The film had been in development hell for many years, with producer Casey Silver looking into the project as early as 2005. Originally pitched by Fusco as a possible Paul Newman and Robert Redford project, the film began development at Universal Pictures but never came to fruition. In February 2018, it was reported Netflix had picked up the rights to the film and that Costner and Harrelson would star. Filming took place later that month and in March, shooting around Louisiana and at several historical sites, including the road where Bonnie and Clyde were killed.[4][5]
The Highwaymen had a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 15, 2019, before being released digitally on March 29, 2019, on Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Reluctant to leave retirement and his wife Gladys, Hamer joins the manhunt after the fugitive gang is involved in a devastating shootout in Missouri, and he recruits his former partner, Benjamin Maney Gault, despite his doubts about Gault's sobriety and decayed policing abilities. He refuses to share the driving with Gault.
Information from FBIwiretapping of the fugitives' families leads Hamer and Gault to conclude that Bonnie and Clyde are returning "home" to Dallas. Watching Bonnie's mother's house, they see a man throw a bottle into her yard, which is soon thrown back, but a boy escapes with it.
Dismissing the Rangers' theory, the FBI believe the fugitives are in Brownsville. Hamer and Gault meet with Dallas Sheriff "Smoot" Schmid, who introduces them to Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton, a childhood friend of the pair who can identify them on sight. The gang kills two policemen in nearby Grapevine; Hamer and Gault investigate the scene and determine that Bonnie has a rabbit, which Hinton suggests is a present for a family member.
The Rangers drive to Oklahoma and question a gas station attendant, who declares his support for the criminals. Hamer gets the man to admit the gang passed through en route to a migrant camp, where a local girl confirms they stayed. A radio bulletin alerts the Rangers to two more murdered officers but, being outside their jurisdiction, they are barred from passing the police roadblock, which a frustrated Hamer drives around.
They continue to Coffeyville, Kansas, correctly guessing that Bonnie and Clyde will stop there for supplies. As the Rangers move in on the fugitives, an adoring crowd surrounds the criminals' car. Hamer and Gault give chase, but Bonnie and Clyde escape through a dirt field.
Learning that Clyde had breakfast in Amarillo, the Rangers return to Dallas to find the rabbit has been delivered to Bonnie's family. Hamer meets Henry Barrow, Clyde's father, who affirms that his son must be stopped. The Rangers have Simmons furlough Wade McNabb, an incarcerated associate of the gang, hoping to draw them out.
While Hamer interrogates McNabb at a bar, Gault is threatened in the restroom by thugs sympathetic to the gang, but he subdues them. Learning that Bonnie plans to meet a hairdresser the next day, the Rangers surveil her mother's house again. A man throws another bottle into the yard, which is retrieved by the same boy but intercepted by the Rangers; it contains a message that the gang are heading elsewhere. Realizing McNabb warned the gang, the Rangers visit his home and discover him beaten to death.
Simmons recalls Hamer and Gault to Austin, but they return to their theory that "outlaws always go home", predicting that the fugitives are going to Bienville Parish, Louisiana, home of gang member Henry Methvin's father, Ivy. Searching Ivy's house, the Rangers find evidence of the outlaws' recent stay. They join forces with local Sheriff Henderson Jordan and Deputy Prentiss Oakley to confront Ivy; in exchange for his son's safety, he reveals that the gang will soon return.
The lawmen are joined by Hinton and Dallas Sheriff's Deputy Bob Alcorn, and Gault tells them of his first deployment with Hamer: they killed a gang of bandits, including a fleeing 13-year-old boy. Ivy informs them the gang is arriving the next day, and the posse prepare an ambush on the road to his house, staging his truck as if it has broken down.
Bonnie and Clyde arrive, stopping to assist Ivy, and Hamer orders them to raise their hands. Instead, the criminals prepare to draw their own weapons, but are gunned down. The bullet-riddled car with Bonnie and Clyde's bodies is towed to Arcadia, Louisiana and mobbed by onlookers. Refusing $1,000 for an interview with the Associated Press, Hamer and Gault drive home. En route, Hamer allows Gault to drive.
In addition, Emily Brobst and Edward Bossert have cameos as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, respectively.
