William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" is the source of the title. The phrase appears within a stanza of the poem as follows: “Though nothing can bring back the hour/ Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;/ We will grieve not, rather find/ Strength in what remains behind.” Although an 8 Oct 1958 Var brief indicated the title would be replaced before release, it remained unchanged.
       Splendor in the Grass marked playwright William Inge’s screenwriting debut, and Warren Beatty’s first theatrical feature film. Beatty had previously worked with Inge on the play, A Loss of Roses (New York City, 28 Nov 1959), while producer-director Elia Kazan had collaborated with the playwright on The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (New York City, 5 Dec 1957). An article in the 22 May 1960 NYT stated that Inge proposed the story for Splendor in the Grass after the latter play’s opening, summarizing the plot to Kazan in five minutes, and Kazan immediately agreed to direct as long as Inge wrote the screenplay. In the next two years, Inge worked on the script while Kazan contributed “movie shots” and other input. Warner Bros. Pictures’ involvement was announced in a 12 Sep 1958 DV item, which noted that the studio had already registered Splendor in the Grass with the Title Registration Bureau, even though negotiations with Inge were not yet finalized. In an interview published in the 7 Aug 1960 NYT, Inge acknowledged his recent disenchantment with the theater, and stated, “The problems connected with a play – not in the writing of it but in getting it properly presented – have become so great that I rather shudder at the thought of doing another one.” He claimed that sometime before discussing the project with Kazan, he had written early scenes for Splendor in the Grass, which he had always envisioned as a film because of its breadth. In addition to his screenwriting debut, Inge also made his only feature film appearance in the role of “Reverend Whitman.”
       A 19 Jan 1959 DV item stated that Natalie Wood was in talks to play the lead role, after a “battle” between the actress and Warner Bros. had reached an amicable resolution. Shortly thereafter, the 3 Feb 1960 LAT confirmed that Inge had finished the screenplay, and that Wood was his first choice for the role of “Wilma Dean Loomis.” Richard Burton was reportedly in discussions to co-star, according to a 10 Feb 1960 LAT item, and the 26 Feb 1960 LAT stated that John Saxon was under consideration for a role, but neither actor appeared in the final film. Likewise, a 7 Apr 1960 DV item noted that Kazan was interested in singer Peggy Lee for a “straight thesping” role, but Lee received no mention in later notices and does not appear to have been credited onscreen. The 17 Feb 1960 DV announced Warren Beatty’s potential involvement, and the 14 Apr 1960 LAT confirmed his casting.
       Kazan was initially scheduled to direct the Tennessee Williams play, A Period of Adjustment, on Broadway, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the film, as stated in a 28 Apr 1960 NYT brief. He was replaced by director George Roy Hill, and the play opened 10 Nov 1960 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.
       Principal photography began 9 May 1960, according to a 13 May 1960 DV production chart. The shooting schedule was said to be ten weeks in the 16 Apr 1960 NYT, while the 22 May 1960 NYT specified a sixty-three-day shoot. Exteriors were filmed at New York City locations including a West Islip, Long Island, ranch house; Horace Mann High School and a church in the Riverdale section of the Bronx; and Victory Boulevard on Staten Island, where a house was “revamped, refaced, repainted and supplied with a real garden.” Filming also took place in the hamlet of High Falls, NY. In addition to location shooting, the majority of the picture was filmed on two adjacent soundstages at Filmways Studio on East 127th Street in East Harlem. There, forty-six sets were built.
       As noted in the 22 May 1960 NYT, the picture was shot in Technicolor, but Kazan and director of photography Boris Kaufman’s aim was to achieve a “cold, monochromatic color with the strength of black and white.” Kazan’s opinion was that the majority of color films recently produced by Hollywood studios used lighting and cinematography that made actors “look like wax fruit.”
       Upwards of 5,000 background actors were recruited to appear in the film. Kazan’s previous picture, A Face in the Crowd (1957, see entry), was said to be the last production to call for so many extras in New York City, according to an agent at Central Casting.
       Two weeks into filming, Kazan commented on his leading man’s star quality, as stated in the 20 May 1960 DV “Just for Variety” column. The director referenced his earlier collaboration with James Dean on East of Eden (1955, see entry), stating, “Jimmy Dean was nothing compared to what’s gonna happen when the kids see Warren Beatty.”
       An item in the 1 Aug 1960 DV noted that filming was nearly completed. Rain delays followed, and the 18 Aug 1960 DV stated that exterior scenes had resumed the day before. Wood was expected to be wrapped by the following day, when she was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles, CA, with then husband Robert Wagner.
