Actually, if you read Blanche's memoir, she does portray herself as Estelle Parsons did, especially during the gunfights. Blanche was deathly afraid of guns and even described herself jumping up and down "like a maniac" during the battles. The others made fun of her, especially Bonnie, who never missed a chance to poke fun at people who showed fear in the face of danger. She did the same to gang members W.D. Jones and Raymond Hamilton. Jones was 16/17 during his run with B&C and often cried and was fearful of life on the run, and Hamilton (a tough talker) once hid rather than fight during a battle. Bonnie, who could be a bit of a mean girl (she was known to beat up girls and boys in school), never let them forget it. In fact, Bonnie and Clyde wrote Hamilton a letter in prison (dictated by Clyde, written by Bonnie) in which they expressed regret for not having killed him when they had the chance and once again brought up the fact that Hamilton could be a bit of a coward.
Anyway, in the movie, Blanche is only seen as hysterical during the first battle in Joplin, when she runs out screaming, spatula in hand. But after that, her demeanor seems cooler. Look at her in the last two battles (Platte City, Dexfield), no excruciating screams, except when she gets shot in the eye and Buck is mortally wounded, but that's understandable. But in her memoir, Blanche acts overwrought in all her depictions of the gunfights. Methinks Blanche was embarrassed of Parsons' portrayal because of the negative reaction it got from audiences. Clearly, no one wants to be a hated character, so Blanche distanced herself from the film, despite initially approving the film. She claimed the script they originally gave her, when she signed the rights to the use of her name, had characterized her differently than the final version. It's true that the early scripts were different. For instance, at one point, the screenwriters wanted to make Bonnie, Clyde, and C.W. Moss have a love triangle, but I don't know if this was still in the script by the time Blanche got a copy. If so, why didn't she object to that ridiculous and unfounded ménage à troi?
In conclusion, I believe that Parsons' Blanche was closer to the truth than the elderly Blanche made it seem. You just have to read her memoir.
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