United Artists at 90 Short Film Competition
West Side Story
Directed by Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise
Latest in UA Short Film Competition
Related stories
On Facebook
Arts & Ents blogs
Fighting out of the Fringes: taking a school show to the Edinburgh Fringe
When I first thought about taking a group of ten Year 13 students to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival i...
Brighton Fringe 2012: laughing through the blood, sweat and tears
It has been an emotional journey. The three weeks of intense activity that make up England's larges...
Disclosure: We’d never even been to a club when we made our first single
For most of us, reaching eighteen years of age opens up a new world for exploration, spontaneity and...
West Side Story (1961) Westside story is the award winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliette. The feuding families become two warring New York City gangs- the white Jets led by Riff and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Brenardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riff's best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardo's younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love. Maria and Tony begin meeting in secret, planning to run away. Then the Skarks and Jets plan a rumble under the highway - whoever wins gains control of the streets. Maria sends Tony to stop it, hoping it can end the violence. It goes terribly wrong, and before the lovers know what's happened, tragedy strikes and doesn't stop until the climatic and heartbreaking ending.
Directors
Jerome Robbins
Robert Wise
Writers
Jerome Robbins (conception) and
Arthur Laurents (play)
Cast
Natalie Wood... Maria
Richard Beymer... Tony
Russ Tamblyn... Riff
Rita Moreno... Anita
George Chakiris... Bernardo
Simon Oakland... Lieutenant Schrank
Ned Glass... Doc
William Bramley... Officer Krupke
Tucker Smith... Ice
Tony Mordente... Action
David Winters... Arab
Eliot Feld... Baby John
Bert Michaels... Snowboy
David Bean... Tiger
Robert Banas... Joyboy
Trivia
- Russ Tamblyn had originally tried out for the role of Tony. It was down to just him and Richard Beymer, and Beymer ended up getting it. But then the casting directors called him back and asked him to read for Riff, and he got the part.
- 1 Red or not, here they come: Artists reimagine the iconic telephone booth
- 2 Hell-raising: A how-to guide with Anaïs Mitchell
- 3 Eurovision just doesn't get The Hump
- 4 It's not easy being Professor Green: The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...
- 5 Where are our Eurovision heroes now?
- 6 River Phoenix: the final reel
- 7 More glitz on Cannes red carpet than on screen
- 8 The secret life of the red carpet
- 9 Fiction Uncovered: The writers prized after all others
- 10 The Ten Best History Books
- 1 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 2 Hardcore, hard-wired: How the prevalence of porn is changing our everyday lives
- 3 Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused
- 4 Leading article: Ten questions for Jeremy Hunt
- 5 Is Ridley Scott the most macho man in movies?
- 6 'Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read ...'
- 7 Postgraduate students are being used as 'slave labour'
- 8 Exclusive dispatch: Assad blamed for massacre of the innocents
- 9 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 10 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
The secret life of the red carpet
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global



Comments