Arthur Penn directed both the original Broadway production and the film adaptation of The Miracle Worker, both of which won Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke their Tony and Academy Awards for playing Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller (that's got to be some sort of record). He also went on to direct Bonnie and Clyde, a film that literally changed how movies were made and marketed in Hollywood.
Mr. Penn passed away today, one day after he turned 88.
Bonnie and Clyde was completely dismissed by studio head Jack Warner and the film was unceremoniously dumped onto the drive-in movie circuit. It wasn't until New Yorker Magazine critic Pauline Kael (a Petaluma native, by the way) reviewed the film as "a new and vital kind of film." Her review saved the film, as did the word of mouth that was spreading, causing Warner Brothers to re-release it.
The movie became a monster hit that garnered several Oscar nominations, with the great Estelle Parsons taking home the award for Best Supporting Actress.
I just happened to watch this film on DVD this past weekend and thought to myself how great of a movie it still was, after 42 years.
Thanks, Arthur. The movies you directed are timeless, thought-provoking, entertaining, and are everything a good movie is supposed to be.
Job well done.
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