Why didn't they cast a male star opposite Natalie Wood in West Side Story?

They should have cast Anthony Perkins.

Sal Mineo!

Is Rita Moreno dubbed too?

Casted.

R3 yes, Betty Wand dubbed for Rita.

and Marni Nixon for Natalie?

Elvis was considered, but Gary, I mean Col. Parker talked him out of it.

Rita is only partially dubbed, some of the lower and higher notes.

Was Gene Pitney a star already?

Wesht Shide Shtory.

They should have cast someone else for Maria also.

I just came from a screening of the new West Side Story....

I'm shocked. It's excellent.

Beymer had some big agent or studio behind him at the time, as he was also in "Diary of Anne Frank" and "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man".

Pat Boone? Or was he too Patrician? Troy Donahue, but don't know if he can sing (he certainly has a resonant speaking voice).

Brandon de Wilde?

"I just came from a screening of the new West Side Story....I'm shocked. It's excellent."

DLers will be horrified and extremely disappointed. Good thing The Vessel is not functioning, or there would be countless jumpers who were prepared to shout with glee that this was a total bomb.

The usual story is that the studio paid a shitload for the rights and needed movie stars as box office insurance to make their money back.

I read Arthur Laurents originally wanted James Dean for the role of Tony but that didn’t happen for obvious reasons.

Dean died in 1955, and WSS wasn't produced until 1957, so that story about Laurents seems off.

Arthur Laurents originally wanted James Dean for the role of Tony even before he wrote the show that would become a movie years later?

Arthur Laurents was a huge liar but this is even a bit much for him!

Robbins, Bernstein, and Laurents started thinking about the play that would become West Side Story in the late 1940s. It was originally going to be a musical in which the Romeo and Juliet characters would be Irish and Jewish. Laurents was thinking about James Dean early on.

I was available!

Tab was actually much better than his reputation seems to be nowadays.

R19 R20

James Dean was supposed to play Tony Arthur Laurents, the scriptwriter of the musical, wanted James Dean to play Tony, the lead character in "West Side Story." However, two years before the musical was put on stage, James Dean lost his life in a road accident.

It's excellent?

Shit.

Natalie was a big reason people went to watch West Side Story. #herpower

Was WSS pre- or post-Natalie rape?

Rita was dubbed in one of her musical numbers. The America number wasn’t dubbed but its sung/spoken and a much easier song to sing.

Post Natalie Rape

Gregory Peck was a big star at the time. They could have used him. Or Spencer Tracy.

Brandon de Wilde was a critical favorite and would have been the right age to play Tony.

Was this a post rape payoff for Natalie Wood? Made her an ingénue AGAIN.

She played ingenues through the mid 60s along with more adult roles.