The Unflappable Old Rangers
The 2019 film The Highwaymen adapts a true story from U.S. history. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were both born into poor families in Texas. Clyde, punished by the law for stealing a chicken, took step after step into darkness. Bonnie, originally an excellent student, grew weary of life after a divorce. By chance she met Clyde during one of his crimes, admired his outlaw bravado, and the two became an infamous pair. Between 1930 and 1934, they murdered at least nine officers. On May 23, 1934, they were ambushed and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, by Texas Rangers Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, together with Louisiana and Texas lawmen.
This is the fourth screen retelling of Bonnie and Clyde. Earlier versions include the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, the 2013 miniseries Bonnie & Clyde, and the 2014 film Robber Brawl. The 1967 classic received multiple Oscar nominations.
The Highwaymen tells the story from the Rangers’ perspective, following Frank Hamer and Maney Gault as they overcome one obstacle after another to track Bonnie and Clyde. Along the way they face four sources of pressure:
- Resistance from the state government and fellow officers: Governor Miriam Ferguson had disbanded the Texas Rangers years earlier, so the two former Rangers could only work off the books within Texas. Unprofessional actions by other officers repeatedly hampered the manhunt.
- Age‑related physical decline: their aim had grown shaky, stamina low enough that they couldn’t outrun a child. The outlaws could drive 700 km through the night while the Rangers had to stop and rest.
- A load of psychological pressure: in the name of justice the two had fought in over a hundred gun battles and killed more than fifty criminals, yet they continually faced public criticism, which gnawed at them.
- Public idolization of the outlaws: Bonnie and Clyde murdered police and robbed banks yet became folk idols. Women copied Bonnie’s clothes. Even after the pair were killed, 20,000 people attended Bonnie Parker’s funeral in Dallas and 15,000 attended Clyde Barrow’s.
Throughout the chase, Bonnie and Clyde seemed to hold the upper hand. For most of the film we see only background and leg close‑ups, their faces withheld; only in the final shootout do we glimpse their panic. This both keeps the focus squarely on the protagonists and heightens suspense.
If the film were to receive 2019 Oscar attention, it would be historic: Netflix’s first Oscar‑recognized feature, and the second time the Bonnie and Clyde story drew Academy notice.
Published at: Sep 25, 2025 · Modified at: Oct 26, 2025
