West Side Story (film) West Side Story (film) West Side Story is a 1961 American romantic musical tragedy film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and was photographed by Daniel L. Fapp, A.S.C., in Super Panavision 70. Released on October 18, 1961, through United Artists, the film received high praise from critics and viewers, and became the second highest grossing film of the year
Natalie Wood nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred in the musical films "West Side Story" (1961) and "Gypsy" (1962), and received Academy Award for Best Actress nominations for her performances in "Splendor in the Grass" (1961) and "Love with the Proper Stranger" (1963). Her career continued with films such as "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (1969). After this, she took a break from acting and had two children with different husbands, appearing in only three theatrical films during the 1970s. She was married to actor Robert Wagner, then to producer Richard Gregson, and then back