The name Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd might not exactly be a household name these days, but there was a time when he was part of one of the most notorious crime gangs in history. But there was much more to him than just being one of John Dillinger’s goons and getting shot in the back at the start of Michael Mann movies, which will be explored in crime thriller** Pretty Boy Floyd**. And now Running Scared**’s Wayne Kramer is aboard to direct.
Floyd’s legend spans his time robbing banks and pulling off scams in the late 1920s and early 1930s around the US Midwest, which earned him the nickname The Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills. He was eventually cut down by lawmen in 1934 aged just 30, but by then had left a criminal legacy and a devastated wife, Ruby Hardgrave, behind.
It’s a story that has fuelled everything from folk tunes (Woody Guthrie’s 1939 song The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd) to films (1960’s Pretty Boy Floyd and 1970’s A Bullet for Pretty Boy) and TV movies (with future telly president Martin Sheen in the lead. Last year, of course, he cropped up briefly in Michael Mann’s John Dillinger thriller** Public Enemies**, which saw Channing Tatum take on the part.
But now Kevin Bernhardt has written a script that will explore even more aspects of Floyd’s life.
“My approach is to bring 21st century style and energy to Kevin Bernhardt’s meticulously researched screenplay without sacrificing the verisimilitude of the period or over-sensationalizing the characters themselves,” Kramer tells the Risky Business Blog. “At the heart is a great love story about an outlaw on the run who can’t stay away from the woman he loves, no matter how destructive the relationship is for both of them - which ultimately leads to his demise.”
Hhhm… Bigging up the romance, eh? Someone get Channing Tatum on the phone!