[7]

Warren Beatty made his screen debut alongside Natalie Wood in this Elia Kazan film about sexual repression in 1920s middle-America. Beatty and Wood play Bud and Deanie, high school lovers who plan to get married and consummate their growing sexual urges. But their parents and their own conflicted emotions end up tearing them apart, with Bud wandering aimlessly and Deanie landing in psychiatric care. Splendor in the Grass is awkward and unintentionally hilarious at times, especially in its depiction of the teens’ unbridled horniness and the apparent madness it can bring. If someone could have just introduced the concept of masturbation to Bud and Deanie, they could have been spared all the heartache and tragedy to come.

But as odd as the film is, I still enjoy the family drama component, as well as the script’s exploration of the madonna/whore complex, a comparison drawn between the innocent Deanie and Bud’s boozing floozie of a sister (Barbara Loden). In one of the most curious scenes in the movie, Bud’s father (Pat Hingle) encourages him not to “spoil” Deanie, the woman he loves, and to instead have sex with “another kind of girl”. The madonna/whore complex has always simplified the roles of women in storytelling, but I rarely see male characters also struggling with the notion that their love is a spoiling agent. You can watch Splendor in the Grass as a somewhat campy film or as a bizarre look back at a more primitive, fearful society. Look for future Oscar-winner Sandy Dennis and comedian Phyllis Diller in small roles.

Academy Award: Best Original Screenplay

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress (Natalie Wood)