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The Highwaymen - Netflix Film - Woody, Costner


Don Johnson

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I found it interesting that they danced around a bit Clyde’s trauma in the scene between his dad and Costner.  From the reading I’ve done he was fairly unremarkable in his criminality until being raped in prison, as well as being subjected to the pretty bad prison farm.  Not an excuse, but explains some of how he came to be.  He killed the guy who raped him.

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3 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

Did Bonnie actually ever shoot anyone?  The movie showed her executing a couple of cops, but I thought that was discredited.  

There was an eyewitness (the farmer guy watching that was a few fields over from them) that claimed it, but his story changed multiple times I believe.

There were people who claimed she shot into the bodies after they were dead, including I think a few members of the gang, but they all had axes to grind/stories to sell.

I've been meaning to do a deep dive into newspaper accounts from the time for contemporary accounts (go go Newspapers.com subscription).

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17 hours ago, Celery Man said:

I found it interesting that they danced around a bit Clyde’s trauma in the scene between his dad and Costner.  From the reading I’ve done he was fairly unremarkable in his criminality until being raped in prison, as well as being subjected to the pretty bad prison farm.  Not an excuse, but explains some of how he came to be.  He killed the guy who raped him.

Clyde brutally killed the guy who raped him and claimed him as his wife.  I think Clyde stabbed him like 15-20 times.  

And Clyde wasn't alone - Joe Palmer (I think) killed Wade McNabb for similar behavior - McNabb was a building tender like Crowder.

They actually kind of reference this in the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde film - there was hints that Clyde had sexual dysfunctions.   Hard to know the truth, given that such stuff wasn't exactly openly discussed.

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Maybe SIAP, but the music sounded familiar to me when I watched it initially, but I was three drinks in and just enjoyed the show without looking into it.

Circled back and yep, Road to Perdition.  Same guy scored both. * shit, also Shawshank*

Smart move, added to the movie.

Edited by Mach 1
Shawshank
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18 hours ago, Mach 1 said:

Maybe SIAP, but the music sounded familiar to me when I watched it initially, but I was three drinks in and just enjoyed the show without looking into it.

Circled back and yep, Road to Perdition.  Same guy scored both. * shit, also Shawshank*

Smart move, added to the movie.

Same. I fucking love Thomas Newman. I know all his stuff sounds similar, but its still greatness

 

I was about 1/4 of the way through and thought “damn, this sounds like thomas newman.” Paused the movie, IMDBd it, and sure enough... Thomas Newman

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On 4/5/2019 at 5:43 PM, Celery Man said:

Was I nodding off on the airplane or was there a scene where one of them was playing saxophone while leaning against the car

Clyde played the saxophone when he was young.  Mostly self-taught, though apparently did get some lessons from a family member who could play.  His sax was one of the items found in the "death car."  Clyde also played the guitar.

Edited by Carl Spackler
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On 4/6/2019 at 8:09 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Clyde brutally killed the guy who raped him and claimed him as his wife.  I think Clyde stabbed him like 15-20 times.  

A prisoner serving a life-sentence took the fall on Barrow's behalf, and I believe I read that by agreement Barrow paid a sum to that prisoner's family when he got out.  

Also, Barrow had previously attempted to get out of hard labor there at Eastham Prison Farm by cutting off two toes on his own foot, or had another prisoner do it for him.  Ironically, he was released on parole or was granted a new trial and released from prison less than a week after mutilating himself.  

Edited by Saint Tacky
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6 minutes ago, Saint Tacky said:

A prisoner serving a life-sentence took the fall on Barrow's behalf, and I believe I read that by agreement Barrow paid a sum to that prisoner's family when he got out.  

Also, Barrow had previously attempted to get out of hard labor there at Eastham Prison Farm by cutting off two toes on his own foot, or had another prisoner do it for him.  Ironically, he was released on parole or was granted a new trial and released from prison less than a week after mutilating himself.  

Yeah, one of the autopsy photos show his foot.  That amount of pain - he must have been suffering pretty hard, but then again, he was a really small guy.

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How do the books and historians explain the immense popularity?  Is it really as simple as "young, attractive star-crossed lovers taking on the mean ol' banks" that made otherwise normal people act like nutcases and completely ignore wanton murder?  If it happened today, there would be plenty of people standing in line to yell "Fuck the police!" and reddit and 4chan would do what they do...but I can't see the mainstream rallying behind two psychopaths. 

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2 hours ago, aggie08 said:

How do the books and historians explain the immense popularity?  Is it really as simple as "young, attractive star-crossed lovers taking on the mean ol' banks" that made otherwise normal people act like nutcases and completely ignore wanton murder?  If it happened today, there would be plenty of people standing in line to yell "Fuck the police!" and reddit and 4chan would do what they do...but I can't see the mainstream rallying behind two psychopaths. 

Well it was during the depression and the banks turned out to not have the money those folks had put in them. So they probably didn't think too highly of them.

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11 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Well it was during the depression and the banks turned out to not have the money those folks had put in them. So they probably didn't think too highly of them.

I get that, and if they were just robbing banks, then their Robin Hood fame would make sense.  But ruthlessly shooting up random cops for shits and giggles didn't have people tapping the brakes?

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How do the books and historians explain the immense popularity?  Is it really as simple as "young, attractive star-crossed lovers taking on the mean ol' banks" that made otherwise normal people act like nutcases and completely ignore wanton murder?  If it happened today, there would be plenty of people standing in line to yell "Fuck the police!" and reddit and 4chan would do what they do...but I can't see the mainstream rallying behind two psychopaths. 
If youre interested in that kind of thing, read the book Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs. The Johnny Depp movie adaptation (which I'm not a huge fan of) mainly focused on Dillinger but the book takes more of a whole view on the crime wave at the time, also looking at Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelley, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, and the Barker-Karpis gang as well as the rise of the FBI under J Edgar Hoover's leadership during that time. It's one of my favorite books and it talks about why America was so behind a lot of these guys for a while. But long story short, like the poster above me mentioned, it was a product of its time, being the Great Depression. Everyone felt like they were being held down by the man and thus they enjoyed and rallied around these people who were seemingly "sticking it to the man"

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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5 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Well it was during the depression and the banks turned out to not have the money those folks had put in them. So they probably didn't think too highly of them.

And the banks foreclosed on a helluva lot of family homes and farms.

And guess who got to serve the notices and evict people from those foreclosed homes and farms - law enforcement.

That and the photos that Celery Man mentioned.  Those photos were a major factor.

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  • 1 month later...

I have developed a minor fixation with this film.  Has anyone noticed Hamer squatting and picking up a yellow object while at the crime scene  where the two motorcycle cops were killed?  He was in the bar ditch and dropped the yellow thing, then went down the fence line and found the empty whiskey bottle.  My theory is that either the screenwriter or the director read Go Down Together and had Costner handle a lemon peel he found in the ditch.  Quinn says Bonnie chewed on lemon peels to disguise her breath so her Mom would not guess she'd been drinking bourbon. Pretty dam subtle.

In an earlier post I think I mentioned that the book I'm Frank Hamer was an autobiography; it wasn't.  The authors were H. Gordon Frost and John Jenkins.  

A very good movie.

Edited by idahorn
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  • 4 months later...

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