SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS

Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961). Director: Elia Kazan. Original screenplay by William Inge.

In 1928 Kansas high school students Wilma Loomis (Natalie Wood) and Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty) are a couple, although they come from opposite sides of the tracks. Bud's father is a wealthy brewer while Wilma's family is of more modest means. Bud's hormones are really kicking in, but he knows Wilma is not the kind of girl who would want to go "all the way." Wilma's mother (Audrey Christie) assures her daughter that sex is just something that women "have to put up with." Bud's father (Pat Hingle) suggests that he get , in essence, a "bad girl" to satisfy him while continuing his relationship with Wilma, but instead Bud thinks it's best to break things off with Wilma -- this decision has unfortunate consequences.

Pat Hingle and Warren Beatty

I have to confess that when I was finished watching Splendor I had to wonder why it is so acclaimed. I think the main reason is that the film has a great, well-played and moving ending that sent moviegoers home happy. It's just that the rest of the film is well ... odd. I must say Natalie Wood gives a very good performance, although I'm not certain she quite gets across the emotional fragility of the character which might explain some of the things that happen to her. In his first film role, Beatty is acceptable, but he's too old for the part -- he was 24 at the time of filming -- and while good-looking enough, in some shots he just looks weird. I found Audrey Christie merely annoying as Wood's mother, although Hingle was better as Beatty's dad. One of the worst-played scenes in the movie is a scene in an alley when Beatty is shown his father's corpse.

William Inge

There are some good supporting performances in the film: Barbara Loden as Bud's free-wheelin' sister, Virginia; the ever-strange Zohra Lampert as a waitress Bud meets in college (going from Wood to Lampert is sort of like going from the sublime to the ridiculous!); the even-stranger Sandy Dennis as a classmate of Wilma's; Gary Lockwood [The Magic Sword] as a handsome boy who goes out on a date with Wilma with unfortunate results; Jan Norris as "bad girl" Juanita; Joanna Roos as Bud's somewhat overwhelmed and neglected mother; Charles Robinson [Brotherhood of Satan] as Wilma's more-than-friend, Johnny; and others. William Inge, whose screenplay was not based on one of his stage works, even appears briefly as a minister -- a former actor, he's fine. Of all people, Phyllis Diller [The Fat Spy] shows up in a New Year's Eve scene as Texas Guinan, making tasteless jokes about the stock market crash suicides.

From the sublime to the ridiculous? Zohra Lampert

Splendor is mostly about S-E-X, but it's also about romantic longing and the hatred that children often feel for their own parents. I'm not certain that, when all is said and done, Inge was able to lift the movie that much above the soap opera level, as some of the characters are stereotypes and not as well-developed as they could have been. A self-hating homosexual in real life -- one can't call him gay as he was not self-accepting -- Inge nevertheless understood the universality of romantic and sexual feelings just as his contemporary Tennessee Williams did. NOTE: The title comes from a Wordsworth poem.

Verdict: Some lovely things in this movie, yet ... **1/2. 

THE FAT SPY

Phyllis Diller as Rapunzel/Camille Salamander

THE FAT SPY (1966). Director: Joseph Cates.

"After I saw The Fat Spy I went straight to confession -- and I'm not even Catholic." -- Phyllis Diller

George Wellington (Brian Donlevy), the head of a cosmetics firm, and Camille Salamander (Phyllis Diller) are both hoping to get their hands on a fountain of youth formula and are annoyed that a bunch of singing teenagers have taken up residence on the island where the formula might be found. Or something like that. Rarely have there been such films of stark brilliance, comedic genius, and extreme profundity -- and The Fat Spy is certainly not one of them. The movie is a weird combination of Beach Party-spoof, teen musical, and alleged comedy, although it has only a couple of genuinely amusing sequences. In one of these Camille's boyfriend Herman (Jack E. Leonard) sings a funny number, "You Haven't Changed a Bit" ["a peeping tom pulled down the shade"] to her, and the ending is kind of funny, too. Otherwise ... There are some decent tunes warbled by Johnny Tillotson, Jordan Christopher [who later married Sybil Burton] and the Wild Ones, and even Jayne Mansfield, who sings "I'd Like to Be a Rose in Your Garden, but I'm Just a Thorn in Your Side." Diller isn't bad, Donlevy is an old pro, but Leonard isn't much of an actor yet is given two roles to play. Jayne Mansfield has done better work elsewhere, such as an episode on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The film is padded with long sequences of good-looking young people dancing. Cates also directed Who Killed Teddy Bear? and little else of note.

Verdict: Get ready to hit that fast-forward button -- or "stop!": *1/2.