Splendor in the Grass

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Splendor in the Grass

Released Oct 10, 1961

2h 4m

Drama

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72%

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29 Reviews

90%

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5,000+ Ratings

Bud (Warren Beatty) and his high school sweetheart, Deanie (Natalie Wood), are weighed down by their parents' oppressive expectations, which threaten the future of their relationship. Deanie's mother (Audrey Christie) and Bud's father (Pat Hingle) caution their children against engaging in a sexual relationship, but for opposing reasons: Deanie's mother thinks Bud won't marry a girl with loose morals, while Bud's father is afraid of marriage and pregnancy that would ruin Bud's future at Yale.

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

With his ripe lips, flirty eyes, and pre-Calvin Klein-era androgynous appeal, the 24-year-old Warren is utterly believable as a boy who drives Natalie Wood plumb insane with sexual frustration in William Inge's overheated melodrama.

Rated: B

Jun 28, 2019

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Classic of repressed teenage sexuality.

Mar 4, 2019

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Variety Staff

Variety

There is something awkward about the picture's mechanical rhythm. There are missing links and blind alleys within the story.

Mar 26, 2009

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Surely among the most historically embarrassing winners of an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It's not that the melodramatic horniness is corny. It's that the screenplay treats it with the cruel regard of scientific specimens rather than human beings.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2025

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The amorous feelings and carnal longings are played at such a fever pitch that many viewers will find them exaggerated while others will recognize in them their own oversized emotions.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 11, 2025

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Louie Robinson

Jet Magazine

Under the direction of famed Elia Kazan, Natalie Wood turns in a performance that will surprise many moviegoers for its excellence, and Warren Beatty makes his debut as a film actor slightly spectacular.

Jan 16, 2024

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Kyle M

A love story that depicts one-sided slipping romance and influences a new stereotype coming across as desperate lack of purpose, with both decently embodied by the two leads’ own breakthroughs, breaking apart irrationally and disengages melodramatically amid mutual reception. (B-)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/05/25

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Tamara K

The ultimate move about absolutely clueless parents.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/27/25

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BJ M

Great classic. Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood were wonderful.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/24

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John G

With a grand sweep of pre-Depression US history, it tells a moving story of love and tragedy in an age dominated by fundamentalist puritanical Christian beliefs.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/28/24

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Mat L

Natalie Wood's electrifying performance more than makes up for Kazan's clumsy direction, and cements her legacy as one of the loveliest and most talented actresses of all time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/06/23

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erroll f

A coming of age drama, starring Warren Beatty in his green debut, and the terrific Natalie, Wood in the academy, award nominated roll. The great Director Elia Kazan provides the steady hand for the acting ensemble. Perhaps not a great movie, but it is a very very good movie about the morals and travails of youth.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/08/23

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Elia Kazan

Director

Natalie Wood

Wilma Dean Loomis

Warren Beatty

Bud Stamper

Pat Hingle

Ace Stamper

Audrey Christie

Mrs. Loomis

Barbara Loden

Ginny Stamper

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Synopsis

Bud (Warren Beatty) and his high school sweetheart, Deanie (Natalie Wood), are weighed down by their parents' oppressive expectations, which threaten the future of their relationship. Deanie's mother (Audrey Christie) and Bud's father (Pat Hingle) caution their children against engaging in a sexual relationship, but for opposing reasons: Deanie's mother thinks Bud won't marry a girl with loose morals, while Bud's father is afraid of marriage and pregnancy that would ruin Bud's future at Yale.

Director: Elia Kazan
Producer: Elia Kazan
Screenwriter: William Inge
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: NBI Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 1961, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 2h 4m

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