Bonnie and Clyde several civilians. The couple were eventually ambushed and killed by law officers near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Their exploits were revived and cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn's 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde". Even during their lifetimes, their depiction in the press was at considerable odds with the hardscrabble reality of their life on the road, especially for Bonnie Parker. While she was present at one hundred or more felonies during the two years she was Barrow's companion, she was not the cigar-smoking, machine gun-wielding killer depicted in the newspapers, newsreels, and pulp detective magazines of the day.
Bonnie and Clyde (film) was controversial on its original release for its supposed glorification of murderers, and for its level of graphic violence, which was unprecedented at the time. Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" was so appalled that he began to campaign against the increasing brutality of American films. Dave Kaufman of "Variety" criticized the film for uneven direction and for portraying Bonnie and Clyde as bumbling fools. Joe Morgenstern for "Newsweek" initially panned the film as a "squalid shoot-'em-up for the moron trade." After seeing the film a second time and noticing the enthusiastic audience, he wrote a second article saying