''The Bonnie Parker Story'' is a 1958

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: ''Dick Tracy Returns'', ''G-Men vs. the Black ...

. The movie is loosely based on the life of

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

, a well-known outlaw of the 1930. The film stars

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first ...

as Parker; Parker's actual historical partner,

Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

, is renamed Guy Darrow for the film's story, and played by

Jack Hogan Jack Hogan (born Richard Roland Benson Jr.; November 24, 1929) is an American retired actor. He is most notable for the role of PFC William G. Kirby on the 1960s television show ''Combat!'' Biography Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Hogan ...

. The film was released by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

as a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

'' starring

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

in his first leading role.

Plot

Diner waitress Bonnie Parker is just as tired of her job in 1932 Texas as she is of customers like Guy Darrow, who try too hard to make her acquaintance. When she goes too far, fending off Guy with hot oil, Bonnie is fired. With her husband Duke Jefferson still in prison and no means of support, Bonnie teams up with Guy on a series of small holdups. She also kills a cop who is chasing them, which leads to Tom Steel of the Texas Rangers, a fictionalized version of

Frank Hamer Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and ...

, being assigned to the case. Guy's incarcerated cousin Chuck is paroled in late 1933, so Bonnie and the Darrows travel north to Missouri and Iowa for more robberies. Bonnie thinks it is time to stop thinking small and aim for banks instead of gas stations and such. She also decides the gang should bust Duke out of the pen. Their daring breakout succeeds, but Chuck is shot. Now that her husband is in charge, the trio begins making some big scores and become America's most wanted criminals. But when a big scheme by Bonnie to rob an armored truck backfires, the guards locking themselves inside a vehicle that is bulletproof, things continue to go wrong when Guy accidentally kills Duke. On the lam, Bonnie decides it is time to hide out in Louisiana, but it is only a matter of time before Steel and the Rangers find them. Bonnie and Guy go down in a hail of bullets.

Cast

as Guy Darrow *

Richard Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...

as Duke Jefferson *

Joe Turkel Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He is known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's films '' The Killing'', ''Pat ...

as Chuck Darrow *William Stevens as Paul Baxter * Douglas Kennedy as Tom Steel *

Patricia Huston Patricia Huston (August 10, 1929 – September 25, 1995)Pat Lou Baker in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936–2007, retrieved froAncestry.com was an American stage, film, and television actress. She had an explosive ear ...

as Chuck's Girl

Critical response

In her review of the 1967 film ''

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

'',

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

dismissed ''The Bonnie Parker Story'' as "a cheap - in every sense - 1958

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

." Recent critics have been more enthusiastic. Bob Mastrangelo wrote, "The ''Bonnie Parker Story'' is an obscure oddity that exists in the shadow of the far better known ''Bonnie and Clyde'', but this little film is also able to stand on its own legs."

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

considers the film's director, William Witney, to be a "lost master"; he's quoted as saying of this film that, "I was blown away. It was like, whoa, who made this? I have to see everything he ever did." Elaine Lemmon wrote in ''Senses of Cinema'' that, "Other than the predictable final shoot-out, ''The Bonnie Parker Story'' bears no other resemblances to the later film, especially in terms of visual style, where it remains strictly in the B-movie tradition of

, its production company. However, it is told and shot with verve, and is pleasingly lurid, with an appropriately vivacious characterisation by Dorothy Provine."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnie Parker Story 1958 films Films directed by William Witney Biographical films about Bonnie and Clyde American black-and-white films Films set in Texas Films set in 1932 Films set in 1933 Films set in 1934 Films scored by Ronald Stein 1950s English-language films

Plot

Cast

Critical response

See also

References

External links