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Arthur Penn

American Director
by Nat Segaloff
Arthur Penn: American Director. Univ. Pr. of Kentucky. (Screen Classics). Apr. 2011. c.304p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780813129761. $35. FILM
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If director Arthur Penn (1922–2010) had made no other films, he would still be well known today for 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, now considered a groundbreaking movie. Although he did other credible motion picture work, he never considered it his preferred medium. He had a distinguished career in early 1950s live television and in theater, boasting such directing credits as The Miracle Worker, Toys in the Attic, and Wait Until Dark. His prickly personality, which did not suffer fools gladly, at times worked against him. Segaloff (Hurricane Billy: The Stormy Life and Films of William Friedkin) was a friend of Penn and obviously had great access to him, but the result is that almost everything in this biography seems filtered through the director's eyes. It reads somewhat like an autobiography that lacks profound analysis.
VERDICT For those interested in the facts of Arthur Penn's life, this is a good resource. However, readers seeking a more objective account of the director's work will probably not be completely satisfied.
Reviewed by Roy Liebman, formerly with California State Univ., Los Angeles , Feb 15, 2011
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