Many scenes in Bonnie and Clyde were inspired by events in the careers of other notorious outlaws of the Depression years. As Clyde Barrow does in the film, John Dillinger once allowed a farmer who had just made a withdrawal to keep his cash during a bank robbery. The sequence in which dispossessed farmers treat the wounded Bonnie and Clyde with awe and respect mirrored the popularity of "Pretty Boy" Floyd, who used to burn unrecorded mortgages at the banks he robbed.

Michael J. Pollard's character, C.W. Moss, was a composite of two members of the Barrow Gang, William Daniel "W.D." Jones and Henry Methvin. The latter betrayed them to the law, helping to set up their fatal ambush.

The real Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed by the law in Gibland, La., on May 23, 1934. The car they were driving was riddled with 187 shots, catching the pair by surprise. Clyde was only wearing his socks at the time, while Bonnie was eating a sandwich.

The legend of Bonnie and Clyde endured at many of the locations where the film was shot. One extra had witnessed one of the gang's robberies when she was four in the very bank where her scene was shot. Other extras were actually relatives of the Barrow Gang members.

Faye Dunaway likes to include little bits inspired by her favorite actresses in many of her performances. For one scene in Bonnie and Clyde she walked down the street swinging her purse the same way Joanne Woodward had in The Long, Hot Summer (1958). Later in the film, when Bonnie poses for photographs while smoking a cigar, Dunaway put it in the middle of her mouth rather than the side in imitation of Jeanne Moreau in The Lovers (1958).

Dallas-born Morgan Fairchild got her start in films as Faye Dunaway's stand-in during location shooting in Texas.

Cut from the film was a more violent version of Clyde's attack on the butcher whose store he robs and Bonnie's attempt to seduce C.W. A still from the latter scene can be found on the DVD version of the film.

When the film premiered triumphantly in Paris, Dunaway received a box full of berets from the inhabitants of a small village near the Pyrenees that specialized in making them. Thanks to the film, the demand for berets had risen from 5,000 to 12,000 a week.

Although he won an Oscar® for shooting Bonnie and Clyde, cinematographer Burnett Guffey hated his work on the film so much he claimed making the picture had given him an ulcer.

The film marked the start of a long association between director Arthur Penn and editor Dede Allen, who worked on his next four films. She also edited and executive produced Reds (1981), which brought Warren Beatty an Oscar® for Best Director.

Visitors to Whiskey Pete's hotel and casino, 20 miles outside of Las Vegas, can see Clyde Barrow's bullet-ridden shirt and the car in which he and Bonnie were killed. The prop car used for the film is on display at Planet Hollywood in Dallas.

Famous Quotes from BONNIE AND CLYDE

"They're young, they're in love...and they kill people." - Tagline for Bonnie and Clyde.

"This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks." - Warren Beatty as Clyde Barrow.

"I earned my share same as everybody. Well, I coulda got killed same as everybody. And I'm wanted by the law same as everybody. I'm a nervous wreck, and that's the truth. I have to take sass from Miss Bonnie Parker all the time. I deserve mine." - Estelle Parsons as Blanche Barrow.

"You know what. When we started out, I thought we was really goin' somewhere. This is it. We're just goin', huh?" - Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker.)

"You've heard the story of Jesse James,
Of how he lived and died.
If you're still in need
Of something to read,
Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang.
I'm sure you all have read
How they rob and steal
And those who squeal
Are usually found dyin' or dead.

They call them cold-hearted killers.
They say they are heartless and mean.
But I say this with pride,
That I once knew Clyde
When he was honest and upright and clean.

But the law fooled around,
Kept takin' him down
And lockin' him up in a cell,
Till he said to me: "I'll never be free,
So I'll meet a few of them in Hell."

If a policeman is killed in Dallas,
And they have no clue to guide,
If they can't find a fiend
They just wipe their slate clean
And hang it on Bonnie and Clyde.

If they try to act like citizens
And rent them a nice little flat,
About the third night
They're invited to fight
By a sub-guns' rat-a-tat-tat.

Some day, they'll go down together.
They'll bury them side by side.
To a few, it'll be grief,
To the law, a relief,
But it's death for Bonnie and Clyde." - Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker, reading a poem attributed to the character.

"You know what you done there? You told my story. You told my whole story right there, right there. One time, I told you I was gonna make you somebody. That's what you done for me. You made me somebody they're gonna remember." - Warren Beatty as Clyde Barker, responding to Bonnie's poem.

Compiled by Frank Miller