       A 25 Oct 1960 DV article stated that Warner Bros.’ nine productions shot between Oct 1959 and Oct 1960, including Splendor in the Grass, cost a total of $17,850,000.
       Editing was nearly completed as of 2 Nov 1960, according to a DV item published that day. However, a 15 Mar 1961 DV “Just for Variety” column stated that a scene in which Wood appeared nude had been recently excised. Wood and Beatty flew to New York for looping sessions in early 1961, as noted in DV items published 6 Jan, 10 Jan, and 27 Jan 1961. Beatty continued to be called in for looping sessions through late Jun 1961, when his next production, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961, see entry), was underway in London, England, according to a 29 Jun 1961 DV brief.
       An item in the 22 Nov 1960 DV noted a Bantam Books tie-in in the works. Splendor in the Grass, A Screenplay was published by Bantam in 1961.
       The picture was screened at a “Jubilee of Films” press junket held by Warner Bros. at its Burbank, CA, headquarters on 6-7 Jun 1961. In addition to the 300 local press agents invited, the all-expense-paid event offered roughly 200 journalists from all fifty United States and Canada airfare and hotel accommodations. The 25 May 1961 DV noted it was the first time the studio “invited press on such a vast scale” and speculated the junket “could be the largest of its type in Hollywood history.” Warner Bros. initially eyed release dates of 12 Aug or 14 Oct 1961, as stated in the 22 May 1961 DV. The picture was ultimately released 10 Oct 1961 at the Victoria and Trans-Lux 52nd Street Theatres in New York City, according to the 14 Aug 1961 and 16 Oct 1961 issues of DV, following a series of advance screenings beginning 25 Aug 1961 with showings at the Randolph Theatre in Philadelphia, PA; the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL; and the Paramount Theatre in San Francisco, CA. Warner Bros. executives introduced each of the aforementioned screenings, and separate questionnaires were distributed to adult and teenage attendees. An article in the 5 Oct 1961 DV reported that the questionnaires included the following questions: “Do you think children 16 or under should see ‘Splendor in the Grass’?”; “Did you find anything censorable in the picture?”; “Should Hollywood attempt themes as sensitive as this one?”; “What do you think of such special advances performances?”; and, “What do you think of this film?” The San Francisco screening was attended by Inge, who conducted filmed interviews with audience members, to be used in television advertisements, as noted in the 28 Aug 1961 DV. Warner Bros. reportedly wanted to prove its theory that filmgoers’ appetites for “adult” films was much greater than censorship pressure groups put forth. Hollywood studios in general were said to be reacting against U.S. film censorship, partly due to the success of recent foreign films with adult subject matter such as Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top (1959), and Jules Dassin’s Never on Sunday (1960). The preview screenings were done in an additional thirty-one cities, according to a 4 Oct 1961 Var article, which accused Warner Bros. of “whipping up the intrigue” and “trying to implant in the public’s mind the idea that this Elia Kazan entry is controversial” when, in reality, it was not. Ultimately, Warner Bros. claimed survey responses were positive, but the studio insisted that exhibitors only sell tickets to adults and children over sixteen years of age, unless the under-sixteen patron was accompanied by an adult.
       A stock photograph that had been used in advertisements for the 1954 film The Barefoot Contessa (see entry) was also used in print advertisements for Splendor in the Grass, according to a 1 Nov 1961 Var item. The image showed a woman “ecstatically nuzzling” a man’s ear, with the man seen from behind. Warner Bros. reportedly altered the image by tilting it ninety degrees, to imply the man was lifting the woman up instead of standing in front of her.
       The day after its 10 Oct 1961 debut in New York City, the picture opened in an exclusive run at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, as noted in the 3 Oct 1961 DV. Critical reception was generally warm, although, in an otherwise positive review, the 30 Aug 1961 Var suggested the story contained “missing links and blind alleys,” and noted that lush exteriors shot in New York did not match the Kansas setting. The 16 Oct 1961 DV reported a promising six-day gross of $38,000 at the Victoria Theatre, and stated that ticket sales at Trans-Lux were “equally big.”
       The 10 Sep 1961 LAT review described Warren Beatty’s film debut as “auspicious.” Betty went on to win a Golden Globe award for New Star of the Year – Actor. William Inge won an Academy Award for Writing (Story and Screenplay—written directly for the screen), and Natalie Wood was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Beatty), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (Wood). The awards led to a mid-Apr 1962 revival of the film at the Hollywood, State, Torrance, and Victory drive-in theaters in Los Angeles, as noted in the 6 Apr 1962 LAT.
       The film was ranked #47 on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions list of America’s greatest love stories.