August 13, 1967: “Bonnie and Clyde” Premieres

Faye Dunaway (left) and Warren Beatty

August 13, 1967: Bonnie and Clyde premieres, directed by Arthur Penn, and starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Also starring Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons, and, in his 1st film, Gene Wilder.

Unlike the 1920s, and every other decade in the 20th Century from the 1940s onward, there was never really a "nostalgia wave" for the 1930s, because of the Great Depression. The TV version of The Untouchables was more of a "Roaring Twenties" thing, and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, which came out in 1969, was not exactly a romanticization of the period.

Even the Godfather movies, released a few years later, ignored the 1930s, when, according to Mario Puzo's novel, the Corleone family really became powerful, looking rather at their 1920s origins and their 1940s and '50s difficulties. Nor did Chinatown, released in 1974 but taking place in 1934, try to make the era look glamorous.

Indeed, Bonnie and Clyde might be "the exception that proves the rule": While it understated the reality of the actions of the real Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, and overdid the romance angle -- it was still Hollywood, after all -- Penn refused to shy away from how hard life was, for both the victims and the perpetrators, including the ending.

This film was one of the most violent ever released to that point, and was a direct challenge to the longstanding Hays Code. Within a year, the Code was gone, and the MPAA rating system (G, PG, R, X) was put into place.

And the film opened the door to things like "revisionist Westerns" and "anti-heroes." Without Bonnie and Clyde, it would have been a lot harder to make the aforementioned Godfather films (with James Caan's Sonny Corleone taking as many bullets in his ambush as Bonnie and Clyde combined took in theirs), the aforementioned Chinatown, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Easy Rider, Martin Scorcese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, vigilante films like Death Wish and Walking Tall, and "blaxploitation films" like Shaft and Coffy, and even comedies like Silver Streak and Smokey and the Bandit.

Bonnie and Clyde was nominated for 9 Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Actor for Beatty, since he was also the producer, and that's who Best Picture goes to, the winning film's producer (or producers); Best Director for Penn; Best Actress for Dunaway; Best Supporting Actor for Hackman and Pollard; Best Supporting Actress for Parsons; Best Original Screenplay for David Newman and Robert Benton; Best Cinematography for Burnett Guffey; and Best Costume Design, as prominent period pieces usually get nominated for, for Theadora Van Runkle. But only Parsons and Guffey won.

How many people did the real Barrow Gang kill? It's not clear, but at least 9 police officers died as a result of their actions, before the FBI finally ambushed them in Louisiana in 1934.

It was because of his clothes, including fedoras that made them think of Beatty in this film, that made his New York Knick teammates call Walt Frazier "Clyde."

Arthur Penn, and starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Also starring Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons, and, in his 1st film, Gene Wilder.

Penn died in 2010, Wilder in 2016, Pollard in 2019. As of August 13, 2022, Dunaway, Beatty, Hackman and Parsons are still alive. (UPDATE: Hackman died in 2025.)

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August 13, 1967 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 15-11 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Yes, that's a baseball score, not a football score. Fred Talbot only lasted 4 innings, while Sam McDowell lasted under 6. Fritz Peterson ended up as the winning pitcher.

Bob Tillman hit the only Yankee home run, going 2-for-5 with 6 RBIs. Horace Clarke went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Rubén Amaro went 4-for-4 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs. These are not names normally associated with the Yankees. Mickey Mantle, who is, went 1-for-2 with 4 walks. Max Alvis hit 2 homers for the Tribe.

* The New York Mets swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 and 11-9. In the opener, rookie Tom Seaver pitched a 4-hit shutout. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4 in the opener, and drew a walk as a pinch-hitter in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Willie Stargell went 3-for-8 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 8-4 at Atlanta Stadium (later Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Hank Aaron hit his 471st career home run.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Sammy Ellis pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Don Drysdale. Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with a walk. Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson both went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 and 1-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Fergie Jenkins pitched a 4-hit shutout int he 2nd game, outpitching Rick Wise. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 1-for-7.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3 with a walk. Rookie Rod Carew did not play.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Willie Mays went 1-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Kansas City Athletics, 2-0 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Frank Bertaina pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* And the California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4.