Arthur Hiller Penn (born September 27, 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a film director and producer. Although best known as the director of the iconic Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Arthur Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work though the 1960s and 1970s, keenly focusing on leftist themes relevant to the times.

Biography

After making a name for himself as a director of quality television dramas, Penn made his feature debut with a Western, The Left Handed Gun (1958). A re-telling of the Billy the Kid legend, it was notable for its sharp portrayal of the outlaw (played by Paul Newman) as a psychologically troubled youth (the role was originally intended for the archetypal troubled teen James Dean).