Splendor In The Grass - Blog Posts

“I’m fine”

Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass (1961, dir. Elia Kazan)

During my Ophelia stage, I began to watch films starring Natalie Wood that were shot in the 1960s. There was something about her wide eyes and fragility that reminded me of these drowning women, the fair Ophelia. In Splendor in the Grass, Natalie’s character Deanie loses her mind and self-destructs in more and more glamorous ways, eventually wading into a pond decked out in a gorgeous flapper dress for her suicide attempt. Deanie is saved, goes to therapy, and gets set to marry a nice doctor. But I didn’t care about that. I cared about the frantic way she slid into the water, the way she picked her footing as she climbed down. In her beauty and self-destruction, she wielded an ugly power. Why were these fictional beautiful women always losing their minds so extravagantly? Why are they so compelling? I’ve always found wilting orchids more compelling [than girl bosses] - women who burn bright and burn out, undermined by their own desire for love or wholeness or whatever it is that pushes them under water. Some of us choose the self-destructive model and discover power in the tatters. - Patricia Grisafi; Why Are We So intrigued by Beautiful Drowning Women? A Look at Natalie Wood’s Hysterical Glamour

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, 1961

Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower, We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind;

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961, dir. Elia Kazan)

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961) “We took them to lunch at a place on East Fifty-eighth street, and my dear, we shouldn’t have been there. They were entwined, lots of hugs and kisses. The restaurant was rather crowded. But that didn’t deter the lovers. They went at it all through lunch. I loved it!” - Eleanor Kilgallen

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961) “The way Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty are carrying on, it’s a wonder they have time to eat.” - Dorothy Kilgallen

When I saw The Umbrellas of Cherbourg again a few years ago, it struck me: it’s exactly the same ending as in Splendor in the Grass. I adore that film. It’s one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever seen in the cinema. And the end scene is exactly the same as in Umbrellas. He is on the farm, with his dungarees, his wife, the child and she comes back…it was so moving to see that resemblance. I think it is one of the maddest, most audacious films on the subject of love. Particularly for a man to bring a young woman to life in such a way! Splendor in the Grass is so much about unbridled love. The idea that loving can make you insane. That is what happens: you become insane! Going as far as to see her leave for the hospital, because she is dying of love, she wants to die! That film knocked me over. - Catherine Deneuve

“When Warren Beatty came to the set, “she’d sit on his lap and she’d whisper in his ear and he would reassure her… She just had this power over him. He adored her.”

I’ve been a good little girl! A good little, good little girl! NATALIE WOOD breaks down in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961)

NATALIE WOOD’S pink party dress in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961)

Natalie Wood in a film still for “Splendor in the Grass,” 1961.

“Natalie [Wood] started “Splendor” with the mingled fear and pleasure she had with “Rebel”... She would recall [Elia] Kazan encouraging her, “Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself,” to be bold, be free, to “shock herself.”

Natalie Wood and director Elia Kazan photographed behind the scenes of “Splendor in the Grass;” Excerpt from “Natalie Wood” by Suzanne Finstad.

“Elia Kazan assured me a double would do the scene where I was under an eight-foot waterfall. But then it turned out the double couldn’t swim at all, and I had to do it. I told Kazan: “I’ll do it only if you take me out to the waterfall and throw me in. I know I can’t swim that far, and I’m scared besides.” And that’s what they did. They threw me in, and had to get out fast before I drowned. ”

Natalie Wood by Suzanne Finstad; Natalie Wood photographed in between takes of “Splendor in the Grass,” 1960.

A candid shot of Natalie Wood at the premiere of “Splendor in the Grass,” circa 1961.