New Bonnie and Clyde mini series on the History Channel

[Chicago Jimmy]

We enjoyed it. It's much better than Mob City.

 

[p51]

I just knew they'd have a "Kodak moment" right before they got schwacked. The whole, 'appreciating everything' moment seemed silly, there wasn't any reason for them to expect it was gonna happen right down the road.
Also, I thought I read somewhere that Bonnie either got out of the car or was trying to get out when all the lead started flying in?
As for the lack of Thompsons in that ambush, I concur that there weren't any documented uses of them. Frankly, I have always felt that the use of Tommy guns in crimes wasn't nearly as common as hollywood would have had you believe. I know that shotguns were a very common weapon noted in many mob crimes back then.
I've personally held one of the rifles used to off Bonnie and Clyde, it's in a collection of a guy I know in the South (was told not to say who/where/which gun though). I'm not a spiritual person at all, yet it did feel odd to hold it, somehow...

 

[RBH]

......
I've personally held one of the rifles used to off Bonnie and Clyde, it's in a collection of a guy I know in the South (was told not to say who/where/which gun though). I'm not a spiritual person at all, yet it did feel odd to hold it, somehow...

As well it should.

 

[1961MJS]

...
As for the lack of Thompsons in that ambush, I concur that there weren't any documented uses of them. Frankly, I have always felt that the use of Tommy guns in crimes wasn't nearly as common as hollywood would have had you believe. I know that shotguns were a very common weapon noted in many mob crimes back then.
I've personally held one of the rifles used to off Bonnie and Clyde, it's in a collection of a guy I know in the South (was told not to say who/where/which gun though). I'm not a spiritual person at all, yet it did feel odd to hold it, somehow...

Hi

My Dad shot a Tommy gun before going overseas for WW2 (as a weatherman). He said that they're hard to steer at best.

If memory serves, and if the writer was correct, both Bonnie and Clyde were shot in the head by the Frank Hamer using a fairly low powered semi-automatic rifle. A Model 8 Remington according to a Bonnie and Clyde sight. The sight doesn't mention a caliber though. Frank shot the two criminals, while everybody else shot the car to death several times over.

I'd think that holding a gun used to kill someone, especially someone you know about, would be a little odd to hold. I know I don't like to go to places where I know someone was killed (like the sandwich shop near my old house).

Peter Hathway Capstick, a noted Safari writer, did some calculations and worked out that a model 12 shooting number 1 buckshot had more weight of lead in the air at the same time than did a MAC-10 in 9mm. That little statistic makes the whole shotgun idea look pretty darn good at close range.

Later Y'all

 

[p51]

My Dad shot a Tommy gun before going overseas for WW2 (as a weatherman). He said that they're hard to steer at best.

I've shot several Thompsons in the past. Your father was right, they are very hard to control. My late Uncle accidently fired one inside a building in WW2, and it was almost pointing straight up by the time he managed to get his finger off the trigger.

 

[gtdean48]

I've shot several Thompsons in the past. Your father was right, they are very hard to control. My late Uncle accidently fired one inside a building in WW2, and it was almost pointing straight up by the time he managed to get his finger off the trigger.

I have too & they are almost as hard to control as it is to not smile when & after you're shooting it!

 

[TimeWarpWife]

I only watched bits and pieces of the movie, but IMHO Bonnie came off as nothing less than an narcissistic psychopath who had no regard for anyone but herself. She was bent on being famous and had no problem with it coming in the form of being known as a notorious bank robber and murderer. Frankly, I was relieved when she and Clyde were gunned down. What horrible people they were.

 

[1961MJS]

I have too & they are almost as hard to control as it is to not smile when & after you're shooting it!

Hi

Tommy guns are pretty much THE machine gun, but I want to shoot the BAR sometime.

Dad said that the instructor let them shoot once before they game them the "secrets". Aim at their thigh on your right, caress the trigger and let three or four rounds to off, this should put a few bullets between the thigh to your right and the shoulder to your left.

Later

 

[p51]

BARs are much easier to control as they weigh so much (M-60s and M-249s are, as well, for the same reason, but I digress), but they're a bear to aim unless they're sitting on a bipod, due to their weight. I've picked up several weapons like that in my lifetime and fired them, off the shoulder, while looking through the sights. That always shocks people because they never see it done that way in the movies.
That said, I bet the actress had issues firing that blank-adapted BAR in the film. I got to give them credit for trying to get the cut-down BARs right...

 

[Kirk H.]

Hi

My Dad shot a Tommy gun before going overseas for WW2 (as a weatherman). He said that they're hard to steer at best.

If memory serves, and if the writer was correct, both Bonnie and Clyde were shot in the head by the Frank Hamer using a fairly low powered semi-automatic rifle. A Model 8 Remington according to a Bonnie and Clyde sight. The sight doesn't mention a caliber though. Frank shot the two criminals, while everybody else shot the car to death several times over.

