Two of Oak Cliff's most notorious residents are the subject of the 1967 Oscar-winning film that will show at the site of a different--and even more infamous--chapter of the Dallas neighborhood's history. Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, is an enjoyable if romanticized portrayal of the Barrow gang. The movie doesn't make much of the couple's Oak Cliff roots, but the two met in the neighborhood while Parker's husband (another of those historical details left out of the film) was in prison. In fact, Barrow is buried in an Oak Cliff cemetery. On the 75th anniversary of the ambush that sent him there, the Texas Theatre will screen the film. Of course, the Texas Theatre was where Lee Harvey Oswald (another Oak Cliff resident) was arrested. With all these outlaws running around, it sounds like Oak Cliff used to be a dangerous 'hood. The theater may always be remembered for Oswald, but it has a fascinating history even without him and remains a great community venue. Thanks to the Oak Cliff Foundation, the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) is once again the site of events like this screening at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets ($8, or $6 for anyone who arrives on bicycle) are available online or at the door. Visit oakclifffoundation.org.
Sat., May 23, 7 p.m., 2009