lovebwy said: "Richard Beymer hates himself in West Side Story. He never shows to reunions, and refuses to talk about it.
Natalie Wood wanted Warren Beatty to play Tony. They were dating at the time. Natalie didn't get her way, so consequently Wood was mean to Beymer, and after filming started campaigned to have him fired. She would only speak to him when they were filming.
This led to him being very self conscious and nervous on the set. And I don't know what Robert Wise was thinking, he appears to not have been directed at all.
Here's what he had to say:
“I was miserable in West Side Story,” he recalls. “They really miscast me. I came from the mid-West; what they really needed was a guy that was street smart. The first time I saw the movie, I had to walk out. I looked like the biggest fruit that ever walked on to film. My character was so weak.”
And now you know the rest of the story."
Not all of this is entirely true. The producers had been interested in Beatty for Tony, and it was when they watched footage of "Splendor In The Grass" that they decided he was wrong for the role but Natalie would make a good Maria. She herself was not yet dating Beatty, and hoped for Robert Wagner(!) (no further comment) to play Tony. Her career was rising and his had hit a plateau, and it was taking a toll on their relationship. They split not long after filming wrapped.
She was, by all accounts, very cold to Richard Beymer throughout the shoot. He had been up for Sal Mineo's role in "Rebel Without A Cause" and she had known him back then, so her attitude may have stemmed from that time.
Beymer is miscast in the film, and truly not up to the rest of it, but some of the problem may lie with the role itself. Tony has great songs, but he is also saddled with some of the tritest dialogue in the script. It's a shame. I'm sure it hurt his career in the long run.
Ironically, Natalie and her agents had pursued WSS before she went into production for "Splendor In The Grass," and Lynn Stalmaster thought she would be a poor choice because she had been around so long and hadn't had a hit since "Rebel." By the time they offered her the role, "Splendor" had raised her asking price considerably and they got her for a lot more than they would have spent if they'd hired her initially.
Ansel and Lucas are good considerations for the role if a new film is made. I'm just not sure a new film is a good idea. The material, great as it is, is very much of its time. But I love it and wish all involved the best.
Updated On: 3/16/18 at 12:52 PM
