West Side Story: the Movie

The movie started shooting in August 1960 on several blocks of Manhattan's West Side. Most of this footage was used for the Prologue number, which introduced the warring Jets and Sharks gangs.

Three months of rehearsals preceded the shoot, during which Robbins adapted his theatrically stylized choreography to the more realistic settings of the movie.

The Prologue sequence lasted twice as long on screen as on stage. The magic of cinema blended locations on the Upper West Side and East Harlem (where the playground scenes were shot).

The production made use of several blocks in the West Sixties being cleared to make way for the construction of Lincoln Center as well as new housing developments.

Robbins' perfectionism (in addition to the rainy late-summer weather) caused New York location shooting to stretch on weeks over schedule.

Natalie Wood (pictured at piano with Robbins) was the last principal cast in the movie. She recorded Maria's songs, but ultimately her singing was dubbed by an uncredited Marni Nixon.

After location shooting, the West Side Story production took up residence on several Samuel Goldwyn Studios soundstages in Hollywood. The Cool number was created in a low-ceilinged parking garage set.

Production designer Boris Leven's settings were often coded to the shifting colors in the opening credit sequence, and used certain elements, like chain link fencing, as a visual motif.

The America number (featuring Rita Moreno, center) was one of several positioned at a different point in the movie from the stage show. It also included male characters from the Shark gang.

Around the time the Dance at the Gym number was being filmed in October 1960, Jerome Robbins was dismissed from the production. The film's remaining dance numbers were staged by his assistants.

The famous fire escape for the Tonight duet between Tony and Maria (Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood) was another setting created by Leven on a Goldwyn Studio soundstage.

Despite Robbins' early departure, the completed film carries the credit "Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins." The collaborators shared the Best Director Oscar, one of 10 won by West Side Story.