West Side Story ***** (1961, Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno) – Classic Film Review 1,051

‘Make of our hands one hand. Make of our hearts one heart.’

Directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins lavish all on the stupendous, 10 Oscar-winning 1961 movie classic version of the all-time great 1957 stage musical West Side Story, which transfers the Romeo and Juliet story to 50s New York with the best production money can buy. A great night on stage in the theatre is turned into a vibrant, dynamic experience in the cinema.

Shakespeare’s feuding families become two warring New York City gangs – the white boy Jets led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn) and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). Riff’s best friend Tony (Richard Beymer) and Bernardo’s younger sister Maria (Natalie Wood) meet at a dance and fall for each other, even though they are from the opposite side of the tracks. When the rival gangs plan a rumble under the highway for control of the streets, Maria sends Tony to stop it.

The screen explodes when Chakiris, Tamblyn, Rita Moreno (as Anita) and the chorus boys and girls dance and sing to Leonard Bernstein’s music and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics, which, as recent stage revivals have proved, are still vibrant, fresh and exciting.

Wood and Beymer make a very handsome, attractive romantic couple, though they are upstaged by the most exciting supporting turns imaginable from Chakiris, Moreno, Tamblyn, Simon Oakland (as Schrank), Ned Glass (as Doc), William Bramley (as Krupke) and John Astin (Glad Hand).

West Side Story is a film created out of the greatest craftsmanship and it fully deserves its 10 Oscars, which went to Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Supporting Actor (Chakiris), Best Supporting Actress (Moreno), Best Cinematography (Daniel L Fapp), Best Costume Design (Irene Sharaff), Best Art Direction (Boris Leven)-Set Decoration (Victor A. Gangelin), Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Scoring.

Wood ‘s singing is dubbed by regular movie star singing dub artist Marni Nixon and Beymer’s by Jimmy Bryant. They both sing beautifully, as you can check by just listening to the soundtrack album. It was the biggest selling soundtrack album in its day.

There’s an exquisitely crafted screenplay by Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest), art director Boris Leven’s set designs are outstandingly imaginative and Daniel L Fapp’s Technicolor cinematography is a huge asset to the show.

The superb, thrillingly imaginative titles are by Saul Bass. There are no opening credits, though. A red-tinted aerial still of Manhattan with the title is shown as the overture plays. When it ends, the red tint is removed and the shot segues to aerial photography of Manhattan streets and landmarks. It’s all very arty, and still original and surprising. The poster art is designed by Joseph Caroff.

The opening dance sequences were shot on the upper west side of Manhattan where Lincoln Center stands today. This area was condemned but the demolition of the buildings was delayed to allow the filming.

It was the first film to win a Best Director Oscar for two directors, not repeated till 46 years later when the Coen Brothers shared the award for No Country for Old Men (2007).

The song ‘One Hand, One Heart’ was written for his earlier musical Candide but discarded by Leonard Bernstein and successfully revived here.

Chakiris had previously played Riff in the London stage production, which opened in late 1958. Chakiris played the role for almost 22 months and got good reviews. When the Mirisch Brothers bought the film rights, they screen-tested Chakiris. They thought his dark complexion made him more suited to the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, and cast Russ Tamblyn as Riff.

Only six of the original Broadway cast appeared in the movie: Carole D’Andrea (Velma), Tommy Abbott (Gee-Tar), William Bramley (Officer Krupke), Tony Mordente (Action), David Winters (A-rab) and Jay Norman (Pepe). There was much dismay that Carol Lawrence, who played Maria in the stage version, and Chita Rivera (who played Anita) were dumped.

It was the second highest grossing film of 1961, beaten by Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.

The 50th anniversary screening of the film on September 8 2011 in New York City was attended by Chakiris, Tamblyn, Nixon and producer Walter Mirisch, as well as gang members Robert Banas (Joyboy), David Bean (Tiger), Harvey Evans (Mouthpiece), Bert Michaels (Snowboy) and Eddie Verso (Juano).

Wise and Lehman went on to work on The Sound of Music (1965), which spookily also has a main character called Maria.

It was announced on 1 October 2018 that Ansel Elgort is cast as Tony in Steven Spielberg’s new film version of West Side Story. It released on 10 December 2021. Rita Moreno plays Valentina, a re-imagining of the character of Doc, who saves Moreno’s character in the 1961 film in his drugstore.

Rita Moreno was born on December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno celebrated her 90th birthday on 11 December 2021: ‘Bigger than life is not difficult for me. I am bigger than life.’ She is the first performer to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. She was born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano on 11 December 1931.

George Chakiris celebrated his 90th birthday on 16 September 2022. He was born on 16 September 1932, in Norwood, Ohio, to Stelianos (Steve) and Zoe (née Anastasiadou) Chakiris, Greek immigrants from Turkey. He has seven siblings. He also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for West Side Story.

George Chakiris appears in his film debut at 15 as Choir Boy in MGM’s stagey but handsome 1947 romantic music drama film Song of Love.

http://derekwinnert.com/the-sound-of-music-classic-film-review-57/

http://derekwinnert.com/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet-classic-film-review-438/

http://derekwinnert.com/romeo-and-juliet-1968-classic-film-review-437/

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/