I'd think that holding a gun used to kill someone, especially someone you know about, would be a little odd to hold. I know I don't like to go to places where I know someone was killed (like the sandwich shop near my old house).

Peter Hathway Capstick, a noted Safari writer, did some calculations and worked out that a model 12 shooting number 1 buckshot had more weight of lead in the air at the same time than did a MAC-10 in 9mm. That little statistic makes the whole shotgun idea look pretty darn good at close range.

Later Y'all

Remington Model 8 semi-automatic rifle with a special 15-round magazine two sources list it as being a 30 cal and the other lists it as a 35 cal.

 

[up196]

The uncontrollable Thompson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruK8DHE_L4

 

[Chasseur]

The uncontrollable Thompson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruK8DHE_L4

I'll have to second this. I'm no modern firearms expert (I'm a hunting rifle and shotgun/wingshooting man myself) and I've only fired a couple of full-auto guns (Uzi, Thompson, etc.), but in the classic "Tommy gun" configuration with the pistol forend I found a full-auto Tompson not hard to control in terms of recoil. The sights were a little unusual but after a bit I figured out where the bursts were going it was fairly easy to cut up targets.

[video=youtube;5uxNMcmagl8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxNMcmagl8[/video]

 

[ButteMT61]

I'd DVR'd it. Struggling to get ½ way through Part II.
Man, given they had this thing on no less than THREE networks, one woulda thunk it was going to be top-notch.
I kinda like the guy "Clyde" and Hurt is really good, but otherwise, it's been painful to watch most of it.

 

[hatguy1]

I've shot several Thompsons in the past. Your father was right, they are very hard to control. My late Uncle accidently fired one inside a building in WW2, and it was almost pointing straight up by the time he managed to get his finger off the trigger.

Hmmm. My father told me the same thing about his military experience firing one. However, I had the pleasure of shooting a Tommy Gun with snail drum mag and pistol foregrip and - based on his story - originally started out hitting the ground in front of the target because I was far overcompensating for the recoil rise. Once I realized how docile it really was, I found it a real joy to shoot even in full auto mode.

And ya gotta admit; that gun looks just plain damned cool - in either military or snail drum mag & pistol foregrip configuration.

 

[hatguy1]

I'd DVR'd it. Struggling to get ½ way through Part II.
Man, given they had this thing on no less than THREE networks, one woulda thunk it was going to be top-notch.
I kinda like the guy "Clyde" and Hurt is really good, but otherwise, it's been painful to watch most of it.

I DVR'd it as well. However, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also have to admit, I found the "Bonnie" actress pretty hot. Kinda like the Donna actress on "That '70s Show."

 

[gtdean48]

I DVR'd it as well. However, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also have to admit, I found the "Bonnie" actress pretty hot. Kinda like the Donna actress on "That '70s Show."

She was hot in The Borgias on Showtime. The incest was a little much....

 

[RBH]

I enjoyed the show also.
But the real story had so much to it. That I cant understand why a film cannot be made that is based only on fact????

 

[Zombie_61]

I enjoyed the show also.
But the real story had so much to it. That I cant understand why a film cannot be made that is based only on fact????

I share your confusion. I can only guess it's because a movie based strictly on facts wouldn't give viewers a sense of who Bonnie and Clyde (or whoever is the subject of any particular movie) really were as people. So filmmakers "fill in the blanks" with speculative fiction, and "tweak" the facts to tell the story they want to tell.

In my opinion, the real problem with movies like this is that people will watch them and think they know all there is to know about Bonnie and Clyde (or whoever), and very few will do any further research on their own, so the fiction eventually becomes fact. :eusa_doh:

 

[hatguy1]

In my opinion, the real problem with movies like this is that people will watch them and think they know all there is to know about Bonnie and Clyde (or whoever), and very few will do any further research on their own, so the fiction eventually becomes fact. :eusa_doh:

Exactly! Well said, my man.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Thanks for posting that, Rusty.

This tendency of ours to glamorize criminality and gunplay really needs a reality check. I say "ours" because I include myself in that number. I'm fascinated by Prohibition and Depression era gangsters and robbers (and more recent ones), too, just as youngsters these days glorify their swaggering "ganstas." But it's a miserable life, and often a short one. And the characters are usually quite stupid, too. Those rare smart crooks are the ones you never hear about.

I agree with this and am always bewildered by the attention and the fascination that Bonnie and Clyde seems to attract. I just looked Bonnie and Clyde up on Wikipedia and it says that they killed 9 cops. How on Earth does such a couple like this get tv shows and movies made about them? I will admit that I am not knowledgeable about the details of their lives so maybe that is where the disconnect is coming from but how are they different than the inner city gangsters that kill each other today, a few of which have also killed law enforcement? I remember asking a similar question on here and a poster told me something to the effect of "well at least 30s gangsters dressed well while committing crimes!"[huh]. I also remember reading that Bonnie and Clyde's guns sold at auction for several hundred thousand dollars. I just don't understand how a couple that took 9 men from their families can be so revered.