Oscars Retrospective: West Side Story (34th Academy Awards Review)
Gee, Officer Krupke~Leonard Bernstein, vocals by Tucker Smith and the West Side Story ensemble - West Side Story If you know anything about famous musical theater, particularly from Broadway, during the 20th Century, then you’ve heard of West Side Story . This is easily one of the most famous and beloved musicals ever made and helped jumpstart a new decade of musicals going into the 60s. It was the highest-grossing movie of the year that it came out, swept the Academy Awards and remains one of the must-sees of every Broadway kid’s existence. We’ll try not to hold those last 2 records against it too much, but, I digress, what’s the plot? The film revolves around a gang of white (specifically Polish) kids called the Jets, led by Riff (Russ Tamblyn, singing voice dubbed by Tucker Smith), who have a rivalry with a Puerto Rican gang called the Sharks, led by Bernardo (George Chakiris). Riff’s best friend, Tony (Richard Beymer, singing voice dubbed by Jimmy Bryant), and Berna...