Isn't this story supposedly based on a true story? I mean, during the end it has Johnny Carson talking to the supposed bank robbers...but when I look up the Newton Boys online, I can't find anything...any help?
"Who knows where thoughts come from? They just appear!" -Lucas Empire Records
I have done some research on this as well, and almost came up with nothing. The only thing I could find was this website.
http://www.dailyherald.com/community/zone_story.asp?intID=38158106&zone=ron
That tells the story that I heard. I'm still looking for more sources.
Pat G.
Indeed it is. The book was written by Claude Stanush and his daughter Michelle, and was based on interviews with the Newtons - I believe there were two - very elderly gentlemen.But the name of the book is "All Honest Men: A Biographical Novel" Check Amazon.
Clause Stanush is a family friend and he told me several stories of what interesting and sweet old fellows they were - this was back in the early eighties I think.
I have a question, this movie is set in 1919, but in the middle of it, characters refer to insurance for banks which did not exist until the FDIC's creation in 1933. LOL, so there are three options. One, Maybe there actually were some Newton brothers that were robbers, but commited their crimes after 1933. Two, the movie directors or the ones that write the script needed a reason for the protagonist to justify their crimes. Or three, and the most probable one, there were nooo newton brothers, lol.
shareTrue, the FDIC didn't come about until 1933, but there were other bank insurance programs prior to that and they DID exist in the 1920s. They were run by the States, not the federal government, which is likely why in the movie it was mentioned that the insurance company wanted the Federal Government to help bail them out.
share[deleted]
True it is boyo! Willis Newton's autobio, a short film, and a History Channel episode, an appearance by Joe Newton on J.Carson. Don't be a zip. Research matters.
It always just amazes me that their story isn't more well known. Even on the Internet, there is still very little about the Newton Boys.
From what I can tell, the movie is fairly accurate - more so than most Hollywood "true stories." The train heist (the biggest train robbery ever) at the end, the accidental shooting, them getting caught - all of that is basically true. And, of course, the clips at the end of the real guys.
It's really an amazing story.
As for the point earlier about insurance and the FDIC - I agree with what the poster said in response. There were private and state-run organizations that handled insurance for decades in the U.S. before the Great Depression. Insurance wasn't suddenly a new concept that came about because of FDR.
Luis_ct (Tue Aug 9 2005 12:19:36)
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Or three, and the most probable one, there were nooo newton brothers, lol.
All the other posts that give you the answer really make you look like a jerk. Yesss, lol.
Yes it is true. I am related to them on my mom's side.
shareJust finished watching this on History Channel. They show Johnny Carson interviewing one of the brothers at the end. Pretty amazing story all round. According to Ann Medina, they robbed 87 banks and 6 trains with a combined haul larger then what most of the well known crimminals had stolen put together.
shareThe screenplay is actually based on an oral history project speaheaded by Claude Standush - the novel he wrote with his daughter was finished after the film's release. Stanush was a writer in the 1950s for Life magazine and wrote the rodeo stories for LIFE that were later used as the basis for Nick Ray's film THE LUSTY MEN. Stanush met three of the surviving brothers in the early 1970s and tape recorded hours of conversations with Willis and Joe. Decades later a book was published of the highlights, and is an excellent read, essentially serving as Willis Newton's autobiography. (This book is better than the film, as usual.) The novel I can't vouch for.
sharehttp://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/outlaws/successful.html
sharei hate to plug this...
i am a student worker in a history foundation and we publish a book on the newton boys, its the memoirs of joe and willis. it's an awesome read, and i was suprised there was a movie about them.
http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/newton.htm
http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/newton.htm
That link didn't work, but this one does
http://www.tamupress.com/product/Newton-Boys,3954.aspx