Splendor in the Grass

1961 • 123 minutes
4.8
100 reviews
73%
Tomatometer
Eligible
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About this movie

Screen legends Warren Beatty, in an auspicious debut, and Natalie Wood are perfectly cast in this sensual, sentimental and romantic drama set in rural Kansas. At the end of the Roaring '20s, Wood and Beatty are teens in love, torn apart by family and sexual and peer pressures. At the beginning of the Great Depression, Wood is an emotionally broken young woman who revisits her past while trying to rebuild her life. Oscar-winner Elia Kazan ("On the Waterfront," "East of Eden") directed, and the screenplay by William Inge ("Picnic," "Bus Stop") won an Oscar, with a nomination for Wood. Recently selected by the prestigious American Film Institute as one of the 400 greatest American films of all time.

Ratings and reviews

4.8
100 reviews
Zoey Rios
November 23, 2017
One of the best movies I've ever seen. It stayed in my heart since I watched it the first time. First and true love, repression, sadness and social morals can't be denied, Best love story ever, but unhappy ending. Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty at its best ***** 5 Stars.
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Mim Lo (Mimlo)
May 22, 2017
My favorite Natalie Wood movie. A very romantic, sad, moving story about a high school couple in the late '20's, who are madly in love, but can't act on it due to social mores of the times. Warren Beatty, OMG, he & N.W. made quite a pair, off-screen as well. Barbara Loden and Pat Hingle were amazing, too, great casting all around.
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Renee Levitt
October 4, 2021
I walked out of this movie in 1961 but I have heard so much hype about it that I decided to watch it all the way through to possibly reeavaluate it.The over-the-top insincere melodrama was the reason I couldn't take the whole movie when I was 20. Now that I'm 80 I feel like I stepped in some in the grass and congratulate the smart kid I was then and still am. Warren Beatty was, of course, terrific!
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