Production
Development
Around 2005, producer Casey Silver began to develop The Highwaymen, an original pitch from John Fusco that once had Paul Newman and Robert Redford poised to play the veteran Texas Rangers who put an end to the violent robbery spree of Bonnie and Clyde. [6]
The project had been a long-time goal of Fusco's to portray Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the proper light of history. Fusco researched extensively in Texas and became friends with Hamer's son, the late Frank Hamer Jr. By 2013, the project was under development at Universal Pictures.[7]
On June 21, 2017, it was reported that Netflix was in negotiations to extricate the production from Universal Pictures. At the time of the report, Netflix was in early discussions with Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner for the two lead roles and with John Lee Hancock as director. The script was written by John Fusco. Casey Silver, who had been developing the project while it was at Universal, was set to produce.[8]
On February 12, 2018, it was announced by Netflix that the film had entered production. Hancock was officially confirmed as director, and Harrelson, Costner, and Silver were confirmed as producers. They were set to produce alongside Michael Malone and Rod Lake.[9]
Casting
Alongside the announcement of the film entering production, it was confirmed that Costner and Harrelson would be playing Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, respectively. In addition, it was announced that Kathy Bates, John Carroll Lynch, Kim Dickens, Thomas Mann, and William Sadler had also joined the cast.[9][10]
Filming
Principal photography for the film commenced on February 12, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana and was expected to last until April 10, 2018. The production was set to film in other locations around the state including Covington, LaPlace, Baton Rouge, and Garyville.[3] Additionally, scenes for Coffeyville, KS were shot in Hammond. On February 21, 2018, filming took place at Laurel Valley Plantation in Thibodaux, Louisiana. [11][12][13] The production moved to Donaldsonville, Louisiana where filming took place through February 26, 2018, and reportedly shut down an area of the town’s historic district.[14] It was here that film makers shot scenes for the West Dallas Viaduct (the Devil's Back Porch) where Parker and Barrow grew up. On March 5, 2018, filming occurred in Baton Rouge where the Old Louisiana Governor's Mansion acted as a stand in for the Texas Governor's Mansion. Production reportedly caused streets surrounding it to be blocked off for the majority of the day.[15][16]
From March 21 to 25, 2018, filming took place on Highway 154. Reportedly, the production was reenacting the killing of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow near where the actual event took place. To recreate the scene on what is now an asphalt two-lane highway, the film crew planted trees along the right-of-way and added dirt to cover the blacktop road.[17] Later that month, filming took place on an old U.S. Route 380 bridge that sits southwest of Newcastle, Texas crossing the Brazos River; this bridge was a stand-in for the old Young County Bridge on the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma which had been closed down decades earlier.[18][19][20][21] Principal photography for the film concluded on March 29, 2018, in Shreveport, Louisiana.[22] The production reportedly had a budget of $49 million.[3]
Release
The film premiered at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on March 10, 2019, during the South by Southwest film festival, as part of the "Headliners" series of screenings.[23][24] It then began a limited theatrical release on March 15, 2019, before beginning to stream digitally on March 29, 2019, on Netflix.[25] In April 2019, Netflix reported that 40 million households had watched the film during its first month of release.[26]
Reception
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Highwaymen depicts law enforcement's side of the Bonnie and Clyde manhunt -- a story that's unfortunately not quite as entertaining despite its marquee leads."[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28] The film received a nomination for the Satellite Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film in 2020.[29]
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow were American bandits who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The couple was known for their bank robberies and multiple murders, although they preferred to rob small stores or rural funeral homes. Their exploits captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is occasionally referred to as the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. They were ambushed by police and shot to death in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. They are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.
Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 American biographical neo-noir crime film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. The film also features Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, and Estelle Parsons. The screenplay is by David Newman and Robert Benton. Robert Towne and Beatty provided uncredited contributions to the script; Beatty produced the film. The music is by Charles Strouse.
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, producer, and director. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Harrelson first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from five nominations. He reprised his role in the acclaimed spinoff series Frasier in 1999 for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series nomination.
The Texas Ranger Division, also known as the Texas Rangers and also known as Diablos Tejanos, is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Texas. It is based in the capital city Austin. In the time since its creation, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations, including the Alamo, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–1846) and the State of Texas.
Raymond Elzie Hamilton was a member of the notorious Barrow Gang during the early 1930s. By the time he was 20 years old, he had accumulated a prison sentence of 362 years.
Francis Augustus Hamer was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and investigative skill, he acquired status in the Southwest as the archetypal Texas Ranger. He was inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. His professional record and reputation are controversial, particularly with regard to his willingness to use extrajudicial killing even in an increasingly modernized society.
Blanche Barrow was the wife of the elder brother of Clyde Barrow, known as Buck. He became her second husband after his release from prison after a pardon. To her dismay, Buck joined his brother's gang. Blanche was present at the shootout which resulted in the Barrow Gang becoming nationally recognized fugitives. She spent only four months with the gang.
