Crime Wave: 18 Months of Mayhem

In 1933-34, Depression-ravaged America found itself rooting for unlikely antiheroes: a wave of gangsters who made fools of law enforcement officers while withdrawing significant dollar amounts from banks. Most of these criminals—Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, George “Babyface” Nelson, and George “Machine Gun Kelly” Barnes among them—would later become immortalized in books and movies that glamorized the details of their lives and crime sprees. Crime Wave, which originally aired on the History Channel, combines dramatic re-enactments, archival footage, and talking-head interviews to illustrate how the robbers were able to flourish and gain popularity with the general public. The production offers an intelligent understanding of 1930s America, where banks were viewed as evil, newspapers overplayed the shock value of criminal actions, and the FBI was a sleepy little bureaucracy in desperate need of rejuvenation. Crime ultimately did not pay, of course, yet the star quality of these miscreants never abated (even today, many people still accept the glossy legends surrounding these crooks and killers rather than the harsh facts). DVD extras include the A&E Biography episode “Bonnie and Clyde: The Story of Love & Death” (for the record, Bonnie and Clyde looked nothing like Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway!). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)