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BONNIE AND CLYDE happens to be my favorite film, but as far as "exploitation" flicks go, this one is much fun and I wish I owned it. Ms. Provine is a jewel - sassy and bold and beautiful! Sidney Lassick from CUCKOO'S NEST has a small part as well. A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Dorothy Provine.

Late 50's and 60's exploitation flicks come with varying qualities, but this should be a camp classic, for it's inaccuracies, name changes, and outright hilarious dialogue, but Ms. Provine is a tough little cookie and means what she says and makes it a worthwhile film experience. Definitely hunt this one down!

Drive-In/Grind-House Flick from American International Pictures that Specialized in Cheap "Teen-Age" Fodder.

Sci-Fi...Horror...JD...Rock n' Roll Pictures were Their Forte and most of them were Average in the Genre with some Rising Above Budget and Expectations.

This one, Featuring a Dynamo of a Performance from the Sexy, Platinum Blonde, Dorothy Provine Dominating Every Scene where She Appears.

Appear She Does, in a Few Scenes Stripping to the Lingerie, with others in Skin-Tight Tops.

All the while Spitting Put-Downs and Ridicules to any Male in Sight.

Toting a Tommy-Gun and Getting Down and Dirty when it Counts.

Dorothy Takes Over the Gang and the Movie with Ease.

The Production shows No Signs of Period with 1950's Hair-Styles, Costumes, Slang, Chuck Berry Riffs on the Radio, and Attitude...

One of the Gang Members Dreams...

"I want a big Steak with a green salad on the side with a bottle of good whiskey."

Someone comes back with...

"Didn't you ever want a hamburger and coke."

Bonnie Tells a Neighbor who is going to night school...

"You're the end"

Note...Look for a cameo from Gangster and Western and B-Movie Star Bob Steele as an armored truck driver.

"The Bonnie Parker story" has the potential to be a cult movie. It is evident that a sad lack of bucks is the main cause of the faults of the film. No other reason, save some bizarre artistic choice, could justify the 1950s clothes and looks of the actors, within a 1930s story. And no bank-shot is shown all along the movie, another unwelcome by-product of a meagre budget.

In spite of its B-movie doom, "The Bonnie Parker story" has remarkable merits. The photography is accurate and evocative. The action scenes are realistic and very well filmed, the narration has a quick and smooth pace. The script oozes toughness and cynical wisecracking. In my opinion, a first rate job by the writer.

And then... that girl! That bomb of a wildcat-girl! Dorothy Provine is sensational, and not just for her stunningly gorgeous looks. Her aggressive, dynamic acting is unforgettable. She draws Bonnie's utterly amoral character, paired with an almost crazy courage, with a great force not lacking of subtlety. Huge fun to see her on the screen, especially when she ruthlessly ill-use and humiliate the male characters. An interesting, although undeveloped, side of Bonnie's psychology: she has an exclusive passion for command, while she seems not to give a damn for love. Well, let me give some credit to the little money used to make the movie. With a higher budget, probably they would have hired a more famous actress than Dorothy. What an enormous loss we escaped!

Dorothy Provine alone is largely enough to recommend "The Bonnie Parker story", but it's fair to take note of several other good sides of the movie.

When this story began, I noticed that this low budget film didn't even bother to try to look the correct period. While it was set in 1932, clothing and dress mostly looked like it was from 1958....and both had changed dramatically over this period of time. I can only assume the filmmakers simply didn't care about getting the look right or they had so little money to spend, they didn't bother. The real life Bonnie Parker looked about as much as Dorothy Provine as a tomato!

Either way, I wasn't very impressed.

The same can be said about the story itself. While it's supposed to be about Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde fame, the story is only VERY broadly about them. Heck, they even call Clyde 'Guy' in order to avoid problems with royalties and permission to film the story in the first place! Had they stuck to the facts, such permission probably wouldn't have been needed but the film is essentially fiction.

Because of these problems, my advice is to just watch the film and accept it on its own terms. Ignore that it's not really Bonnie's story and ignore that the look of the film is all wrong...otherwise, finishing the movie will be very difficult! Ditto with the WAY over the top behaviors by Bonnie....she's played like a complete maniac with zero subtlety. And, at least this way, you CAN enjoy it because it's so ridiculous and overdone.

Don't turn on this flick for a lesson about the real life gangsters here. Bonnie is the brains in this mob. Throw in some 1950s rockabilly on the radio from the future and enjoy the ride.