Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie Parker (1910–1934) and Clyde

Barrow (1909–1934) are probably the best-known criminal duo of the 1930s. In their brief career of armed robberies, Parker and Barrow traveled around the Southwest and Midwest, murdering a total of between twelve and fifteen people. Newspaper reports of the time exaggerated their crimes, linking them to holdups they could not have committed.

In 1967, Arthur Penn (1922–) directed the hit film Bonnie and Clyde, remodeling the pair into folk heroes. The bleak violence of the film made sense to Americans coming to terms with student protests, the war in Vietnam (1954–75), and rising crime. Although it portrays Parker and Barrow as victims of their desperate times, the film is realistic about the brutality of their crimes. They were shot to death by Texas Rangers near Arcadia, Louisiana, in May 1934. Their bullet-riddled car is on display at a casino in Primm, Nevada.

—Chris Routledge

For More Information

Friedman, Lester D. Bonnie and Clyde. London: BFI Publishing, 2000.

Geringer, Joseph. "Bonnie & Clyde: Romeo and Juliet in a Getaway Car." The Crime Library.http://www.crimelibrary.com/americana/bonnie/main.htm (accessed February 15, 2002).

Penn, Arthur, director. Bonnie and Clyde (film). Warner-Seven Arts, 1967.

Steele, Philip W., and Marie Barrow Scoma. The Family Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 2000.

Trahern, John. The Strange History of Bonnie and Clyde. London: Jonathon Cape, 1984.