Texas lawmen who caught Bonnie and Clyde take center stage in new Netflix movie

>>> Click through to read more history about the legendary outlaws less Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner will star in an upcoming Netflix movie that follows Texas lawmen Frank Hamer and Manny Gault as they track down notorious gangsters Bonnie and Clyde. >>> Click through ... more Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner will star in an upcoming Netflix movie that follows Texas lawmen Frank Hamer and Manny Gault as they track down notorious gangsters Bonnie and Clyde. Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close Texas lawmen who caught Bonnie and Clyde take center stage in new Netflix movie 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

The names "Bonnie and Clyde" ring a bell, but what about the Texas lawmen who stopped them?

Former Texas Rangers Frank Hamer and Manny Gault are credited for halting notorious 1930s-era gangsters Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, known for a two-year spree of robberies and law enforcement killings throughout the Central United States.

In 1934, Hamer and Gault set up an ambush on a rural Louisiana road and, with the help of local authorities, killed the criminal duo in a hail of gunfire, according to an account on the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum website.

RELATED: Original Bonnie and Clyde indictments uncovered in old Tarrant County court records

A new Netflix movie spotlights the two lawmen, with Woody Harrelson playing Gault and Kevin Costner playing Hamer. The official trailer was published last week, and the movie is set to release March 15.

"When the full force of the FBI and the latest forensic technology aren't enough to capture the nation's most notorious criminals, two former Texas Rangers must rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done," according to the full movie synopsis.

In the trailer, the lawmen refer to themselves as Texas Rangers, but they weren't Rangers during the Bonnie and Clyde investigation. They reportedly left in 1932 after Governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson was re-elected.

Hamer and several other Rangers resigned because of the corruption and "softness" on crime during her previous term, according to the Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum website. Ferguson fired the entire Texas Ranger force anyway on her second day and replaced them with political appointees, the website said.

Gault and Hamer were commissioned as special investigators to end the Bonnie and Clyde crime spree in 1934.

Hamer was able to recognize a pattern to Clyde Barrow's travels and started anticipating the gang's move, the website said. Eventually, in May of that year, Hamer and Gault set up the ambush with the help of Louisiana's Bienville Parrish Sheriff Henderson Jordan.

Click through the gallery above to see a more complete history of Bonnie and Clyde.

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.