Splendor in the Grass
Splendor in the Grass is a 1961 American drama film directed and produced by Elia Kazan from an original screenplay by William Inge.[1] It stars Natalie Wood as Deanie Loomis and Warren Beatty in his screen debut as Bud Stamper, two high school sweethearts in 1920s small-town Kansas whose passionate romance is strained by parental expectations regarding chastity, marriage, and future ambitions.[2] The story, set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties oil boom, delves into themes of sexual repression, youthful love, and emotional turmoil, culminating in Deanie's descent into heartbreak and madness after being pressured to deny her desires.[1] Filmed primarily on location in New York and Kansas, the production was handled by NBI Productions and Newton Productions, with Warner Bros. as the distributor.[1] Principal photography took place in the summer of 1960, capturing the rural American landscape to evoke the era's social tensions.[3] Inge's screenplay draws from his own Midwestern roots, reflecting concerns with the frustrations of adolescence and societal constraints on personal fulfillment.[4] The film premiered in New York on October 10, 1961, and runs for 124 minutes.[1] Upon release, Splendor in the Grass garnered significant attention for its bold exploration of taboo subjects like teenage sexuality, earning a 72% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews.[2] At the 34th Academy Awards, it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Inge and received a nomination for Best Actress for Wood, among seven total nominations including BAFTA recognition.[5] The performances of Wood and Beatty were widely praised, with Wood's portrayal of emotional fragility highlighted as a career-defining role.[2] Kazan's direction, known for its intensity from prior works like A Streetcar Named Desire, amplified the film's melodrama and psychological depth.[6] The movie's legacy endures as a seminal coming-of-age story, influencing depictions of youth and repression in American cinema, and it remains notable for launching Beatty's stardom while showcasing Inge's poignant commentary on the American heartland.[4]Background and Development
Literary Origins
The title of the film Splendor in the Grass derives from William Wordsworth's 1807 poem "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," specifically the lines from stanza IX: "Though nothing can bring back the hour / Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower."[7] Published in Poems, in Two Volumes, the ode reflects the Romantic era's emphasis on the sublime power of nature, the intensity of human emotion, and the introspective exploration of personal experience, marking a shift from Enlightenment rationalism toward subjective individualism in early 19th-century British literature.[8] Wordsworth, a key figure in English Romanticism alongside Samuel Taylor Coleridge, composed the work amid the cultural turbulence following the French Revolution, drawing on his own reflections in the Lake District to evoke a nostalgic reverence for natural beauty and inner vision.[9] At its core, the poem grapples with the inevitable fading of childhood innocence, where the young perceive the world with a divine, almost immortal clarity infused by nature's vibrancy, only for adulthood to impose a "shades of the prison-house" that dulls this splendor.[10] Wordsworth consoles that while the "visionary gleam" of youth cannot return, maturity offers philosophical strength through memory, sympathy with nature, and enduring human connections, urging readers to "find / Strength in what remains behind."[11] This transition from untrammeled joy to tempered wisdom underscores Romantic ideals of emotional authenticity and the redemptive role of recollection in confronting loss.[12] Playwright William Inge selected the title during the screenplay's development in 1959, incorporating the poem's lines directly into the narrative when the protagonist Deanie recites them in a classroom scene, symbolizing the characters' struggle with irretrievable youthful passion.[13] Inge's choice aligns the story's depiction of disrupted teenage romance—fractured by economic pressures, family expectations, and premature maturity—with the ode's meditation on innocence eroded by time, evoking a parallel loss of "glory" in personal and natural splendor.[14] Through this literary tether, the film echoes Wordsworth's theme of finding resilience amid irrevocable change, framing its exploration of love's transience within a broader humanistic tradition.[15]Screenplay and Pre-Production
William Inge, a native of Independence, Kansas, began developing the original screenplay for Splendor in the Grass in the late 1950s, drawing heavily from his personal experiences growing up in rural Kansas during the early 20th century.[1] The story was inspired by real people and events Inge knew from his youth, capturing the social constraints and emotional turmoil of small-town life in the fictional New Kira, Kansas.[1] As a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright best known for Picnic (1953), Inge infused the script with his signature naturalistic dialogue and deep psychological insight into characters grappling with societal expectations, a style honed through his Broadway successes that emphasized interpersonal tensions in Midwestern settings.[15] By early 1958, Inge had completed a first draft of the screenplay, which he wrote specifically for his collaborator Elia Kazan, with whom he had worked on the stage production of Inge's play The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.[1] Kazan, impressed by the script's emotional depth and thematic resonance, committed to directing and producing the film, encouraging further revisions to refine its exploration of youthful passion amid familial and cultural pressures.[1] Warner Bros. acquired the rights that year, registering the title with the Motion Picture Association of America and initially scheduling principal photography for May 1959, though delays pushed filming to 1960.[13] Pre-production advanced through 1959 and into 1960, with Inge and Kazan collaborating on script revisions to heighten the dramatic tension between the protagonists' desires and external inhibitions.[16] Budget planning with Warner Bros. focused on a modest production scale suitable for a character-driven drama, allocating resources for period authenticity without extravagant sets.[13] Initial location scouting occurred in New York and Kansas, evaluating sites to evoke the rural Midwest while ultimately favoring East Coast proxies for practicality, as New York's varied landscapes could substitute for the Kansas terrain Inge envisioned.[13] Central to the screenplay's structure is its 1920s setting in post-World War I rural America, a period of fleeting prosperity marked by booming oil wealth and loosening social mores, contrasted with a 1930s framing device amid the Great Depression to underscore themes of lost innocence and enduring regret.[17] This temporal framework, rooted in Inge's observations of economic cycles in his hometown, highlights how historical upheavals amplify personal tragedies, with the script's revisions emphasizing the era's impact on young love and mental health.[1]Production
