Death of the Old Guard

By the time Bonnie and Clyde reached the cinema screens the old studio system had gone. Previously, actors, directors, and especially screenwriters signed a contract for a particular studio. If you were a Warner Brothers man, you stayed a WB man (only being loaned out on occasion), until you faded away (or until the audiences stopped coming to your films). But powerful personalities like Warren Beatty had started to change the way films were being made. Directors were finally being given more creative control, and artists were signed on a film by film contract rather than locked in for life. This meant they could choose who to work for and when.

For the previous twenty years Europe had looked to the USA’s film industry, but now it was the other way around. A new breed of filmmaker was coming and they clutched their Godard, Bazin and Truffaut inspired ideas with them. Bonnie and Clyde is a perfect example of this fascination of European cinema clashing with the American gangster tradition, and giving birth to a more realistic and violent film.

In Bernstein’s article he sees the character of C.W in Bonnie and Clyde as a surrogate son. I’ve always viewed him as being representative of the audience. When C.W. first meets the bank robbing duo he is in awe of their glamor. The clothes, the car, and the romantic ideal of stealing from the banks all excite him. Just like it excites the audience. When we first see Clyde shoot the man from the badly driven getaway vehicle it shocks us. So far the film has been a light hearted, almost a comedic romp, but here is a sudden shift in tone. C.W. is also shocked by this and is next seen sitting at a seat in the cinema crying. Thus, mirroring the the reaction of the viewer. As the film progresses C.W. becomes confused between the glamor and the frightening reality of their actions. In the final scenes C.W. knows (like the audience) that Bonnie and Clyde are heading into a trap, yet feels that they will get away. His final sight of them is through the glass of the store (almost like the window is his own cinema screen). Like the audience he is separated from them, unable to change their predestined ending. He watches them drive away into history.