Guns Don't Argue is a 1957 low-budget feature film about the early achievements of the FBI in defeating the most notorious criminals of the 1930s. The film involves dramatizations of the crimes and eventual demise of various gangsters, along with a moralistic narrative. It was edited together from a composite of three episodes from the 1952 TV series Gangbusters.
Ted Cass Hinton was a Dallas County, Texas, deputy sheriff, the youngest of the posse that ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde near Gibsland, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934.
The Barrow Gang was an American gang active between 1932 and 1934. They were well known outlaws, robbers, murderers, and criminals who, as a gang, traveled the Central United States during the Great Depression. Their exploits were known all over the nation. They captured the attention of the American press and its readership during what is sometimes referred to as the 'public enemy era'. Though the gang was notorious for the bank robberies they committed, they preferred to rob small stores or gas stations over banks. The gang was believed to have killed at least nine police officers, among several other murders.
The Newton Gang was an outlaw gang of the early 20th century, who engaged in train robbery and bank robbery. From 1919 through 1924 the gang robbed dozens of banks, claiming a total of seventy-five banks and six trains. According to Willis Newton, the brothers "took in more money than the Dalton Gang, Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch and the James-Younger Gang combined." According to their own claims, they never killed anyone although it has been reported that "they did on occasion shoot, pistol-whip and beat their victims"
Casey Silver is an American film executive and producer.
John Lee Hancock Jr. is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the sports drama films The Rookie (2002) and The Blind Side (2009), the historical drama films The Alamo (2004), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), The Founder (2016) and The Highwaymen (2019), the crime thriller film The Little Things (2021), and the horror film Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022).
Henry Methvin was an American criminal, a bank robber, and a Depression-era outlaw. He is best remembered as the final member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang. His role in the gang has often been misattributed to teenage gang member W.D. Jones as both men were portrayed as composite character "C.W. Moss" in the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
The Bonnie Parker Story is a 1958 crime film directed by William Witney. The movie is loosely based on the life of Bonnie Parker, a well-known outlaw of the 1930s. The film stars Dorothy Provine as Parker; Parker's actual historical partner, Clyde Barrow, is renamed Guy Darrow for the film's story, and played by Jack Hogan. The film was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Machine Gun Kelly starring Charles Bronson in his first leading role.
Bonnie & Clyde is a revisionist 2013 miniseries about Great Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow starring Emile Hirsch as Clyde Barrow and Holliday Grainger as Bonnie Parker. The two-part series aired on consecutive nights, December 8 and 9, 2013, simultaneously on A&E, History, and Lifetime. The first previews were released on September 23, 2013. The series was widely criticized for its historical inaccuracies, particularly as it was aired on History.
American actor, director, and producer Kevin Costner started his acting career in 1981 by starring in the romantic comedy independent film Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. He went on to appear in the films Testament (1983), and Shadows Run Black (1984) before co-starring in the 1985 ensemble western film Silverado alongside Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover. The same year, he starred in the comedy film Fandango with Judd Nelson, as well as American Flyers with David Marshall Grant. In 1987, Costner starred as Eliot Ness in the crime film The Untouchables with Robert De Niro and Sean Connery. The following year, he starred as Crash Davis in the romantic comedy sports film Bull Durham with Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. The film is on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Sports Movies. Costner then starred in the sports fantasy drama film Field of Dreams with James Earl Jones. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It's also on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Fantasy Movies.
"Who Goes There" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American anthology crime drama television series True Detective. The episode was written by series creator Nic Pizzolatto, and directed by executive producer Cary Joji Fukunaga. It was first broadcast on HBO in the United States on February 9, 2014.
Woody Harrelson is an American actor who made his film debut as an uncredited extra in Harper Valley PTA (1978). His breakthrough role was as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), which garnered Harrelson a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from a total of five nominations. He would later reprise the character in other television shows, such as Frasier and The Simpsons. In 1992, Harrelson starred opposite Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump. He then appeared in the Oliver Stone-directed Natural Born Killers (1994) alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Downey Jr. For his performance as free-speech activist Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and an Academy Award for Best Actor. He next appeared in The Thin Red Line (1998).
↑ "The Highwaymen Is a Pleasant Throwback of a Movie". The Atlantic. March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019. Netflix's latest offering tells the story of Bonnie and Clyde from the perspective of the lawmen—played by Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson—who pursued and killed them.
↑ "Filming Locations: Where was The Highwaymen filmed?". Atlas of Wonders. March 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019. Most of The Highwaymen was filmed in several locations around Louisiana, although the shoot also took place in Texas and Oklahoma .... There is a scene with the duo crossing the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma. This sequence was shot in an old steel-framed bridge over Brazos River near Newcastle. The Young County Bridge has been shuttered for almost 40 years
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