The truth about Frank Hamer, Bonnie Parker, and Clyde Barrow lies somewhere between the Hollywood versions of 1967 and 2019. The 1967 film--titled Bonnie and Clyde--romanticized the outlaws and disparaged the lawmen in a year of racial unrest, excessive gun violence, and distrust of authorities. The 2019 film reviewed here deglamorizes the outlaws and celebrates the lawmen in a year of racial unrest, excessive gun violence, and distrust of authorities. Why these two film versions diverge so dramatically should be a fascinating topic for future historians to unpack-assuming that other antiauthoritarian films from 1967 will be revised and updated in similar fashion. Will Mrs. Robinson eventually finish her college degree and become The Graduate redux? Will efficient German officers clean up the mess made by American commandos in The Dirty Dozen? And will Cool Hand Luke's prison warden correct the inmates' failure to communicate? Time will tell.
