, near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana), robbery team that became notorious in the United States through their flamboyant encounters with police and the sensationalization of their exploits by the countrys newspapers. Bonnie and Clyde were killed on May 23, 1934, when police opened fire on the pair as they attempted to escape an ambush along a highway in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The special effects guys would come in, tape over the holes, paint the car the same color, and put the wires in. Every one of these artists, and countless others, owes something to Bonnie and Clyde. Its been staged, but we dont know that at this point. Norman: University of Oklahoma . (LogOut/ Lyrics analysis, interpretation and meaning Intro The birds were probably young pigeons released from a chicken wire cage, and its a big swish pan as they go up into the sky thats intercut with Clyde looking at them. Theyve been an inspiration to a whole generation. Shes skeptical of his claim to be a thief until he pulls out a pistol, then lowers it to his crotch area, giving the gun obvious phallic symbolism. Bonnie and Clyde could be said to belong to a subset of the gangster genre, the 'love on the run' cycle which numbers some classic examples: You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, 1937), They Live By Night (Nicholas Ray, 1948) and Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950). The shot of her lying on her bed, with her head between the bars of the head of her bed, make her look imprisoned. The pictures are representative of the Imaginary Order, establishing the self as an illusory, idealized ego. Today, anyone can go see it. Delivery & Pickup Options - 2 reviews of bonnie n clyde's most wanted pizza "Tucked away in downtown Farwell, next to Rockwood Bar, this gem of a Pizzaria has the BEST sub I've had in YEARS, crispy wings dressed to order, and salads and Strombolis that are to die for! So now we begin a sequence that is very, very complicated. Their crime spree occurred at the height of the Great Depression, which hit particularly hard in states such as Oklahoma. When they notice a person stranded by the side of the road, the driver pulls over to lend a hand. Bonnie and Clyde was an unexpected smash hit that made huge stars out of Beatty and Dunaway. Everything was to be, you might say, harshand thats the way it was through the whole picture.Flashback: Bonnie and Clyde, If you made a list of the ten best editors ever, Ann Coates and Dede Allen would be in there. The Barrow gang needs a new car after that bank robbery, so they steal one owned by an undertaker, Eugene Grizzard (played by Gene Wilder). The ill-fated duo merrily rob banks and wreak havoc across the central United States alongside the Barrow Gang (consisting of Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman and . After the car crashed, "the officers, taking no chances with the gunman who had tricked them so often, poured . In November 1933 police in Dallas, Texas, attempted to capture them near Grand Prairie, but they escaped. Bonnie and Clyde experience a similar progression. Her widowed mother, Emma Parker, moved the . Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. And he was rightArthur Penn, with substantial help from the films producer and main star Beatty, capitalized on the growing dissatisfaction of the American people and their distrust and resentment of the authorities and the government. I will carry that line of thinking a little further, and say that their crime spree is symbolic of a revolutionary expropriation of the capitalists. The film was reviled on its first release, most audiences being disgusted with the excess violence. In December 1932 the FBI learned of an abandoned automobile in Michigan that had been stolen in Oklahoma. Omissions? Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Well, they werent there 10 seconds before this shot started. Several bank robbers during this period became famous as Robin Hood figures who struck back against the banks, which many people viewed as oppressive. She quickly gets dressed and goes down to meet him. Like the legend of Bonnie and Clyde, the car has survived as a grotesque symbol of fame. Clyde stops the car and goes over to help Ivan with his apparently broken down truck. My Life With Bonnie and Clyde, edited by John Neal Phillips. Its a simple shot. 6 The Devil's Rejects (2005) Bonnie and Clyde were romanticized, whereas The Devil's Rejects revels in the nasty and pathetic nature of its serial killers. In this comic scene, we see another reversal of sex roles. I'm merging the variety of topics I've blogged about--which include literary and film analyses, anarchism, socialism, libertarian-leaning Marxism, narcissistic abuse, and psychoanalysis--into a coherent philosophy centred on dialectical materialism, dialectical monism, and object relations theory. To donate, please