Casting
Natalie Wood was cast in the lead role of Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis, drawing on her established reputation from earlier films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955), which had showcased her ability to portray complex teenage emotions. Director Elia Kazan selected Wood for the part because her vulnerable and intelligent personality aligned closely with Deanie's character, a young woman grappling with sexual repression and societal expectations.[18] The role of Bud Stamper marked Warren Beatty's film debut at age 23, despite his limited acting experience primarily from theater and television. Screenwriter William Inge recommended Beatty to Kazan after spotting him in a television appearance, leading to his screen test and casting; Kazan, known for his method acting approach, provided personal mentoring to guide the newcomer through the role's emotional depth.[19] The supporting cast included seasoned performers and newcomers to enhance the film's naturalistic tone. Pat Hingle portrayed Ace Stamper, Bud's domineering father, bringing gravitas from his stage background. Barbara Loden made her film debut as Virginia "Ginny" Stamper, Bud's wild sister, a role secured through her marriage to Kazan, who favored authentic, personality-driven selections over established stars. Zohra Lampert played Angelina, a school friend adding to the ensemble's youthful dynamic, while Phyllis Love appeared as Toots, contributing to the small-town authenticity.[1][20]Filming Locations and Techniques
Principal photography for Splendor in the Grass took place from May to mid-August 1960, primarily in New York state locations selected to evoke the rural Kansas setting of the story.[13] Exteriors were shot in areas such as High Falls for scenic waterfall sequences, Staten Island's Travis neighborhood for the Loomis family home, and West Islip on Long Island for ranch house scenes mimicking small-town Kansas life.[21][13] School-related scenes, including prom moments, utilized Horace Mann High School in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, while interiors for urban Kansas City elements were filmed at Filmways Studios in New York City.[13] The production wrapped in August 1960, allowing time for post-production ahead of the film's October premiere.[22] The film's visual style was captured on black-and-white 35mm film by cinematographer Boris Kaufman, whose work emphasized emotional intimacy through innovative close-ups that highlighted the nuanced expressions of leads Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty.[23] Kaufman's approach, informed by his prior collaborations with director Elia Kazan, used stark monochrome contrasts to underscore psychological tension and youthful vulnerability, contributing to the film's raw dramatic impact.[24] Kazan employed an improvisational directing style on set, drawing from Method acting techniques to encourage performers' personal input and spontaneous interactions, which enhanced the authenticity of the teen romance and family dynamics.[25] This approach, while fostering deeper character explorations, occasionally led to extended takes and logistical adjustments during the outdoor shoots in upstate New York. In post-production, editor Gene Milford assembled the footage by early 1961, refining the narrative flow to balance intimate dialogues with broader period atmosphere. Composer David Amram crafted the score, integrating folk music elements like guitar and harmonica to reflect the 1920s Midwest setting and amplify emotional undercurrents without overpowering the performances.[26]Plot
In 1928, in the small town of Newley, Kansas, amid the local oil boom, high school students Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis and Bud Stamper are deeply in love. Deanie, a popular and virginal girl, is the daughter of hardware store owner Del Loomis and his strict wife. Bud is the son of Ace Stamper, a wealthy oilman who expects Bud to attend Yale University and join the family business, advising him against early marriage. Deanie's mother reinforces traditional values of chastity until marriage, creating tension as the young couple grapples with their physical desires.[1] Unable to consummate their relationship due to these pressures, Bud suggests they wait until marriage, but the strain leads him to break up with Deanie. Heartbroken, Deanie becomes increasingly unstable. At a party, she attempts to seduce Bud publicly, leading to humiliation. Later, overwhelmed by grief, she tries to drown herself in a local river but is rescued. Deanie is subsequently committed to a mental institution for over two years. Meanwhile, Bud attends Yale but struggles academically and emotionally, eventually dropping out and returning home. His wild older sister, Ginny, who has been rejected by her lover, dies in a car crash on New Year's Eve. The stock market crash ruins Ace, who, unable to cope, commits suicide by jumping from an oil derrick.[1] In 1933, Deanie is released from the sanitarium and returns to Newley. She visits her former teacher, who encourages her to move forward. Learning Bud has married Angelina, a former "fast" girl, and has a young son while working in the oil fields, Deanie seeks him out at his ranch. They share a poignant conversation reflecting on their lost youth and past love. Deanie realizes that clinging to the past prevents growth and departs, finding peace in the idea that "though nothing can bring back the hour / Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower," blessings remain in the present.[1]Cast
The following table lists the principal cast and their characters:| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Natalie Wood | Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis |
| Warren Beatty | Bud Stamper |
| Pat Hingle | Ace Stamper |
| Audrey Christie | Mrs. Frieda Loomis |
| Barbara Loden | Virginia "Ginny" Stamper |
| Zohra Lampert | Angelina |
| Phyllis Love | Juanita Hedges |
| Sandy Dennis | Kay |