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William Wordsworth

Splendor in the Grass

1961's premiere "date" movie represented the screen debut of Warren Beatty. Set in the 1920s, William Inge's screenplay concerns the superheated romance between working-class high schooler Natalie Wood and rich kid Beatty. Trying their best to keep their relationship from going "all the way," Beatty and Wood go through a series of unsatisfying interim romances. The troubled Wood attempts suicide and is sent to a mental institution, while Beatty impregnates freewheeling waitress Zohra Lampert. Wood and Beatty still carry a torch for one another, but circumstances preclude their getting together -- and besides, Wood suddenly realizes that she's outgrown the still-floundering Beatty.

Trivia....

Rumor had it that Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty were having an affair during filming which led to the breakup of Natalie's marriage to Robert Wagner. In reality the two stars didn't get along during filming and started dating after Natalie's marriage had ended.

Depicts the first French kiss in a Hollywood film.

The film's title comes from a poem by William Wordsworth: "Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, / of glory in the flower, / we will grieve not, / rather find strength in what remains behind."