visit our donation page, or click on the icon below: Get Cinephilia & Beyond in your inbox by signing in, It was an in-your-face film, Penn explained, in the sense of saying, Look, if were in the Vietnam War, it is not going to be immaculate and sanitised and bang-bangits going to be fucking bloody., The Fisher King: Terry Gilliams Touching Film About Grief, Trauma and Hope, The Driver: Walter Hill Behind the Wheel of a Glorious Experiment, Exposing Femicide in Iran: Cyrus Nowrastehs The Stoning of Soraya M., Filming the Unfilmable and Achieving the Unimaginable: How Kubricks Lolita Eventually Won Critics Over and Established Itself as an Acclaimed Sardonic Black Comedy, Nick Delgados Sangre: An Upcoming Vampire Coming-of-Age Story from a Promising Young Filmmaker, I Wish I Knew How to Quit You: Ang Lees Deeply Tragic Brokeback Mountain Smolders with Slow-Burning Despair, It Was Only the Wind, My Dear: The Undisputed Greatness of Jack Claytons The Innocents, Scorseses Sexless Period Drama The Age of Innocence as a Visceral Depiction of Emotional Starvation and Internalized Violence, The Devil Needs a Fix: Ian Ebrights Sophomore Film Proves His Debut Was No Coincidence, The Line: Luke Wallaces Gripping Crime Drama With a Terrific Cast, Cool Hair: William Orozco-Cubbons Bonnie-and-Clyde-Like Thriller that Leaves Us Wanting More, Arthur Penn: cerebral subversive by Peter Biskind, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, How Robert Altmans Anti-Western Classic McCabe & Mrs. Miller Aged Like Fine Wine, To the Wonder: The Lyrical Appeal and Influence of Richard Donners Superman, Network: Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefskys Gruesome Prophecy Turned Reality, Warren Beattys Reds: A Long, Long Movie About a Communist Who Died, Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayevskys Network: The Grim Prophecy that Was Once Just Brilliant Satire, Hal Ashbys Shampoo: The Brazen Comedy that Depicted the End of the Sixtiess Innocence, The Parallax View: Pakulas Unsettling Examination of the Post-Compliant America, Sidney Lumets Serpico: One Honest Mans Struggle Against the System, The Last Detail: Hal Ashby and Robert Townes Slice of the 70s America. by Cameron Maynard April 15, 2014. They get in a little deeperClyde kills a man, and Bonnie aids in armed robbery. Bonnie died still wearing his wedding ring. I learned a lot about performance from Arthur Penn, with whom I did six pictures. Though she and Roy had been separated for several months, they never got divorced. They turn and look at each other, and with the look they are saying goodbye, and I love you, and were gonna die. During those tough times for many Americans, the flamboyant pair was seen by some as a romantic young couple looking for adventure, though they were blamed for killing 13 people and committing countless other crimes. The Barrow gang has had only getaway cars and easily found hideaways to protect themselves in. Ultimately, though, the Barrow gangs possession of phallic guns (including the women) vs. Eugenes not having any is a symbolic emasculation for him, a male humiliation comparable to Clydes impotence, Mosss slow-wittedness, and Hamers photos with the gang. Their freewheeling style would have a lasting impact on American filmmaking. In fact, his widow and son sued Warner Bros.-Seven Arts for defamation of character, getting an out-of-court settlement. _____ 5.) Hamer and his posse emerge from the bushes and look at their bloody work, reminding us of the executions of the roughly 20,000 Communards, 147 of whom were shot against whats now called the Communards Wall. Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 crime drama written by David Newman and Robert Benton, loosely based on the early-to-mid-thirties crime spree of the Barrow gang. Clyde looks up when the birds, disturbed by something, fly out of the bush. This is partly why the ending packs such a punch: it feels less like the defeat of evildoers than the murder of, if not average, then certainly unremarkable people. Your generosity preserves film knowledge for future generations. The gun and cigar make her into the phallic woman, an idealized, strong version of herself making the photo comparable to the ideal-I she saw in her mirror reflection at the beginning of the film. The first time the audiences see a gun, Clyde holds it . 15. Hence, my allegorizing of them as socialist revolutionaries. Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in 1930, when she was 19 and he was 21. Here we have another reversal of sex roles: she is the sexual aggressor, not the man. The closing credits appear. We werent doing the life of Bonnie and Clyde. It is virtually inconceivable that Sonny Corleone would have experienced his rain of bullets in The Godfather, for example, if Bonnie and Clyde hadn't swallowed lead before him. Bonnie and Clyde were seen as Robin Hoods of a sort. Dec 6, 2013. The film cuts to black. Bonnie and Clyde Analysis. