WEST SIDE STORY!

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Still riveting after all these many years! Tonight we bring you WEST SIDE STORY. Since many of us were not born when this movie was made, allow me to fill you in briefly about the epitome of the word "Classic". That is what this movie really is! The scene: New York City of the late 1950's. The tale is a virtual updating of "Romeo and Juliet". Only instead of two feuding families, we have brawling street gangs: the Anglo "Jets", led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn), and the Puerto Rican "Sharks", led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). At a dance, Tony (Richard Beymer), former leader of the Jets and Riff's best friend, and Maria (Natalie Wood), Bernardo's little sister, see each other across the room and it's love at first sight. If I had to pick 10 women on screen that I've fallen for completely, the late and achingly beautiful Natalie Wood is certainly on that list. Tony and Maria meet secretly and their love grows deeper. However, the gangs are plotting one last rumble, a fight that will finally end the battle for control of the streets. This is a relevant story that rings true about violence in today's society and how it destroys the lives of people around them. This is a young, talented cast, a gorgeous score and dance sequences that need to be seen to believed. In fact, my Production Manager in Clasical Radio and I used to say so often that if the late composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein had done nothing further with his career than score West Side Story, he would still be considered a "Legend". West Side Story is a must-see!

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I realize that many of you reside in New York City. So I thought you might find the filming locations interesting: 8th Street, Manhattan, New York City; 10th Street, Manhattan, New York City; The Samuel Goldwyn/Warner Hollywood Studios, 1041 North Formosa Avenue, Hollywood, California, USA. Oh, here's some Cool Trivia! Natalie Wood's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon. Even though dubbing Natalie Wood was Marni Nixon's chief assignment, Nixon also did one number for actress Rita Moreno, which required a relatively high vocal register. Having dubbed Wood as well as Moreno, Nixon felt she deserved a cut of the movie-album royalties. Neither the movie nor the record producers would bow to her demands. Leonard Bernstein broke the stalemate by volunteering a percentage of his income, a gesture of loyalty-royalty since Nixon had been a performer-colleague of his at New York Philharmonic concerts. He ceded one quarter of one per cent of his royalties to her (a generous amount). Very cool. Richard Beymer's singing voice was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant.

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Okay, the opening dance sequences were shot on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where Lincoln Center stands today. This area was condemned and the buildings were in the process of being demolished to make way for Lincoln Center. The demolition of these buildings was delayed so that the filming of these sequences could be completed. The script was originally intended to be a Catholic boy falling in love with a Jewish girl. The working title was "East Side Story". After a boom of Puerto Rican immigration to New York in the late 1940s and 1950s, the story was changed. Director Robert Wise hired New York gang members to control crowds on location, and fought to shoot on location in New York City (maybe Cincinnati's own West Side should hire these same gangs to stop the murderous rampage in that city)!

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Other cool stuff: Can you believe that film rights to the play were bought for $375,000? But hey! That was in 1961 dollars. Still, imagine! If you're into set-building: The interior sets were built six feet off the ground to allow for low-angle shooting with large 70 mm cameras. If you are into wardrobe: The boys' jeans were dyed, re-dyed and "distressed," using special elastic thread to allow for the severity of the choreography. Robert Wise's original choice to play Tony was Elvis Presley (how funny!). Audrey Hepburn was offered the role of Maria, but she turned it down, because she was pregnant with Sean H. Ferrer at the time. And finally, Choreographer Jerome Robbin's propensity for filming and re-filming scenes as he strove for perfection led to the movie going over budget and behind schedule. Robbins was fired by Mirisch Pictures, the production company, when the shooting was about 60% finished, and director Robert Wise completed the filming alone (the original arrangement had been for Robbins to direct all of the song and dance sequences and Wise to direct everything else).

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I saw the play performed on stage in 1996. Then as now, it left me with a lump in my throat. This is a wonderful film. Academy Awards results for 1962: Winner Best Actor in a Supporting RoleGeorge Chakiris ; Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Rita Moreno; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: Boris Leven Victor A. Gangelin; Best Cinematography, Color: Daniel L. Fapp; Best Costume Design, Color: Irene Sharaff; Best Director: Robert Wise Jerome Robbins {For the first time a directing award was shared}. Best Film Editing: Thomas Stanford; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture: Saul Chaplin Johnny Green Sid Ramin Irwin Kostal; Best Picture: Robert Wise; Best Sound: Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD) Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD); Nominated Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Ernest Lehman.

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ENJOY!