Personally, don't think Gus killed his girlfriend, but in a way, looking to kill the person he was inside. He should've ditched those guys at the gang fight, and went back home. As far as Gus, great assessment, but he didn't really have a major part in the film.

A long, long thread..but worth every minute. Great analysis of the characters
"HeyI like thatI like that!!" Terry Silver Karate Kid III

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Up there as my favorite moviemoving in and out of pole position with this movie periodically. I saw you also mentioned Breaking Away. So you obviously "get it.". That was a pocket time period of movies of classic contribution. Where cinema focused on love, friendship, heroes, finding life and love, and growing as humansThat's also the year of Star Wars, Annie Hall, Close Encounters and the Goodbye Girl. This theme pretty much sums up the feel good romance movies and gentle of the 70's (attitude)
David Gates (Bread)The Goodbye Girl
Madonna
(Reenactment of the Whore of Babylon with her in charge for the British music awards)
Yes, back then, in 1977, things were less negative and "dark" and entertainment seemed to have less of an agenda to make darkness and evil seem sexy and cool.
I love Saturday Night Fever. It was a movie about "growing" and learning about life . As was Logan's Run and Breaking Away.
Take care.
Galena
*Free speech opinion w/ pseudonym internet moniker w/o malice for debate and discussion

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Point well taken Movies were more straightforward back then. This is in my top 3 movie favorites of all timeLogan's Run and this one go back and forth for #1
But, back in the 70's the discos were definitely a breeding ground for homosexual animosity as well as revolution. The movie alluded to it.the gay guys vs. The Faces on the street
Lena
*Free speech opinion w/ pseudonym internet moniker w/o malice for debate and discussion

Point well taken Movies were more straightforward back then. This is in my top 3 movie favorites of all timeLogan's Run and this one go back and forth for #1
But, back in the 70's the discos were definitely a breeding ground for homosexual animosity as well as revolution. The movie alluded to it.the gay guys vs. The Faces on the street
Lena
*Free speech opinion w/ pseudonym internet moniker w/o malice for debate and discussion

I DO think there are allusions to latent homosexuality in the movie
Oh please. Must we be put through more Freudian pseudo-psychology where it plainly has no bearing? What on earth would "latent homosexuality" have to do with the plot of this film? LOL!

I've watched this movie a million times. After I wrote this thread I went back. to agreement with where you stand on this and others who commented. I think Bobby got Pauline pregnant, didn't want to marry her, was angry at women, which is why he called Annette a stupid B at the bridgelatent anger..but was looking for a "way out" from under all of the arms in his life holding him down Pauline, his parents, her parents, the school counselor, the priest on the corner saying he he had to marry her, and his friends who never respected him.
I think he was gutless and wouldn't hurt her (I changed my mind about him). Butthe writers were brilliant when they wrote Tony to say, "there are ways of killing yourself without actually killing yourself.". So it was his way of acknowledging his loser friend accidentally suicided himself??? Something like that.
I DO think there are allusions to latent homosexuality in the movie but not here. Rather that guy who gets beat up and names the Hispanic gang then later says he wasn't so sure. I now say that because Tony was play harassing him with the groceries earlier and stole the Apple. Then the group was harassing the gay guys later on the street. Then later that same day the guy is beat up for apparently no reason and then names the wrong perpetrators possibly? Hmmmmmmm.sounds fishy to me
Galena
*Free speech opinion w/ pseudonym internet moniker w/o malice for debate and discussion

I agree with the others that he meant he finally climbed the bridge's cables when he usually stayed in the car. I don't think he had any "latent homosexuality" issues toward Tony, he just admired and respected him and wanted to be like him. He even said, "you always got it altogether and I'm a beep up". These days everything is looked at as something carnal when someone really likes someone, and wants their attention, and Tony was his idol. And he felt ignored by the group who did use him for his car, but Tony was the nicest to him being that they all grew up in the same neighborhood and stuck together out of some kind of brotherhood. I think it was obviously an accident when he fell off the bridge and he was drunk. He turned around forgetting where he was being so upset when you watch him and was surprised when he lost his footing, falls and screams.

<<<
He took pride in the fact that, at least in that regard, he was able to match up to his friends.>>>>
That's what I always thought he meant, too.

Agree. Anything else is waaay overthinking it.

The film is largely objective. We don’t even see Bobby C’s gf in the film. It relied on Bobby’s character to act the situation he was in. He even asked Stephanie about what she would do in a hypothetical regarding having to get married or have an abortion.
Bobby C. had Catholic guilt and if there are any hidden subtexts, he had his gf get an abortion. The film doesn’t appear too much in favour of the Catholic cult either. There is also the subplot of Tony’s brother leaving the priesthood.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

Well, i always had the impression that he was in love with Tony.
And a few conversations between Double J and Bobby confirm it for me, at least that Bobby's gay.
Swing away, Merrill.Merrill, swing away

There was no hidden Bobby side story, or else the film would have gone there.
If the film went therethen it would not have been hidden.
Personally I feel the film did what it set out to do with the bridge scene, it got the audience speculating. The film hints at what Bobby did was suicide or maybe it was just an accident.
As there is no real evidence either way
It could be he was an attention whore and wanted to fit in, got on the bridge, lost his footing and fell.
Or maybe he did do something to his pregnant girlfriend, maybe he was the one who carried out the "abortion" himself against her will and killed himself out of guilt.
But that is the whole point. It's open to your own personal perceptions and interpretations.
And so, God came forth and proclaimed widescreen is the best.
Sony 16:9

I don't think there was a Pauline and pregnancy. He was what they call today an attention whore. He lied to be accepted and gain sympathy from Tony. Possibly he was in love with Tony, being a latent homosexual.
Swing away, Merrill.Merrill, swing away

^^ this, I agree.
There was no hidden Bobby side story, or else the film would have gone there. Bobby was their little cowardly tag along friend. He wanted to run with the cool guys but he wasn't really one of them. I think they just used him for his car. He sat in the car the first time they visited the bridge, and he drove away from the gang fight. For him to step up on those girders was a daring, show off move. I don't think he was full suicidal though. The bridge walk was a cry for help up until he lost his footing.
Bring back the old emoticons!

^This.
Swing away, Merrill.Merrill, swing away

I always assumed "I did it" meant that he had climbed the cables of the Verrazanno Bridge like we'd seen the other guys in the group do before.
He took pride in the fact that, at least in that regard, he was able to match up to his friends.

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I thought this too. He's really torn about getting his gf pregnant and can't brush it off or manipulate his way out of it like his more "sophisticated" buddies. He needed to really talk to someone, anyone and hoped that at least Tony (who was the nicest one out of the bunch) would sit down and give him some time. He was torn that Tony blew him off too and never called. It was a sad scene. Very, very touching. And I think that was the pivotal point when Tony realized the shallowness of his life and that of his friends and the realization that what they did or didn't do really had consequences & that none of it was any fun anymore. It was a wake up call for him to grow up, already. And that's what made him spend all night on the subway and finally went to see Stephanie who had already came to the point that he did. To leave his childish ways behind and make something of his life before it was too late.

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He was puny, weak, and whiney! Yuck! That type of person will stick to you like peanut butter! Bye bobbie. At least you aint gotta worry about getting married! I enjoyed watching him fall off the bridge!

That was the point. They all looked up to Tony. His gang was emulating him.
Bobby C. was a short stuff too. Platforms made him look taller.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?