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Its director, Arthur Penn, intended the shot depicting a part of Clyde's brain being blown away by a bullet to remind audiences of the JFK assassination, providing some indication of the creative mentality behind it. As theyre approaching the trap, she gets a pear and eats it, sharing it with him; they look rather like Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and making themselves nakedly vulnerable to the death sentence theyre about to suffer. Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Its not just the lighting; its whether theres air blowing, a sense of motion. Bonnie and Clyde knew they were doomed. Theres not much room for more than just a close-up like this, but not so much technically, being close is just good storytelling. The duo was depicted in the highly successful 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, which spread the Bonnie and Clyde myth beyond the United States and helped to promote a kind of gangster chic, especially in fashion, in Europe and Japan. [19] He was the fifth of seven children of Henry Basil Barrow (1874-1957) and Cumie T. Walker (1874-1943), a desperately poor farming family that emigrated, piecemeal, to Dallas in the early 1920s as part of a wave of resettlement from the impoverished nearby farms to the impoverished . Bonnie and Clyde study guide contains a biography of Arthur Penn, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. This is a story of idealized images, as contrasted with the disappointing reality of (in the film) an impotent Clyde, a dim-witted Moss, and a screaming, weak Blanche. On May 20, 1933, the United States Commissioner at Dallas, Texas, issued a warrant against Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, charging them with the interstate transportation, from Dallas to Oklahoma . More books than SparkNotes. [citation needed] Her widowed mother, Emma (Krause) Parker (1885-1944), moved her family back to her parents' home in Cement City, an industrial suburb in West Dallas where she worked as a seamstress. And that gets Clyde and Bonnies attention and they pull in, wanting to be helpful because theyre his guests. Countless bullets puncture their torso, limbs and faces. The jump cuts in this scene, the deliberately choppy editing, symbolize her fragmentation. Before Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow met their gruesome fate on May 23, 1934, while they were still robbing their way around the. Cell The Great Jay Money E.N.T Like Bonnie and Clyde Girl it's me and you Until the end of time It's me and you Like Bonnie and Clyde Girl it's me. For many young people the characters of Bonnie and Clyde, albeit the ruthless killers that they were, represented protesters of the government and the powerful. Shes so thrilled with his daring that she wants to make love with him. To some, Rob Zombie's most highly lauded picture can be seen as an extended version of the 1967 . In 1933, during their infamous run from the law, Bonnie and Clyde were joined by Clyde's brother Buck Barrow and his wife Blanche. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The sub bun is spectacular; freshly baked and toasted to perfection. It was an in-your-face film, Penn explained, in the sense of saying, Look, if were in the Vietnam War, it is not going to be immaculate and sanitised and bang-bangits going to be fucking bloody. We felt, Lets not go on with what the studios have adopted for so longway back to the days when you couldnt shoot somebody and see them hit in the same framethere had to be a cut. On the other hand, his giving Bonnie his gun to practice firing at a tire, behind a home theyve squatted in (repossessed by a bank), is symbolically giving her a phallus, thus once again bringing about a sex role reversal. Before Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Champion Barrow met their gruesome fate on May 23, 1934, while they were still robbing their way around the middle . It was the beginning of Penns most creative period. Nobody could quite understand what I had in mind until I had done it. This is the sensational finale to the watershed 1967 crime drama Bonnie and Clyde: a high-voltage, take-no-prisoners sequence that is among the most famous and most shocking endings in cinema history. Speaking of Bonnie as a feminist icon in the film, another reversal of sex roles happens when Clyde takes that famous photograph of Bonnie with his cigar in her mouth and his gun in her hand, leaning against the car. The producer, Warren Beattywho was also the star of the filmshared his point of view. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. The theft of Grizzards car, and the kidnapping of him and his girlfriend, Velma Davis (played by Evans Evans), seem to be based on those of Dillard Darby and Sophia Stone. Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.